Women and body dissatisfaction: Does sexual orientation make a difference?
In this study, heterosexual (n=95) and nonheterosexual (n=84) women were asked to rate figure drawings and computer-generated images of women that varied in body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size in terms of self, ideal, and cultural ideal; discrepancy indices, indicating body dissatisfaction, were created for each body aspect. Nonheterosexual women had significantly higher body mass indices (BMIs) than heterosexual women, but when the effects of BMI were controlled, participants evidenced similar perceptions of their bodies, their ideal bodies, and the female cultural ideal, as well as similar levels of body dissatisfaction for body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and breast size. The results of this study suggest that being a member of a society that highly values a thin, curvaceous, relatively large-breasted body puts women, regardless of sexual orientation, at risk for body dissatisfaction.
Koff
Elissa
E
Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, MA 02481, USA.
Lucas
Margery
M
Migliorini
Robyn
R
Grossmith
Samantha
S
D000293:Adolescent; D001823:Body Composition; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012933:Social Identification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult