Comparing Body Images Satisfaction in Gay Men and Heterosexual Women Versus Heterosexual Men and Lesbian Women

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Body Images ◽  
Heterosexual Women

Gender, sexual orientation and body dissatisfaction: a meta-analysis covering four decades of research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Huerga Malillos ◽  
Elena Theofanous ◽  
Keith R. Laws ◽  
Paul Jenkinson
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Body Dissatisfaction ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Pairwise Comparisons ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Meta Analyses

Background: Four decades of research has assessed how gender and/or sexual orientation contribute to levels of body dissatisfaction (BD). The findings have proven somewhat equivocal and little attention has been paid to potential moderators. Method: The current meta-analysis compared BD in gay and heterosexual men (38 overall effects), and lesbian and heterosexual women (25 overall effects). Additional pairwise comparisons explored differences between heterosexual men and heterosexual women, gay men and lesbians, gay men and heterosexual women, and heterosexual men and lesbian women. Results: Random effects model meta-analyses revealed greater levels of BD in gay men compared to heterosexual men (g = -0.36, 95% CI -0.43, -0.29). By contrast, BD was greater in heterosexual women than lesbians (g = 0.09 95% CI 0.03, 0.15). Year of publication and mean difference in age between gay and heterosexual samples moderated the relationship between BD and sexual orientation, but only for men. Pairwise comparisons indicated that BD is highest in heterosexual women and lowest in heterosexual men.Conclusions: Findings indicate that both gender and sexual orientation influence BD. We identified a number of limitations in the existing research base, and make recommendations for future research.

scholarly journals Touched by vision: how heterosexual, gay, and lesbian people react to the view of their avatar being caressed on taboo body parts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Fusaro ◽  
Matteo Lisi ◽  
Gaetano Tieri ◽  
Salvatore Maria Aglioti
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Autonomic Reactivity ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Vicarious Experiences ◽  
Virtual Body

Embodying an artificial agent through immersive virtual reality (IVR) may lead to feeling somatosensory stimuli on one’s body which are in fact never delivered. What remains unknown is whether the vicarious touch in virtual reality reflects the basic individual and social features of real-life interpersonal interactions. Here, we explored the subjective and objective reactivity of heterosexual men/women (Study 1) and of gay men/lesbian women (Study 2) to the observation of a gender-matched virtual body being touched on different body parts, including the breast and genitalia, by male and female avatars. In addition to the illusory feeling of being touched and of owning the virtual body, participants reported on different aspects of the experience (e.g., appropriateness, erogeneity). Physiological measures of autonomic reactivity were also collected. Heterosexual men rated the female avatar’s touch as more appropriate and erogenous, while heterosexual women rated female and male avatar touches as equally appropriate, with the latter being most erogenous. Interestingly, gay men exhibited the same pattern of appropriateness and erogeneity as heterosexual women. In contrast, lesbian women rated more appropriate and erogenous the touches of the female avatar. For all participants, the most appropriate and erogenous regions were the social and the intimate ones, respectively. Importantly, touches on the virtual body’s intimate areas elicited the highest skin conductance response when participants were touched by a female avatar. Thus, IVR may easily induce vicarious experiences and ultimately allow the direct exploration of sensitive societal and individual issues that can otherwise be explored only through imagination.

scholarly journals Mu-Suppression as an Indicator of Empathic Processes in Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 635-644
Author(s):  
Katrin T. Lübke ◽  
Charlotte Sachse ◽  
Matthias Hoenen ◽  
Bettina M. Pause
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Typical Pattern ◽  
Mu Suppression ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Pain Ratings ◽  
Negative Feelings

Abstract Self-reported empathy differs with gender and sexual orientation. The current study investigated whether mu-suppression, reflecting brain activity especially related to state empathy, also is modulated by gender and sexual orientation. Pictures of painful and non-painful actions were presented to 20 lesbians, 20 gay men, 20 heterosexual men and 20 heterosexual women, while EEG was recorded. Individual peak frequencies of mu-activity (electrodes C3, C4) were detected within the 6–11 Hz band for each participant, and mu-suppression indices were calculated. Further, verbal indicators of state empathy (pain ratings) and compassion were assessed. Only heterosexual individuals showed the typical pattern of enhanced mu-suppression in response to painful relative to non-painful pictures. Lesbian women and gay men did not show a differential mu-response. Moreover, they felt less compassion compared to heterosexual individuals. In line with this finding, the more compassion the participants reported, the stronger the mu-suppression in response to painful relative to non-painful pictures was. Pain ratings did not vary with sexual orientation. The lesser compassion reported by lesbian women and gay men is discussed as a mediator of their non-differential mu-suppression response. It is hypothesized that this pattern might relate to gay men and lesbian women tending to perceive the anonymous depicted actors as outgroup members, hence showing less compassion and reduced mu-suppression. As empathy is often related to negative feelings (empathic stress), a clear distinction between individuals to empathize with versus individuals not to emphasize with may well be an adaptive feature in same-sex oriented individuals.

Tolerance and the labor supply of cohabiting gays and lesbians

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Mary Eschelbach Hansen ◽  
Michael E. Martell ◽  
Leanne Roncolato
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Labor Supply ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
The United States ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Average State

Abstract Tolerance of sexual minorities is presumed to matter, but its effects are under-studied. Because tolerance can affect both experiences at work and division of labor in the household, we study the relationship between tolerance and the time cohabiting gay men and lesbian women spend in paid work across the United States. In the average state, the increase in tolerance between 2003 and 2015 is associated with an increase in paid work of about 1 week per year among cohabiting gay men. Though not robustly statistically significant, the increase in tolerance is associated with a decrease in paid work among cohabiting lesbian women relative to heterosexual women.

scholarly journals Mental health and quality of life of gay men and lesbians in England and Wales

2003 ◽  
Vol 183 (6) ◽  
pp. 552-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael King ◽  
Eamonn McKeown ◽  
James Warner ◽  
Angus Ramsay ◽  
Katherine Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Psychological Status ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Heterosexual Women

BackgroundLittle is known about the mental health of gay men and lesbians living in Europe.AimsTo compare psychological status, quality of life and use of mental health services by lesbians and gay men with heterosexual people.MethodCross-sectional study in England and Wales using ‘snowball’ sampling.ResultsParticipants: 656 gay men, 505 heterosexual men, 430 lesbians and 588 heterosexual women. Gay men were more likely than heterosexual men to score above threshold on the Clinical Interview Schedule, indicating greater levels of psychological distress (RR 1.24, 95% Cl 1.07–1.43), as were lesbians compared with heterosexual women (RR 1.30, 95% Cl 1.11-1.52). Gay men and lesbians were more likely than heterosexuals to have consulted a mental health professional in the past, deliberately harmed themselves and used recreational drugs. Lesbians were more likely to have experienced verbal and physical intimidation and to consume more alcohol than heterosexual women.ConclusionsAwareness of mental health issues for gay men and lesbians should become a standard part of training for mental health professionals, who need to be aware of the potential for substance misuse and self-harm in this group and of the discrimination experienced by many lesbians.

scholarly journals THE HOMOSEXUAL LIFESTYLE: TIME USE IN SAME-SEX HOUSEHOLDS

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Martell ◽  
Leanne Roncolato
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Comparative Advantage ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Household Labor ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Lesbian Women ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Use Patterns

AbstractWe are among the first to use American time-use data to investigate non-market behavior in gay and lesbian households. We contribute to a literature that has documented a gay disadvantage and lesbian advantage in the labor market. Many have proposed that this pattern reflects, relative to their heterosexual counterparts, higher levels of household labor among gay men and lower levels of household labor among lesbian women. Results show that gay men, parents in particular, spend more time in household production than heterosexual men. We find evidence of different time-use patterns for lesbians, but they are driven by characteristics not sexual orientation. These results also contribute to the economics of the household showing that time use in same-sex households with weaker gender constructs does not conform to the predictions of models that highlight comparative advantage as a source of specialization.

scholarly journals Gender-Role's Attitude, Perceived Similarity, and Sexual Prejudice against Gay Men

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Falomir-Pichastor ◽  
Carmen Martínez ◽  
Consuelo Paterna
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Sexual Prejudice ◽  
Heterosexual Men ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Defensive Function ◽  
Traditional Gender Roles ◽  
Heterosexual Women

Two hundred and twenty-six heterosexual participants (115 women and 111 men) were asked to indicate their attitude toward gender-roles, their perceived similarities with gay men, and their attitude toward gay men (i.e., sexual prejudice). As expected, male participants showed more sexual prejudice than female participants, and perceived dissimilarities were related to a greater sexual prejudice. Support for gender-roles was related to sexual prejudice for male participants, but not for female participants. More interestingly, the three-way interaction suggested that perceived similarities moderated the link between gender-roles and sexual prejudice among heterosexual men, but not among heterosexual women. Attitude in favor of traditional gender-roles was related to sexual prejudice for male participants who perceived gay men as different, but not for those who perceived gay men as similar. These findings are discussed in terms of the defensive function of men's attitude toward homosexuality as a result of threat to masculinity.

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