(PS13-A4) Impact of Race and Sexual Orientation on Body Image and Attractiveness

Impact of Race and Sexual Orientation on Body Image and Attractiveness

Introduction: A negative view of the self has an impact on many areas of physical health, mental health, and well-being. Body dissatisfaction is a predictor of the development of eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, and mental disorders such as anxiety disorder, depression, and binge eating disorder (Dunkley et al., 2010; Monde et al., 2013; Rohde et al., 2015). With the increase in exposure to social media, the pressure to achieve the ideal body type has increased as well (Pearl, 2020). Despite beauty standards catering toward a white, younger, and heteronormative appearance, not much research has been done about people who may not fit these categories. As such, this study aims to determine if there is a relationship between one’s perception of one’s body and their race and sexual orientation.  

Methods: Participants were recruited from the worker pool in Amazon Mechanical Turk and Penn State’s human subject pool. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire that included scales such as the Body Esteem Scale, Self-Perceived Sexual Attractiveness Scale, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Scale, and the Risk Perception Survey Response P</span>age. Demographic information was collected. For the purposes of this study, race was sorted into two categories: White and Other. Similarly, sexual orientation was also sorted into two categories: Heterosexual and Other.  

Results: After data cleaning, 230 responses were retained. A preliminary correlational analysis was between body esteem, perceived sexual attractiveness, and race and sexual orientation. This analysis revealed a negative relationship between body esteem and sexual orientation, meaning non-heterosexual people had lower body esteem (r=-.138, p </span>= .043). Race had a negative relationship with perceived sexual attractiveness where ethnic minorities had a lower perception of sexual attractiveness (r=-.163, p = .015). During further analysis regression analyses will determine how demographic variables and their intersectionality impact body image.  

Implications: This study will help determine which populations are more vulnerable to negative body image. Additional research must be done to get a better picture of the potential causes of these relationships. With this information, more sensitive and apt models can be developed and used to improve body image among these populations. Due to limitations in sample sizes, race, and sexual orientation were only broken down into two categories. Future research should focus on specific minority populations and consider gender as well.