5 - (SYM 145) Weight Stigma Among Sexual Minority Men: A Case for Intersectional Approaches to Examining Body Image in Sexual Minority Populations

Sexual minority men are at heightened risk of weight stigma, given the potent appearance pressures they face. Little research considers how the nature of weight stigma (e.g., who experiences the most stigma; what forms that this stigma takes on), particularly among sexual minority populations, is likely shaped by power structures (e.g., patriarchy) that determine what identities and bodies have the most status. In this presentation, I will use findings from my PhD to illustrate how sexual minority men’s vulnerability to weight stigma is shaped by the societal idealization of hegemonically “masculine” identities (i.e., male, heterosexual, white, muscular), and devaluation of those who fall outside of these ideals (e.g., sexual minority identities; fat bodies).
< ![if !supportLineBreakNewLine] >
< ![endif] >

This presentation will reference three studies from my PhD. Key findings to be highlighted are: (1) sexual minority men are vulnerable to experiencing and internalizing weight stigma than heterosexual men, (2) weight stigma longitudinally predicts poor mental health among sexual minority men, and (3) sexual minority men may be more vulnerable to weight stigma because of men’s association of fat bodies with femininity, or diminished masculinity (and therefore less social status). This value of ‘appearing’ masculine (i.e., lean, muscular) is particularly potent within sexual minority male spaces, where overt masculinity directly challenges homophobic stereotypes that gay men are “effeminate”.

Together, this presentation will illustrate the importance of intersectional, identity-specific approaches to examining, and developing interventions for, weight stigma in sexual minority populations. These insights highlight the need for researchers and clinicians to be cognisant of the intersecting stressors (e.g., homophobia, fatphobia) that may lead sexual minority men to devalue fatness in themselves and in others, which can in turn negatively affect their psychological wellbeing.