Editing Body image (section)

=== Sexuality ===
There is no scientific consensus on how a person's sexuality affects their body image. For example, a 2013 study found that lesbian-identifying women reported less body dissatisfaction than did heterosexual women.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Alvy |first1=Lisa M. |title=Do lesbian women have a better body image? Comparisons with heterosexual women and model of lesbian-specific factors |journal=Body Image |date=September 1, 2013 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=524–534 |doi=10.1016/j.bodyim.2013.06.002 |pmid=23927850 }}</ref> In contrast, a 2015 study found no differences in weight satisfaction between heterosexual and lesbian and bisexual women, and no differences in the amount of pressure to be thin they experienced from the media, sexual partners, friends or family. This research did find that heterosexual women were more likely to have internalised the thin ideal (accepted the Western concept that thinness equals attractiveness) than lesbian and bisexual women.<ref name="Huxley et al 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Huxley |first1=CJ |title=An examination of the tripartite influence model of body image: Does women's sexual identity make a difference? |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |date=2015 |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=337–348 |doi=10.1177/0361684314554917 |s2cid=56269690 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/67058/1/WRAP_Huxley%20et%20al%20PWQ-13-035%20WRAP__.pdf }}</ref>

Lesbian and bisexual women have said that while they are often critical of mainstream body size/shape ideals these are still the ideals that they feel social pressure to conform to.<ref name="Huxley et al 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Huxley |first1=C |title=A qualitative exploration of whether lesbian and bisexual women are 'protected'from sociocultural pressure to be thin |journal=Journal of Health Psychology |date=2014 |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=273–284|doi=10.1177/1359105312468496 |pmid=23297393 |s2cid=22398466 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/53015/13/WRAP_Huxley_Huxley%20et%20al%202013%20JHP%20WRAP%20July%202013%20%282%29.pdf }}</ref> In a study conducted in 2017, Henrichs-Beck and Szymanski claimed that lesbian gender definition within the lesbian culture may dictate whether or not they are dissatisfied with their bodies.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Moreno-Domínguez|first1=Silvia|last2=Raposo|first2=Tania|last3=Elipe|first3=Paz|date=2019|title=Body Image and Sexual Dissatisfaction: Differences Among Heterosexual, Bisexual, and Lesbian Women|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|language=en|volume=10|page=903|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00903|pmid=31143139|pmc=6520663|issn=1664-1078|doi-access=free}}</ref> They suggested that lesbians who identified as more stereotypically 'feminine' were at greater risk of body dissatisfaction, while those who identified as more 'butch', were traditionally more satisfied with their bodies.<ref name=":2" /> Qualitative research with non-heterosexual women found that female sexual/romantic partners were a source of both body confidence and concerns. These women reported that while they compared their body size and shape to that of their partner, and could feel more self-conscious if their partner was slimmer than them, their attractions to women who did not conform to the narrow Western definition of ‘beauty’ gave them confidence in their own appearance.<ref name="Huxley et al 2011">{{cite journal |last1=Huxley |first1=CJ |title="It's a comparison thing, isn't it?" Lesbian and bisexual women's accounts of how partner relationships shape their feelings about their body and appearance. |journal=Psychology of Women Quarterly |date=2011 |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=415–427 |doi=10.1177/0361684311410209 |s2cid=145515130 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/38387/1/WRAP_Huxley_PWQ-09-114-final.pdf }}</ref>

A 2005 study found that gay men were more likely than straight men to have body image dissatisfaction, diet more, and were more fearful of becoming fat.<ref name="Kaminski 2005">{{cite journal |last1=Kaminski |first1=P |title=Body image, eating behaviors, and attitudes toward exercise among gay and straight men |journal=Eating Behaviors |date=2005 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=179–187|doi=10.1016/j.eatbeh.2004.11.003 |pmid=15854864 }}</ref> There is some evidence to link the sexual objectification of gay males and heterosexual females by men in general as a reason for increased numbers in these groups for eating disorders and stimulants addictions. Bisexual people have historically been overlooked within body image research, either subsumed under gay/lesbian labels or ignored completely.<ref name="Clarke et al 2012">{{cite journal |last1=Clarke |first1=V |title=Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans appearance and embodiment: A critical review of the psychological literature |journal=Psychology of Sexualities Review |date=2012 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=51–70|doi=10.53841/bpssex.2012.3.1.51 |s2cid=142769818 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/53017/1/WRAP_Huxley_2012%20POSR%20WRAP%20Feb%202013.pdf }}</ref>