It’s Bisexual Awareness Week — an important reminder that while bi people are part of the LGBTQ+ community, their oft-erased experiences differ from other subsections of the queer population.
In fact, the importance of not lumping communities together was highlighted by a new study from Nottingham Trent University, which found gay and bisexual men view their bodies and experience dissatisfaction with their appearance differently.
The investigation sampled 378 men between the ages of 18 to 85 who self-identified as heterosexual, gay, or bisexual.
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Then, researchers studied their levels of motivation to alter their “leanness and muscularity,” as well as satisfaction with their “body fat, muscularity, height” and erm, endowment.
Compared to gay men, bisexual participants were “significantly less motivated to be lean and showed lower muscular dissatisfaction,” with results similar to straight respondents.
Basically, while “societal body image ideals” encourage men across orientations to idolize muscularity and leanness, the research suggested that it drives actual dissatisfaction the most amongst gay men.
According to the study, one possible explanation is that gay men “report a stronger physical attraction to attractive and muscular partners.” The desire to change one’s appearance to align with these ideals may result in their “poorer body image.”
Still, the most important finding was the difference between gay and bi men’s responses, as the two groups are typically lumped together in research.
“Bisexual people experience greater stigma, marginalization and prejudice than other sexual [minority] identities,” the study concluded.
“As of the most recent review of this issue, only a small number of studies have explored bisexual and gay men’s body image differences … emphasizing the importance of this direction of research.”
Furthermore, the investigation suggested that lumping bisexual men in with the heterosexual community would be equally counterproductive, as “the pressures of attracting individuals from different genders” results in “different body image concerns.”
Researchers also speculated that bisexual men may experience dissatisfaction and pressures similar to gay men when “actively seeking” their attraction.
That said, we’re not all that different.
When it came to dissatisfaction with attributes like height, penis size, and athletic capability, there was little difference between sexual orientations.
Nevertheless, the LGBTQ+ community is stronger for addressing and appreciating its differences, rather than ignoring or discriminating.
This can also help us chart a path toward better attitudes about all of our bodies.
As the report concluded, “By emphasizing this diversity, targeted and effective interventions and support can be developed to address body image concerns for specific populations.”
Donston
If a m-a-n is mostly looking to appeal to and date w-o-m-e-n then on average they’re gonna be less concerned with being “fit”. Also, being closer to perceived “stra-ightness” is enough to appeal to some q-eers even if that individual is not the most conventionally attractive or fit.