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Category: Project

Description: Previous body image research often grouped both gay and bisexual men into a single category: sexual minoritised men, limiting our understanding of how sexual identity influences body image. However, there is strong reason to believe that bisexual and gay men experience distinct body image concerns. Here, we explored motivations to alter one’s leanness and muscularity, as well as (dis)satisfaction with overall body image, body fat, muscularity, height and penis size, and appreciation for the functionality of one’s body across gay, bisexual, and straight cisgender men. We sampled 378 white participants aged 18 to 85 (ngay = 128, nbisexual = 125, nstraight = 125). We found that gay men were significantly more motivated to be lean and showed greater overall body and muscularity dissatisfaction relative to bisexual and straight men. We found no differences across other measures. Our findings demonstrate that despite research perceiving the body image of bisexual and gay men as homogenous, they experience differences in their body image concerns concerning leanness and muscularity and overall body dissatisfaction. Future research should incorporate this understanding.