Understanding Body Dissatisfaction in Gay and Heterosexual Men: The Roles of Self-Esteem, Media, and Peer Influence

Men and Masculinities

Volumn 11, Issue 5, 2009, Pages 511-532

  Mcardle, Keri A ^a   Hill, Melanie S ^a  

^a STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK   (United States)

Author keywords

adult men; body dissatisfaction; sexual orientation; sociocultural influence

Indexed keywords

EID: 77950742592     PISSN: 1097184X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1097184X07303728     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Adams, G., H. Turner, and R. Bucks. 2005. The experience of body dissatisfaction in men. Body Image 2: 271-83.
2. Agliata, D., and S. Tantleff-Dunn. 2004. The impact of media exposure on males’ body image. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 23 (1): 7-22.
3. Andersen, A., L. Cohen, and T. Holbrook. 2000. Making weight: Men’s conflict with food, weight, shape, and appearance. Carlsbad, CA : Gurze Books.
4. Anderson, A.E. 1992. Males with eating disorders. In Special problems in managing eating disorders, edited by J. Yager, H. E. Gwirtsman, and C. K. Edelstein, 87-118. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
5. Atkins, D. 1998. Looking queer: Body image and identity in lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgendered communities. New York: Harrington Park Press.
6. Austin, S.B., N. Ziyadah, J.A. Kahn, C.A. Camargo, G.A. Colditz, and A.E. Field. 2004. Sexual orientation, weight concerns, and eating-disordered behaviors in adolescent girls and boys. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 43: 1115-23.
7. Baron, R.M., and D.A. Kenny. 1986. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51: 1173-82.
8. Bartholome, A., R. Tewksbury, and A. Bruzzone. 2000.“I want a man”: Patterns of attraction in all-male personal ads. Journal of Men’s Studies 8: 309-21.
9. Beren, S.E., H.A. Hayden, D.E. Wilfley, and C.M. Grilo. 1996. The influence of sexual orientation on body dissatisfaction in adult men and woman. International Journal of Eating Disorders 20 (2): 135-41.
10. Cafri, G., and J.K. Thompson. 2004. Measuring male body image: A review of the current methodology. Psychology of Men & Masculinity 5: 18-29.
11. Carlat, D.J., C.A. Camargo, and D.B. Herzog. 1997. Eating disorders in males: A report on 135 patients. American Journal of Psychiatry 154: 1127-32.
12. Cash, T.F. 2000. User’s manual for the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire. Norfolk, VA: Old Dominion University.
13. Cohn, L.D., and N.E. Adler. 1992. Female and male perceptions of ideal body shapes: Distorted views among Caucasian college students. Psychology of Women Quarterly 16: 69-79.
14. Demarest, J., and R. Allen. 2000. Body image: Gender, ethnic, and age differences. Journal of Social Psychology 140: 465-72.
15. Dillon, P., P. Copeland, and R. Peters. 1999. Exploring the relationship between male homo/bi-sexuality, body image and steroid use. Culture, Health, & Sexuality 4: 317-27.
16. Drewnowski, A., and D.K. Yee. 1987. Men and body image: Are males satisfied with their body weight? Psychosomatic Medicine 49: 626-34.
17. Duggan, S.J., and D.R. McCreary. 2004. Body image, eating disorders, and the drive for muscularity in gay and heterosexual men: The influence of media images. Journal of Homosexuality 47: 45-58.
18. Eisenberg, M.E., D. Neumark-Sztainer, J. Haines, and M. Wall. 2006. Weight-teasing and emotional well-being in adolescents: Longitudinal findings from Project EAT. Journal of Adolescent Health 38: 675-83.
19. Fawkner, H.J., and N.E. McMurray. 2002. Body image in men: Self-reported thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to media images. International Journal of Men’s Health 1: 137-61.
20. Feingold, A. 1990. Gender differences in effect of physical attractiveness on romantic attraction: A comparison across five research paradigms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59: 981-93.
21. Frazier, P.A., A.P. Tix, and K.E. Barron. 2004. Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology 51: 115-34.
22. Furnham, A., N. Badmin, and I. Sneade. 2002. Body image dissatisfaction: Gender differences in eating attitudes, self-esteem, and reasons for exercise. Journal of Psychology 136 (6): 581-96.
23. and A. Calnan. 1998. Eating disturbance, self-esteem, reasons for exercising and body weight dissatisfaction in adolescent males. European Eating Disorders Review 6: 58-72.
24. Gillett, J., and P.G. White. 1992. Male bodybuilding and the reassertion of hegemonic masculinity: A critical feminist perspective. Play & Culture 5: 358-69.
25. Green, S., and M. Pritchard. 2003. Predictors of body image dissatisfaction in adult men and women. Social Behavior and Personality 31 (3): 215-22.
26. Grogan, S., and H. Richards. 2002. Body image: Focus groups with boys and men. Men and Masculinities 4: 219-32.
27. Hagborg, W.J. 1993. Middle-school student satisfaction with group counseling: An initial study. Journal for Specialists in Group Work 18: 80-85.
28. Hargreaves, D.A., and M. Tiggemann. 2006.“Body image is for girls”: A qualitative study of boys’ body image. Journal of Health Psychology 11: 567-76.
29. Hatfield, E., and S. Sprecher. 1986. Mirror, mirror: The importance of looks in everyday life. New York: State University of New York Press.
30. Hausenblas, H.A., C.M. Jenelle, R.E. Gardner, and A.L. Hagan. 2002. Effects of exposure to physique slides on the emotional responses of men and women. Sex Roles 47 (11): 569-75.
31. Herzog, D.B., K.L. Newman, and M. Warshaw. 1991. Body image dissatisfaction in homosexual and heterosexual males. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 179 (6): 356-59.
32. Keen, P.K., J.A. Fulkerson, and G.R. Leon. 1997. Disordered eating precursors in pre- and early adolescent girls and boys. Journal of Youth Adolescence 26: 203-16.
33. Leit, R.A., H.G. Pope, and J.J. Gray. 2001. Cultural expectations of muscularity in men: The evolution of Playgirl centerfolds. International Journal of Eating Disorders 29: 90-93.
34. Levesque, M.J., and D.R. Vichesky. 2006. Raising the bar on the body beautiful: An analysis of the body image concerns of homosexual men. Body Image 3: 45-55.
35. Levine, M.P., L. Smolak, and H. Hayden. 1994. The relation of sociocultural factors to eating attitudes and behaviors among middle school girls. Journal of Early Adolescence 14: 471-90.
36. McCabe, M., and L. Ricciardelli. 2001. Parent, peer, and media influences on body image and strategies to both increase and decrease body size among adolescent boys and girls. Adolescence 36 (142): 374-78.
37. and L. Ricciardelli. 2004. Body image dissatisfaction among males across the lifespan: A review of past literature. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 56: 675-85.
38. McCarthy, J.D., and D.R. Hoge. 1982. Analysis of age effects in longitudinal studies of adolescent self-esteem. American Journal of Sociology 18: 372-79.
39. Mishkind, M.E., J. Rodin, L.R. Silberstein, and R. Striegel-Moore. 1986. The embodiment of masculinity: Cultural, psychological, and behavioral dimensions. American Behavioral Scientist 29: 545-62.
40. Morrison, M.A., T.G. Morrison, and C.L. Sager. 2004. Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women? A meta-analytic review. Body Image 1: 127-38.
41. Olivardia, R., H.G. Pope, J.J. Borowiecki, and G.H. Cohane. 2004. Biceps and body image: The relationship between muscularity and self-esteem, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Psychology of Men & Masculinity 5: 112-20.
42. Pope, H.G., R. Olivardia, A. Gruber, and J. Borowiecki. 1999. Evolving ideals of male body image as seen through action toys. International Journal of Eating Disorders 26: 65-72.
43. K.A. Phillips, and R. Olivardia. 2000. The Adonis complex: How to identify, treat, and prevent body obsession in men and boys. New York: Touchstone Books.
44. Pruzinsky, T., and T.F. Cash 2002. Understanding body images: Historical and contemporary approaches. In Body image: A handbook of theory, research, and clinical practice, edited by T. F. Cash and T. Pruzinsky, 3-12. New York : Guildford.
45. Ricciardelli, L.A., and M.P. McCabe. 2001. Self-esteem and negative affect as moderators of sociocultural influences on body dissatisfaction, strategies to decrease weight, and strategies to increase muscles among adolescent boys and girls. Sex Roles 44: 189-207.
46. M.P. McCabe, J. Lillis, and K. Thomas. 2006. A longitudinal investigation of the development of weight and muscle concerns among preadolescent boys. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 35: 177-87.
47. Ridgeway, R.T., and T.L. Tylka. 2005. College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity 6: 209-20.
48. Rosenberg, M. 1965/1989. Society and the adolescent self-image, rev. ed. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
49. Siever, M.D. 1994. Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 62: 252-60.
50. Silberstein, L.R., M.E. Mishkind, R.H. Striegel-Moore, C. Timko, and J. Rodin. 1989. Men and their bodies: A comparison of homosexual and heterosexual men. Psychosomatic Medicine 51: 337-46.
51. H. Striegel-Moore, C. Timko, and J. Rodin. 1988. Behavioral and psychological implications of body disatisfaction: Do men and women differ? Sex Roles 19: 219-31.
52. Spitzer, B.A., K.A. Henderson, and M.T. Zivian. 1999. Gender differences in population versus media body sizes: A comparison over four decades. Sex Roles 401: 545-65.
53. Stanford, J.N., and M.P. McCabe. 2002. Body image ideal among males and females: Sociocultural influences and focus on different body parts. Journal of Health Psychology 7: 675-84.
54. and M.P. McCabe. 2005. Sociocultural influences on adolescent boys’ body image and body change strategies. Body Image 2: 105-13.
55. Stroebe, W., C.A. Insko, V.D. Thompson, and B.D. Layton. 1971. Effects of physical attractiveness, attitude similarity, and sex on various aspects of interpersonal attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 18: 79-91.
56. Thompson, J.K., L. Heinberg, M. Altabe, and S. Tantleff-Dunn. 1999. Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
57. Tiggemann, M. 1994. Gender differences in the interrelationships between weight dissatisfaction, restraint, and self-esteem. Sex Roles 30: 319-30.
58. Tylka, T.L., D. Bergeron, and J. Schwartz. 2005. Development and psychometric evaluation of the Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS). Body Image 2: 161-75.
59. Vartanian, L.R., C.L. Giant, and R.M. Passino. 2001. Ally McBeal vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Comparing mass media, interpersonal feedback and gender as predictors of satisfaction with body thinness and muscularity. Social Behavior and Personality 29 (7): 711-24.
60. Vincent, M.A., and M.P. McCabe. 2000. Gender differences among adolescents in family, and peer influences on body dissatisfaction, weight loss, and binge eating behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29 (2): 205-21.
61. West, S.G., L.S. Aiken, and J.L. Krull. 1996. Experimental personality designs: Analyzing categorical by continuous variable interactions. Journal of Personality 64: 1-49.
62. Williamson, I., and P. Hartley. 1998. British research into the increased vulnerability of young gay men to eating disturbance and body dissatisfaction. European Eating Disorders Review 6: 160-70.
63. Yelland, C., and M. Tiggemann. 2003. Muscularity and the gay ideal: Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in homosexual men. Eating Behaviors 4: 107-16.