The masculine ideals and rejection of femininity also exacerbate the aforementioned body image issues. The pressure for gay men to be masculine can cause them to have difficulty being emotional and affectionate, according to a study published in the U.S. For gay men, peer pressure and body dissatisfaction are among the top factors that contribute to this increased risk. If you browse popular gay male dating/hookup sites such as Grindr, you will find many profiles with the statement, “ No Fats, No Fems.” It’s a shorthand way of saying, “I don’t want to date or have sex with men who are not muscular and masculine.” It points to larger issues in the gay male community: unreasonable body image expectations and overvaluing stereotypically heterosexual qualities such as being masculine.īecause of this body image issue, homosexuality increases the risk of developing an eating disorder. Body Image and Femininity Issues: “No Fats, No Fems” It is also a predictor of whether gay men will come out to friends, colleagues and extended family. Internalized homophobia exacerbates general stress and stress during the coming out process, according to a study from the Department of Counseling and Mental Health Professions at Hofstra University. This result points to other mental health issues this article will cover. The average score for participants was closer to “agree strongly” for most of the statements.
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If you are a gay man, this article might be an opportunity to better understand your issues and consider a path to treating them.
Keep reading if you are interested in supporting gay men by helping them improve their mental health and spread awareness about the challenges they face. All of these issues make gay men more likely to develop a mental illness or die by suicide. To fully understand how their sexual orientation impacts their mental health, we need to examine existential crises, family problems, stereotypes, the effects of the LGBT community and much more. The mental health issues gay men are more likely to deal with go beyond discrimination and stigma.