Body Image Perceptions of Gay and Bisexual Southeast Asian American Males
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Authors
Hardy, Marymay
Issue Date
2025-10
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
bisexual , body image dissatisfaction , male body image
Alternative Title
Abstract
Body image defines how individuals perceive, feel, and think about their body. Certain genders and ethnicities have been shown to have increased risk in developing body image dissatisfaction, which has been identified as a public health concern. The problem addressed in this study was that body image dissatisfaction has been shown to be a risk factor for eating pathologies, depression, and low self-esteem. However, most of the research had focused on females and non-Hispanic White males, leaving male ethnic/racial minorities underrepresented. Using the tripartite influence and minority stress model as a framework, the purpose of this qualitative embedded case study was to examine body image dissatisfaction amongst gay and bisexual Southeast Asian American males. Thirty-four Southeast Asian gay and bisexual emerging adult males participated in the study. The study used a qualitative survey data collection methodology and data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The themes identified in this study were that family, peers and media identified both similar and different characteristics that were considered attractive, participants experienced peer pressure to follow media personalities and media trends, and that media had the most negative effect on mental health with regard to body image for gay participants. In addition, attractive characteristics were based on how participants could achieve cultural values/expectations and mental health issues sometimes arose due to expectations to conform to societal and familial expectations. A final theme concerned intersectionality of culture and gender identity: both gay and bisexual participants did not feel accepted in their ethnic/racial community but felt accepted in the predominantly bisexual/gay community. The results of this study contributed to existing research by providing insight to the role that peers, family, media, culture and ethnicity play in body image dissatisfaction amongst Southeast Asian sexual minority men.