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"Lesbians on Body Image and Fitness"

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by IJustWantToLove, Feb 8, 2014.

?

Are lesbians more accepting of diff. body types or do they care less about appearance

  1. Lesbians are more accepting of different body types

    93.3%
  2. They care less about appearance

    6.7%
  1. IJustWantToLove

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    Hey everyone =)

    I was watching some youtube videos when I came across the following question. I'll try and quote it as literally as I'm able to (had a bit of a hard time understanding all of it...):

    "Lesbians on body image and fitness: There's an ongoing study by the National Institute of Health that apparently nearly three quarters of lesbians are overweight compared to one half of straight women. In fact LGBT women and heterosexual men seem to be the most at risk to be overweight. Are lesbians more accepting of different body types or do they care less about appearance?"

    What do you think about that?
     
  2. 7eye

    7eye Guest

    I think lesbians care less about appearance, as with all women; they love differently to men, who are actually more infatuated than in love with a person for much of the time. Despite this, I wonder how women still put up with straight guys.
     
  3. stocking

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    That's a bull crap study if you ask me people are always asking me to eat a cheese burger .:confused: and i"m a lesbian .
    And I have a good body I'm skinny but not too skinny I'm just right .
    their full of crap with that study . probably some homophobic jerks did that . How do they even know if that crap is true I bet they picked lesbians that go with the lesbian stereotypes they do know that some of us are in the closet right because I highly doubt they can round up all the lesbians in America . I call Bull Pocky (!)
    I'm lesbian but I do care about appearance I like chicks that are skinny or voluptuous but not chicks that are overweight that's a no no for me . I don't know about others but that's just me
     
    #3 stocking, Feb 8, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2014
  4. frkn frk

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    Most lesbians I know pretend to be indifferent regarding body types, but face it, attractive is attractive.no way around it.
     
  5. KWDBM

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    I'd be very interested to see some *sources* about the three-quarters compared to one-half statistic. I highly doubt that's true.

    I'm probably on the "more accepting of different body types" side, but not because I'm a lesbian. Because I have 10+ years of eating disorders in my past, and I'm now fairly overweight myself, and frankly too-skinny girls just aren't attractive. I've dated someone shorter then me (and I'm short!), someone overweight, someone too skinny, someone taller then normal... I'm attracted to many different types. But I don't think it's because of my preferences.
     
  6. IJustWantToLove

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    They state their used methods at the beginning of every research article, but since the video didn't say which study exactly the numbers are taken from, I don't know who they surveyed...

    As I said, the video didn't mention the exact source, so I can't really provide any sources for the numbers.

    I did use the search on NIH however and came up with this one:
    Overweight and Obesity in Sexual-Minority Women: Evidence From Population-Based Data
    I don't know if that's the study the questioner took their information from, but it states some infos along these lines.

    "Overweight and Obesity in Sexual-Minority Women: Evidence From Population-Based Data"

    "Objective. We sought to determine whether lesbians have higher rates of overweight and obesity than women of other sexual orientations."

    "Methods. We compared population estimates of overweight and obesity across sexual orientation groups, using data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth."

    "Results. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed lesbians have more than twice the odds of overweight [...] as heterosexual women. Bisexuals and women who reported their sexual orientation as “something else” (besides heterosexual, lesbian, or bisexual) showed no such increase in the odds of overweight and obesity."

    "Conclusions. Lesbian women have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than all other female sexual orientation groups. [...]"

    "[...] Previous research efforts have not considered sexual orientation as a possible risk factor for obesity, despite evidence that suggests lesbians have higher rates of overweight and obesity."

    "The reasons for lesbians’ overweight and obesity have not been thoroughly explored. Studies suggest that differences in obesity rates by sexual orientation may be because of the variance in social, behavioral, and cultural norms by sexual orientation groups. It has been suggested that lesbians are less likely to consider themselves overweight compared with women in the general population. A few studies, using convenience samples, explored the unique factors that may contribute to overweight and obesity in lesbians. The results of these studies indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women and pri-oritize a body image on the basis of physical function. The evidence is inconclusive regarding lesbians’ exercise behaviors. It has been argued that lesbians are heavier, but more physically fit, because of their level of physical activity. One study has disputed that lesbians’ exercise behavior explains their greater body mass index (BMI). Other studies have emphasized that lesbians’ exercise behavior is not motivated by aesthetic reasons. Although these smaller studies provide possible explanatory factors regarding obesity in lesbians, they do not adequately consider covariates shown in the literature to be risk factors for overweight and obesity."
     
  7. Fiddledeedee

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    I recall hearing that there are links between various mental illnesses like depression and obesity rates, although I haven't checked this. Since LGBT people have higher instances of depression and the like than straight/cis people, that could be a contributing factor. (I expect several factors are at play here, not just one.) You could also check stuff like the average socioeconomic status of adult lesbians and so on.
     
  8. PurpleGrey

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    Someone's gonna have to say it. Lesbians and straight men are more likely to be overweight. Must be all that pie they've been eating.

    You know you were thinking it! :}
     
  9. its a mixed bag.
    i know some shallow lesbians who wont date anyone with xyz body hair, or arent xyz in a dress size. i know some slimmer women who like overweight women only.

    i know overweight lesbians, who only like slimmer women. i know overweight lesbians who like all shapes and sizes.

    you get the idea.
    from the women i know i couldnt say there was even an 'average' for who likes what lol. its honeslty a mixed bag.

    myself, i like women of all shapes and sizes. some girls can pull off a bit of extra weight and it really suits the body shape they have :wink:
     
  10. BelleFromHell

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    Reminds me of what Rush Limbaugh said: Why Rush Limbaugh Says Lesbians Are Obese & Deal With Substance Abuse | Gurl.com
    By the way, I'm 5'8" and weigh 122 pounds, which according to the stuff I looked up about BMI, is UNDERWEIGHT.

    ---------- Post added 12th Feb 2014 at 01:31 PM ----------

    I swear... whenever Fox News talks about gay marriage, they show a clip of two HUGE lesbians getting married, and it makes me rage to no end.
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not against fat people. I mad because I KNOW they're showing that clip to make everyone think lesbians are fat. If they aren't, then why don't they show a clip of a fat hetrosexual couple getting married? There are plenty of them!
    "OH...NO... we can't do that! It'll make straight people look bad!"
     
    #10 BelleFromHell, Feb 12, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2014
  11. stocking

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    Most people think lesbians are like that and refuse to believe other wise .
    It's like how can you not get dolled for man .
     
    #11 stocking, Feb 12, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2014
  12. AudreyB

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    FWIW, just turning on Fox News is a rage waiting to happen.
     
  13. DrkRayne

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    :confused:
    Lesbians and heterosexual men have similar rates of obesity? really?
    Why are most of my lesbian friends small? :confused: I'm the biggest one out of all my friends, which the exception of the ones over 40.
    Did they include people 35 and under in this study?
     
  14. stocking

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    Good question but I have a feeling they didn't