A new study out of the UK has shown that Bisexual men tend to be less driven to maintain a lean physique and report lower dissatisfaction with their muscularity, while gay men show a stronger desire for these traits.
The study, which Nottingham Trent University conducted, surveyed over 370 cisgender white men who identify as gay, bisexual, or straight, explored body satisfaction and found that bisexual men’s views on body image are more aligned with those of straight men.
However, when it comes to other physical attributes like height, penis size, and overall capability, the study found little difference across sexual orientations.
The research, titled “Tackling Bisexual Erasure: An Explorative Comparison of Bisexual, Gay and Straight Cisgender Men’s Body Image,” aims to address the tendency in research to treat gay and bisexual men as a homogenous group.
Dr Liam Cahill, lead researcher and lecturer in LGBTQ+ psychology at NTU, emphasised that this traditional approach is outdated. “Bisexual men have typically been grouped with gay men in body image studies,” Cahill explained. “But our findings show that bisexual men experience body image issues in unique ways.”
While societal standards often idealise lean, muscular men with low body fat, bisexual men’s body dissatisfaction increases when they engage with the gay community, where these standards may be more pronounced.
Despite the study highlighting lower dissatisfaction among bisexual and straight men, it also emphasises that societal pressures affect all men, regardless of their sexual orientation. Cahill noted that gay men’s preference for muscular partners might fuel their higher dissatisfaction with their own muscularity, a pressure bisexual men feel mainly when integrated into gay spaces.
The study found that all men, whether bi, straight, or gay, face similar motivations to build muscle and lose body fat. However, gay men generally experience greater dissatisfaction with the outcomes.
“Bisexual men’s experiences are frequently overlooked in research,” the study concluded. It also pointed out that bisexual people face more stigma, marginalisation, and prejudice compared to other sexual minorities.
“As the most recent review of this issue highlights, few studies have investigated the body image differences between bisexual and gay men. Our findings challenge the notion that these two groups share the same concerns about leanness and muscularity.”
