Half of gay men “would die a year early” for the perfect body

Nine in ten gay men admit they enforce “unrealistic” images of lean and muscular men in conversation.

In comparison, only a third of straight men said they would give a year or more for an ideal body shape, and 77% admitted buying into the body image ideal.

The research was part of a study commissioned by Central YMCA, the Succeed Foundation and the Centre for Appearance Research at UWE Bristol into how men talk about their bodies.

Gay respondents were consistently more affected by body concerns and more likely to make body comparisons than straight men.

They were also significantly more likely to use what the study authors called “body talk”: speech that implicitly or explicitly reinforces or endorses the traditional western standard of male attractiveness: tall, lean, muscular, toned body with clear skin and a full head of hair.  Read More