I recently came across this article in Australian news source, The Daily Telegraph; Lesbians twice as likely to be obese. The nearly-6000 participant Boston University School of Public Health study concludes that "Lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual women to be overweight or obese," officially concluding 2.69x, and 2.47x, respectively. Furthermore, "findings indicate that lesbian sexual identity is linked to a greater prevalence of overweight and obesity" and "results... indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women" (italics mine). Researchers further ruled out the possibility that lesbians may just be more muscular and are confident in asserting that the differences are due to adiposity.
Hmmm... Interesting study, to say the least. However, I feel that it is highly flawed, for a number of reasons. First, I don't think it's fair to claim that lesbians have better body images than heterosexual women. This seems to fly in the face of everything I know and have experienced. I'm not a lesbian but, in my experience, I've not only found other women to be far harsher critics of female bodies than men, but also that women tend to appreciate a thinner look. Case in point: I'm walking with a male friend and I see a girl that looks to be about a size 2. My first thought/utterance? "Wow. I wish I could be that slim." His? "She's too skinny. She has no boobs/curves, etc." Seriously, I've had that conversation more times than I can count. So, based on personal experience, I would think that the study would have found just the opposite - That lesbians tend to have a higher prevalence of eating disorders, because they are trying to impress other women, and women presumably know what women want.
Second, and I'm well aware that I'm stereotyping here, but most lesbian couples I've met and seen have a clear "hotter one." Look at Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi. Ellen's by no means ugly or fat (and I love her show to death), but Portia is clearly the hot female of that lesbian relationship. I'm not sure why this seems to be the phenomenon, but it does. Perhaps the 6000-person study somehow only tested the "less hot" lesbians who tend to be a little bit bigger.
Third, this goes back to the ol' nature v. nurture argument re: sexual identity... but perhaps these women were striking out with men (even if men want a bigger girl than many women presume, a line has to be drawn somewhere) so they are just "trying out" the whole lesbian thing at the time of the study. I'm just saying... I know quite a few fat hetero girls that are having trouble in the male department. Maybe they should try the whole bi/les thing out.
Heh.
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2 comments:
Usually when I stumble across the blogs of complete idiots, I just ignore them. There are millions of people willing to give voice to incredibly ridiculous opinions and answering them all would be impossible. Don’t take this personally, but I find your particular brand of idiocy too pernicious to ignore. As I read through your post I hoped rather than believed that you were making an attempt at satire. I’m also not compelled by the conclusion that lesbians have healthier body images, but I did not read the original study. However, I don’t have to agree with the BU research team in order to disagree with literally everything else you have to say.
You say: “I'm not a lesbian but, in my experience, I've not only found other women to be far harsher critics of female bodies than men, but also that women tend to appreciate a thinner look.”
My first thought is that all lesbians the world over should thank god that you aren’t one. I mean, I guess that’s good for you, too. It seems a majority of lesbians would be too thick to suit your derangement. Ehrm, I mean, your preferred aesthetic. You’re argument is really that lesbians should be thin because straight women admire thin women? I don’t know, SarahSays, but isn’t it possible the lesbian mind-frame could produce an entire set of preferences that are different from those of straight women? That being a lesbian ultimately is the sum of the differences between them and straight women?
Then you suggest: “Perhaps the 6000-person study somehow only tested the "less hot" lesbians who tend to be a little bit bigger.”
I mean, Ellen might not be “the hot one,” but she’s not overweight or obese. Do you honestly believe that the random sample they collected was just misrepresentative? They surveyed the weight of 6,000 lesbian women! Some were obese and some were not. Like I’m sure you could find 6,000 lesbian women who could lend evidence to your theory that women who like women must also hate food, but something tells me the American Journal of Public Health might take a pass on publishing it.
This part’s my favorite: “but perhaps these women were striking out with men (even if men want a bigger girl than many women presume, a line has to be drawn somewhere) so they are just "trying out" the whole lesbian thing at the time of the study.”
I like this part because it’s where you finally roam off the beaches of stupidity and into the oceanic abyss of insult and offense. You’re right. These women must not have been committed lesbians. They must have been straight fat people who were faking it! Or fat women who are now lesbians because they were struggling to get laid! In fact, if you want to make your lesbian daughter straight, just point her in the direction of the nearest salons and weight-loss centers! For someone who couldn’t believe that the study’s findings in the first place, you’re pretty quick to locate the problem.
Even your ridiculous oppositions and observations manage to contradict each other. You’re only redeeming quality is your appreciation of Ellen.
You’re argument is really that lesbians should be thin because straight women admire thin women? I don’t know, SarahSays, but isn’t it possible the lesbian mind-frame could produce an entire set of preferences that are different from those of straight women?
Nobody likes fat people.
Nobody.
It's science.
That being a lesbian ultimately is the sum of the differences between them and straight women?
I think being a lesbian is ultimately the sum of wanting to have sex with women. Which is, when it occurs between two thin, attractive people a beautiful thing. But when it happens between fatties, lawdie is that gross.
I like this part because it’s where you finally roam off the beaches of stupidity and into the oceanic abyss of insult and offense.
And into the archipelago of ignorance, and then by the fjord of hatred. But finally ending the tour at the isle of bad metaphor.
Or fat women who are now lesbians because they were struggling to get laid! In fact, if you want to make your lesbian daughter straight, just point her in the direction of the nearest salons and weight-loss centers!
Um, if you have a fat daughter, I think disowning her is actually much quicker. Then you can adopt one of those sleek underfed Vietnamese babies. They understand the value of one meal a day.
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