1. Escaping the Gaze?:
An Examination of Queer
Women’s Body Perceptions
Using Quantitative Social
Science Research
Michelle Marie Johns, MPH
Sara I. McClelland, PhD
José Arturo Bauermeister, MPH, PhD

2. Terminology
• LGBTQ identities and disciplinary differences
• Umbrella terms
• Public Health: Sexual Minority Women
• Women’s Studies: Queer Women

3. Studying Perceptions of the Body
• Body esteem
• “an individual’s self-evaluation of their body or
appearance”
• Multi-dimensional
• Body Appearance
• Body Weight
• Body Attribution
• Related concepts: body image, body
satisfaction
(Mendelson et al., 2001; 2002)

4. Gender and Perceptions of the Body
• Gender socialization
• Objectification & the Thin Ideal
• Femininity Ideology
• Gendered health implications
(Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997; Furnham et al, 2002; Homan, 2010; Hudson et
al., 2007; Kroon van Diest & Perez, 2013; Mendelson et al., 2002; Strelan et al.,
2003; Thome & Espelage, 2004; Tolman & Porche, 1997)

5. Queer Women
and Perceptions of the Body
• Owens et al. (2002): Lesbian-identified
women reported better body image and fewer
signs of disordered eating
• Peplau et al. (2004): Sexual minority women
less preoccupation with being overweight
• Wagenbach (2004): Sexual minority women
reported less concern with physical
appearance

6. WHAT ABOUT THE LIVES/ IDENTITIES
OF QUEER WOMEN CONTRIBUTES TO
THIS ROSY PICTURE OF BODY
PERCEPTIONS?

7. Heteronormativity
(Duggan, 2003; Jackson, 2006; Rich, 1980; Rubin, 1975; Warner, 1991)

8. The Male Gaze
(Mulvey 2003, Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 )

9. HOW TO EXAMINE THESE
RELATIONSHIPS WITH QUANTITATIVE
SURVEY DATA?

10. Michigan Smoking
and Sexuality Study (M-SASS)
• 232 participants
• Eligibility Criteria
•
•
•
•
Michigan Resident
Age 18-24
Sex/ Gender: Cis- or woman born woman
Not exclusively heterosexual identified/ behaving
• Sexual identity: Any non-heterosexual identity
OR
• Sexual behavior: had a sexual experience w/ a woman in
the past year

15. AVENUES FOR ANALYSIS

16. LGBTQ Community
• Asked women about degree of affiliation to
LGBT Community
• Why important?
• Point of resistance to heterosexism
• Site to gain exposure to / freedom to express nonhegemonic gender norms
• Escape male gaze (?)

17. Gender Role/ Identification
• Asked women to rate their sense of
themselves as masculine or feminine
• Why important?
• Negative perceptions of body bound up in
hegemonic femininity
• Identifying with masculinity protective (?)

18. SNAPSHOT OF RESULTS

19. Comfort with Body Weight
LGBTQ Community, Gender Role,
and Perceptions of Body Weight

20. LGBTQ Community, Gender Role,
and Perceptions of Body
Appearance

21. Implications
• Heteronormativity & Male Gaze
• LGBTQ Community connection protective
• But not equally across gender role/ identity
• Why?
• Guarded from objectification (?)
• Affirmation of non-hegemonic gender roles/
identities (?)
• Exploration of non-hegemonic gender roles/
identities (?)

22. Acknowledgements
• Dr. Sara McClelland and the PROGRESSLab
• Dr. José Bauermeister and the Center for
Sexuality and Health Disparities (SexLab)

23. QUESTIONS
EMAIL: JOHNSMM@UMICH.EDU

24. Gender Role/ Identification
• Single Item, ““On a scale from 1 to 9, where 1 is
extremely feminine and 9 is extremely masculine,
how would you describe yourself at this point in
your life?”
• x̄ = 4.22, sd = 1.66

25. Community Connection Question
• Single Item, “How much do you see yourself
personally as being part of the local LGBTQ
community?”
• Response options: Not at all (0) to A lot (3)
• x̄ = 1.15, sd = 0.99

26. Body Esteem (1)
Factor Loading
Mean (SD)
2.81 (1.12)
Comfort with Body Weight (α = .93)
I really like what I weigh.
.853
2.57 (1.28)
I am satisfied with my weight.
.842
2.66 (1.22)
.811
2.65 (1.32)
My weight makes me unhappy.*
-.757
2.91 (1.31)
Weighing myself depresses me.*
-.749
3.11 (1.44)
-.633
2.95 (1.22)
I feel I weight the right amount for my
height.
I am preoccupied with trying to
change my body weight.*
(Mendelson et al., 1997; 2001; 2002)

27. Body Esteem (2)
Factor Loading
Mean (SD)
3.10 (0.99)
Body Attribution (α = .82)
People my own age like my looks.
.836
3.29 (0.96)
Other people consider me good looking.
.726
3.36 (0.92)
My looks help me to get dates.
.683
2.81 (1.18)
I like what I look like in pictures.
.555
2.91 (0.96)
(Mendelson et al., 1997; 2001; 2002)

28. Body Esteem (3)
Factor Loading
Mean (SD)
2.73 (0.99)
Body Shame (α = .78)
I wish I could look like someone else.
.738
2.44 (1.22)
I feel ashamed of how I look.
.617
2.59 (1.22)
I worry about the way I look.
.566
3.16 (1.11)
(Mendelson et al., 1997; 2001; 2002)