Lesbians, Levis, and Lipstick by Joanie Erickson Jeanine Cogan

Author:Joanie Erickson, Jeanine Cogan [Joanie Erickson, Jeanine Cogan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781560231219
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 1999-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

Dancing

94

55%

4–5 hrs

Hiking/Camping

69

40%

4–5 hrs

Weight Lifting

67

39%

4–5 hrs

Biking

66

37%

4–5 hrs

Swimming

55

32%

2–3 hrs

Running

42

25%

2–3 hrs

Other

34

20%

6–10 hrs

Aerobics

29

17%

2–3 hrs

Basketball

19

11%

2–3 hrs

Softball

18

11%

4–5 hrs

Tennis/Racquetball

17

10%

2–3 hrs

Roller Blading

17

10%

2–3 hrs

Martial Arts

12

7%

4–5 hrs

Volleyball

9

5%

2–3 hrs

Note: Of those who specified what kind of Other activity they engaged in (n = 31) the most common response was sex (29%), followed by indoor exercise such as the Stairmaster or treadmill (19%) and golf (9%).

On average lesbian and bisexual women in the sample engaged in four different activities in the past month. Contrary to the “all lesbians are softball players” stereotype, only 10% of the women in this sample played softball. Other activities such as walking, dancing, hiking and weight lifting were more popular among women in this sample. Walking was rated as the most frequent activity women engaged in (96%) and volleyball as the least frequent activity (5%).

How Do Lesbians Feel About Their Bodies? The Influence of Thinness Expectations

A recurring question authors in this volume address is whether lesbians internalize and pursue dominant culture’s thinness ideal (see Heffernan, this volume). The answer, though research is not conclusive, has basically been yes; to some extent, lesbians yearn for the Barbie image which manifests itself in similar rates of body dissatisfaction as heterosexual women. To make sense of the complex and at times contradicting findings it may be useful to distinguish the extreme forms of body dissatisfaction (eating disorder symptoms) from what has been called normative female discontent (e.g., feeling too fat). Body image was assessed accordingly among the women in this sample.

Weight, Ideal Weight and Dieting Behavior. Through weight and height data the Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. BMI is the most reliable and valid measure of weight, which accounts for height and is calculated by dividing weight by height squared. Additionally, individuals were asked what their ideal weight was, allowing for the calculation of the weight discrepancy score which was the difference between their current and ideal weights. A last question asked whether individuals were currently on a diet to lose weight.

Are Lesbians Satisfied with Their Weight? No, on average women wanted to be thinner than their current weight, with the mean weight of 167.9 lbs. (SD = 42.8; BMI: M = 24.5, SD = 6.2) which differed significantly from the mean ideal weight of 136.6 lbs. [t(166) = 10.6, p = .00]. The mean discrepancy score between real and ideal weight was 30.9 lbs. (SD = 39 lbs.), indicating that on average women wanted to weigh 31 lbs. less than their current weight. Only ten percent of women indicated no difference between their real and ideal weights, suggesting they were satisfied with their current weight. Of the 90% of women who were dissatisfied with their current weight 86% wanted to weigh less than their current weight and four percent (N = 7) wanted to weigh more.

Variables associated with greater dissatisfaction with current weight were age and BMI, with older and heavier women having higher weight discrepancy scores. Analyses revealed significant positive correlations between the weight discrepancy score and age (r = .17, p = .03) and BMI (r = .

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