Body satisfaction of lesbian and bisexual Brazilian women: Indicators of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism, and identity processes

Abstract

This article examined the association between body satisfaction and sexual identification among lesbian and bisexual women, since these factors help to understand the cultural background of the objectification of female bodies in Latin cultures. Women who identify as lesbian (N = 239) and bisexual (N = 60) completed demographic data and measures of self-esteem, physical appearance perfectionism, lesbian and bisexual identity difficulties, and body satisfaction. We performed a three-stage hierarchical multiple regression to explore how variables relate to body satisfaction. The results suggest that self-esteem plays a key role, explaining 20.4% of the variance in body satisfaction. We discussed the psychosocial and cultural aspects involved in the relationship between the variables, and social and aesthetic pressures on women’s bodies. This study contributes to discussions on psychosocial aspects associated with body satisfaction among Brazilian lesbian and bisexual women.

Keywords:

• Body satisfaction
• self-esteem
• physical appearance perfectionism
• identity processes
• lesbian and bisexual women
• Brazil

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes

1 Minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration employers may legally pay to workers. The National minimum wage in Brazil is equivalent to US$253.55 per month. In this study, 2 to 5 minimum wages means that, in this sample, most participants received between 507.10 to 1,267.75 US$dollars per month for their work

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Ana Karina Robinson

Ana Karina Robinson is a psychologist from the Integrated School of Taquara (FACCAT) and has a master’s degree in psychology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is member of the Center for Psychosocial Studies and Interventions for Diversity (NEPsiD), working in the field of body image, gender/sex intersections, and related psychosocial aspects.

Damião Soares de Almeida-Segundo

Damião Soares de Almeida-Segundo is a PhD student in psychology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and has a master’s degree in psychology from the Federal University of Ceará (UFC). He has experience in the interface of psychology and law and has conducted research in social psychology, mainly on the themes of prejudice, discrimination and social psychology of judgment. In recent years his published articles have focused on the relationship of political psychology with sexual and gender diversity, race, and socioeconomic class.

Adolfo Pizzinato

Adolfo Pizzinato is a professor at the Institute of Psychology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Graduate Program in Psychology at the same university. He coordinates the Center for Psychosocial Studies and Interventions for Diversity (NEPsiD), working in the field of community, sex/gender and ethnic-racial relations, especially with migration and identification processes.