Another Hatchet Job!

This time it is from USA Today and it is about body image. Do gays hate their bodies? What about lesbians and trans people, do we hate our bodies?

Okay by now you should be able to recognize whether an article is biased.

'We're all overcompensating': Why so many LGBTQ community members struggle with body dysmorphia

USA Today

By David Oliver

June 1, 2023

His torso wasn't flat enough. Her stomach, arm and thighs looked too big. The number on the scale still haunts him.

[...]

For many members of the LGBTQ community, concerns about body image range from general dissatisfaction to body dysmorphia to eating disorders on top of added stressors associated with queerness. Each story is different – many queer men strive for abs, queer women for thinness – but paints a cautionary tale about the dangers of comparison. The queer community today faces unique societal pressure to look a certain way thanks to the ongoing influence of social media in the microcosm of LGBTQ spaces, both online and in real life.

Okay keep this in mind “For many members of the LGBTQ community.”

These feelings are universal among queer men, to varying degrees. "A lot of people think that the ideal body type is definitely either the muscular guy with the 'V' shape, or your skinny twink kind of vibe," says Jarrod D. King, 36, who hosts a gay culture podcast.

Sources? Just because a podcaster said it doesn’t make it true, I want to know where he is getting his data.

The body issues some in the LGBTQ community face can be exacerbated by not finding the right care when they reach out for help.

[…]

Melvin Williams, associate professor of communication and media studies at Pace University, explains, "LGBTQ+ people of color face heightened discrimination and mockery – even among fellow LGBTQ+ members – when they do not meet established body image and fashion standards online and in social settings."

Notice how the article is mainly all anecdotal accounts by individuals and there is only one study mentioned and there is no counter exams of the straight population.

Most Americans admit they’re not comfortable in their own skin

New York Post

By Allison Sadlier, SWNS

February 18, 2020

A survey of 2,000 Americans examined the emotions and attributes that make people feel self-conscious about their appearance — and revealed 59 percent aren’t comfortable in their skin.

The survey uncovered that what ultimately killed respondents’ confidence included overall body image (68 percent) and skin issues (67 percent) — as well as ill-fitting clothes (64 percent) and social media (58 percent).

Stop right there! “...revealed 59 percent aren’t comfortable in their skin.” wait a minute! Almost s two thirds of straight people have body images problems? That is just about the same as LGBTQ+ people! What’s crisis?

In an article in Do Something they write,

Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media.

[…]

In a survey, more than 40% of women and about 20% of men agreed they would consider cosmetic surgery in the future. The statistics remain relatively constant across gender, age, marital status, and race.

This throws the USA Today article in a who different light. It is sounding more and more like there is no problem with body image in the LGBTQ+ community.

Then on ABC’s Good Morning America,

Gay men push back on body shaming amid high rates of body dysmorphia, eating disorders

By the numbers: A look at same-sex households, LGBTQ+ Americans and more

By Dominick Proto

June 15, 2022

A growing number of gay men are publicly pushing back against what they say is bullying within the gay community over how they look, and in many cases using social media to do so.

[…]

Coffie said he feels gay culture in the United States has an "unwritten" and "unspoken" Adonis complex. The term refers to the anxiety and insecurity boys and men experience about their appearance and body image, according to " The Adonis Complex," a book published in 2000 that gave the condition its name.

"People internalize, 'I have to create this body image. I have to live up to this. I have to fight for this. I have to strive for this. I have to starve for this. I have to almost die for this in order for me to have my moment of worth here,'" said Coffie.

I think that there is just a grain of truth in this, I think the LGBTQ+ community is just like everyone else. We are subject to the social media pressures.

I went to Google Bard and asked, “What percentage of the population of the us have body image problems?”

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), approximately 30 million Americans have an eating disorder, and more than 90 million people suffer from body image issues. This means that about 1 in 5 Americans have a body image problem.

Body image problems can be caused by a number of factors, including:

Media exposure: The media often portrays unrealistic body standards, which can lead to people feeling dissatisfied with their own bodies.

Family and friends: Comments from family and friends about weight or appearance can also contribute to body image problems.

Personal experiences: Negative experiences, such as bullying or trauma, can also lead to body image problems.

“...bullying or trauma...”

There is no discussion about the causes in the USA Today article, do you think that all the anti-LGBTQ+ laws might have anything do with negative body image?

The Mental Health Foundation of the UK in an article in “Body image, sexual orientation and gender identity” wrote…

The stigma, prejudice and discrimination that LGBT people face often lead to higher stress levels. This ‘minority stress’, which encompasses experiences of discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and more internalised feelings like shame, may contribute to the mental health problems reported within the LGBT community

The USA Today article by just covering us created food for the conservatives, “See their crazy about body image.”

The Yahoo article where I originally found the article had comments like this…

• I would assume that people who are in a group with a 40% suicide rate are not really happy about much.
• Now that's a shocker, the LGBTQIA crowd has a hard time accepting themselves as they are.....who could have seen this coming?
• Well, yes, it's long been known in medical journals and peer reviewed papers that gender dysphoria creates all those issues and more.   It is considered a mental disorder.
• You really have to ask why? These people are not right in the head. Major short between the ears.

That is what you get when only one community gets singled out and not the whole story is told.

I give the USA Today article five hatches.