BODY-IMAGE AND SOCIOCULTURAL NORMS - A COMPARISON OF HETEROSEXUAL ANDLESBIAN WOMEN

Internalization of sociocultural norms about the body has been theoriz ed to be an important factor in fostering body dissatisfaction in wome n. Some theorists have suggested that a lesbian identity may buffer or immunize lesbians from the damaging effects of society's pressure to be thin by reducing this internalization. This study was designed to t est this claim empirically. Questionnaires were completed by 108 lesbi ans and 115 heterosexual women recruited through snowball sampling. Le sbians felt more fit, reported less negative attitudes toward their lo wer bodies, and internalized sociocultural norms less than heterosexua l women. For all women, internalization of sociocultural norms signifi cantly predicted body attitudes. Lesbians and heterosexual women appea r to be similarly exposed to and aware of society's messages, and as s uch their body attitudes substantially overlap. However, lesbians are buffered from these views in some specific areas. These differences ap pear to be primarily the result of differential internalization of soc iocultural norms.