The influence of race, ethnicity, class, and sexual politics on lesbians' body image

Based on interviews conducted with eight lesbians, this paper explores how the intersection of gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, and class aff ect lesbians' feelings about their bodies. Their responses suggest that, wh ile being female has a strong effect on lesbians' feelings about their bodi es, issues of race, acculturation, and class also affect body image. Lesbia n feminism and S/M politics also appear to play a significant role in lesbi ans' body image. These findings highlight the limitations of existing theor ies about body image and call for a more complex theory incorporating a mor e diverse range of experiences.