BODY DISSATISFACTION AMONG LESBIAN COLLEGE-STUDENTS - THE CONFLICT OFSTRADDLING MAINSTREAM AND LESBIAN CULTURES

Research examining body dissatisfaction among lesbians has attempted t o compare lesbians' and heterosexual women's attitudes toward their bo dies. Studies have yielded mixed results, some indicating that lesbian s, compared to heterosexual women, are more satisfied with their bodie s, and some indicating that the two groups of women are equally dissat isfied. in an attempt to more closely explore lesbians' attitudes towa rd their bodies, we conducted interviews with 26 lesbian college stude nts and inquired into how the following areas might be related to body -image concerns: (a) lesbian beauty ideals, (b) the sources through wh ich lesbian beauty ideals are conveyed, (c) lesbian conflict about bea uty, (d) negative stereotypes about lesbians' appearance, and (e) lesb ian concerns about feminine identity. Results indicated that young adu lt lesbians embrace a beauty ideal that encompasses both thinness and fitness. Whereas mainstream sources, such as women's magazines and pee r pressure seem to influence lesbian college students to value a thinn er body ideal, sexual relationships with women encouraged acceptance o f one's body. Conflict between mainstream and lesbian values about the importance of weight and overall appearance was repeatedly voiced by the respondents. The complexity of lesbians' feelings about their bodi es is discussed, and future directions for research are suggested.