Body satisfaction among lesbians : a comparison across different sub-categories.

• Main Author: Nui, Priscilla Zhao Qi.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51658
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Most of the studies concerning lesbians and body satisfaction have resided over comparisons between heterosexual women and homosexual women. In addition, these studies are mostly quantitative. In this article, I explore body satisfaction among the different lesbian sub-categories. Namely, they are Butch, Femme and Pure Lesbians. I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 12 lesbians who self-identified with the three sub-categories. This research extends the body of existing literature comparing body satisfaction and lesbians by discerning the detailed differences among the lesbian community, via qualitative methods and data. The findings suggest that there are differences in the degree of body satisfaction amongst the sub-categories; mainly the butches are generally more satisfied with their bigger bodies and heavier weight. However, the different lesbian sub-categories pursue different body ideals that portray hetero-normative body ideals. While the lesbian subculture claims to reject the dominant patriarchal thin ideal, they are often caught in a dilemma of conflicting and contradictory demands between their dominant culture and their lesbian subculture. That is, ultimately, lesbians still inevitably internalized and are stranded within the patriarchal hetero-normative beauty ideals of society.