Intraminority Body Stigma and Body Dissatisfaction Clarify the Prospective Link Between LGBTQ+ Community Involvement and Thinness-Oriented Disordered Eating in Sexual Minoritized Men

Objectives: LGBTQ+ community involvement is typically considered protective for sexual minoritized men (SMM). However, LGBTQ+ community involvement may expose SMM to body-image specific pressures (i.e., intraminority body stigma) that may reinforce idealized body ideals and disordered eating in SMM. We examined intraminority body stigma and body dissatisfaction as mediators of the longitudinal association between LGBTQ+ community involvement and disordered eating in SMM. Methods: Two-hundred and twenty-five cisgender SMM between (18 and 30 years) were recruited via Prolific. Participants completed surveys at baseline and 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Prospective serial mediation models examined 3-month intraminority body stigma and body dissatisfaction as mechanisms of the links between baseline LGBTQ+ community involvement and six-month disordered eating. Results: Greater baseline LGBTQ+ community involvement predicted increased three-month intraminority body stigma, which was associated with greater 3-month thinness-oriented body dissatisfaction, which, in turn, predicted increased 6-month thinness-oriented disordered eating. Simple significant mediation pathways indicated that greater baseline LGBTQ+ community involvement predicted increased three-month intraminority body stigma, which, in turn, predicted increased 6-month thinness-oriented disordered eating in SMM. Prospective models did not describe significant mediation pathways in relation to muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Thinness and muscularity models suggested that, after accounting for covariates and serial mediators, baseline LGBTQ+ community involvement predicted less disordered eating six months later. Discussion: Intraminority body stigma may be a key mechanism clarifying the link between LGBTQ+ community involvement and thinness-oriented disordered eating in SMM. Future research should further contextualize body image and eating concerns among LGBTQ+ individuals in the service of reducing eating disorder disparities affecting this community.