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

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.

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.