Compassionate Bodies, Compassionate Practice: Navigating Body Image Tensions among Gay Men
Publication: Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
21 July 2021
Abstract
Our purpose in writing this Perspective in Practice is to create awareness about the role of compassion within dietetic practice, particularly the role of compassion for body image tensions. Nine self-identifying gay men were recruited to a photovoice research study that explored their beliefs, values, and practices relating to food and their bodies. Compassion was found as one way to navigate body images tensions. It is not the intent of this article to review all aspects of this research study but to use it as an example to illustrate compassion in dietetics. We suggest that our findings reveal the strength of using compassionate practice within the dietetic profession. In doing so, we call upon dietitians to incorporate compassion into their clinical and client care practices to foster health and healing for all communities, especially among those who struggle with body image tensions.
Résumé
Notre objectif en rédigeant cette perspective pour la pratique est de sensibiliser au rôle de la compassion dans la pratique de la diététique, en particulier en ce qui a trait aux tensions liées à l’image corporelle. Neuf hommes s’identifiant comme homosexuels ont été recrutés pour une étude basée sur la méthode Photovoice qui explorait leurs croyances, valeurs et pratiques relativement à l’alimentation et à leur corps. La compassion s’est avérée être un moyen de gérer les tensions liées à l’image corporelle. L’objectif de cet article n’est pas de passer en revue tous les aspects de cette étude de recherche, mais de l’utiliser à titre d’exemple pour illustrer la compassion en diététique. Nous suggérons que nos conclusions révèlent les forces de la compassion au sein de la profession de diététiste. Ce faisant, nous invitons les diététistes à intégrer la compassion à leur pratique clinique et de soins aux clients afin de favoriser la santé et la guérison dans toutes les communautés, en particulier celles qui vivent des tensions liées à l’image corporelle.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Financial support: This research was funded by The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (GSD-152289): the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award and the Izaak Walton Killam Pre-Doctoral Scholarships.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
References
1
Neff KD. The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self Identity. 2003;2:223–50.
2
Walsh S, Gonzalez F, Joy P, and MacAuley K. “But are we going to deal with the hard questions?”: Waves of Compassion in Halifax Regional Municipality. Paideusis. 2014;21:55–70.
3
Goldberg L, Rosenburg N, and Watson J. Rendering LGBTQ+ visible in nursing: embodying the philosophy of caring science. J Holist Nurs. 2018;36:262–71.
4
Rahimi-Ardabili H, Reynolds R, Vartanian LR, McLeod LV, and Zwar N. A systematic review of the efficacy of interventions that aim to increase self-compassion on nutrition habits, eating behaviours, body weight and body image. Mindfulness. 2018;9:388–400.
5
Rodgers RF, Franko DL, Donovan E, Cousineau T, Yates K, McGowan K, et al. Body image in emerging adults: the protective role of self-compassion. Body Image. 2017;22:148–55.
6
Goss K and Allan S. The development and application of compassion-focused therapy for eating disorders (CFT-E). Br J Clin Psychol. 2014;53:62–77.
7
Carnes N. Gay men and men who have sex with men: intersectionality and syndemics. In: Wright ER, Carnes N, editors. Understanding the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States: the role of syndemics in the production of health disparities. Atlanta, GA: Springer International Publishing; 2016. p. 43–69.
8
Pennel CL, McLeroy KR, Burdine JN, Matarrita-Cascante D, and Wang J. A mixed-methods approach to understanding community participation in community health needs assessments. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2017;23:112–21.
9
Grov C, Ventuneac A, Rendina HJ, Jimenez RH, and Parsons JT. Perceived importance of five different health issues for gay and bisexual men: implications for new directions in health education and prevention. Am J Men’s Health. 2013;7:274–84.
10
Hospers HJ and Jansen A. Why homosexuality is a risk factor for eating disorders in males. J Soc Clin Psychol. 2005;24:1188–201.
11
Slade PD. What is body image? Behav Res Ther. 1994;32:497–502.
12
Jankowski G. Men’s body dissatisfaction: a critical analysis of neoliberal and representational approaches. Ph.D. thesis. Leeds, UK: Leeds Beckett University; 2015.
13
Bordo S. The male body: a new look at men in public and in private. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; 1999.
14
Blashill AJ. Elements of male body image: prediction of depression, eating pathology and social sensitivity among gay men. Body Image. 2010;7:310–6.
15
Neumark-Sztainer D, Wall MM, Larson N, Story M, Fulkerson JA, Eisenberg ME, et al. Secular trends in weight status and weight-related attitudes and behaviors in adolescents from 1999 to 2010. Prev Med. 2012;54:77–81.
16
Kanayama G, Barry S, Hudson JI, and Pope HG Jr. Body image and attitudes toward male roles in anabolic-androgenic steroid users. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163:697–703.
17
Griffiths S, Murray SB, Krug I, and McLean S. The contribution of social media to body dissatisfaction, eating disorder symptoms, and anabolic steroid use among sexual minority men. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2018;21:149–56.
18
Mor Z, Parfionov K, Davidovitch N, and Grotto I. Gym exercising patterns, lifestyle and high-risk sexual behaviour in men who have sex with men and in heterosexual men. BMJ Open. 2014;4:e005205.
19
Brennan DJ, Crath R, Hart TA, Gadalla T, and Gillis L. Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among men who have sex with men in Canada. Int J Men’s Health. 2011;10:253.
20
Brennan DJ, Asakura K, George C, Newman PA, Giwa S, Hart TA, et al. “Never reflected anywhere”: body image among ethnoracialized gay and bisexual men. Body Image. 2013;10:389–98.
21
Kaminski PL, Chapman BP, Haynes SD, and Own L. Body image, eating behaviors, and attitudes toward exercise among gay and straight men. Eat Behav. 2005;6:179–87.
22
Morrison MA, Morrison TG, and Sager CL. Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women?: a meta-analytic review. Body Image. 2004;1:127–38.
23
Olivardia R, Pope HG Jr, Borowiecki JJ III, and Cohane GH. Biceps and body image: the relationship between muscularity and self-esteem, depression, and eating disorder symptoms. Psychol Men Masc. 2004;5:112.
24
Pope H, Phillips KA, Olivardia R. The Adonis complex: the secret crisis of male body obsession. 1st ed. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster; 2000.
25
Siever MD. Sexual orientation and gender as factors in socioculturally acquired vulnerability to body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1994;62:252.
26
Strong SM, Williamson DA, Netemeyer RG, and Geer JH. Eating disorder symptoms and concerns about body differ as a function of gender and sexual orientation. J Soc Clin Psychol. 2000;19:240–55.
27
Beard K, Eames C, and Withers P. The role of self-compassion in the well-being of self-identifying gay men. J Gay Lesbian Ment Health. 2017;21:77–96.
28
Bell K, Rieger E, and Hirsch JK. Corrigendum: eating disorder symptoms and proneness in gay men, lesbian women, and transgender and gender non-conforming adults: comparative levels and a proposed mediational model. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1540.
29
Keng S-L and Liew KWL. Trait mindfulness and self-compassion as moderators of the association between gender nonconformity and psychological health. Mindfulness. 2017;8:615–26.
30
Riggle ED, Whitman JS, Olson A, Rostosky SS, and Strong S. The positive aspects of being a lesbian or gay man. Prof Psychol Res Pr. 2008;39:210–7.
31
Jennings LK and Tan PP. Self-compassion and life satisfaction in gay men. Psychol Rep. 2014;115:888–95.
32
Wang C and Burris MA. Photovoice: concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Educ Behav. 1997;24:369–87.
33
Wang C, Yi WK, Tao ZW, and Carovano K. Photovoice as a participatory health promotion strategy. Health Promot Int. 1998;13:75–86.
34
Wang C and Burris MA. Empowerment through photo novella: portraits of participation. Health Educ Q. 1994;21:171–86.
35
Holtby A, Klein K, Cook K, and Travers R. To be seen or not to be seen: photovoice, queer and trans youth, and the dilemma of representation. Action Res. 2015;13:317–35.
36
Hussey W. Slivers of the journey: the use of photovoice and storytelling to examine female to male transsexuals’ experience of health care access. J Homosex. 2006;51:129–58.
37
Finley S. Arts-based research. In: Knowles JG, Cole AL, editors. Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues. London, UK: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2008. p. 72–82.
38
Gauntlett D and Holzwarth P. Creative and visual methods for exploring identities. Vis Stud. 2006;21:82–91.
39
Aston M. Teaching feminist poststructuralism: founding scholars still relevant today. Creat Educ. 2016;7:2251–67.
40
Cheek J. Postmodern and poststructural approaches to nursing research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.; 1999.
41
Robinson BA. The quantifiable-body discourse: “height-weight proportionality” and gay men’s bodies in cyberspace. Soc Curr. 2016;3:172–85.
42
Wiklund Gustin L and Wagner L. The butterfly effect of caring–clinical nursing teachers’ understanding of self-compassion as a source to compassionate care. Scand J Caring Sci. 2013;27:175–83.
43
Trzeciak S, Roberts BW, and Mazzarelli AJ. Compassionomics: hypothesis and experimental approach. Med Hypotheses. 2017;107:92–7.
44
Wharton S, Lau DC, Vallis M, Sharma AM, Biertho L, Campbell-Scherer D, et al. Obesity in adults: a clinical practice guideline. CMAJ. 2020;192:E875–91.
45
Hussey B. Ask the expert issue #4: answers to your questions from behavioural expert Dr. Michael Vallis. Obesity Canada; 2019 [cited 2020 Sep 5]. Available from: https://obesitycanada.ca/oc-news/ask-the-expert-issue-4-answers-to-your-questions-from-behavioural-expert-dr-michael-vallis/.
46
Rand K, Vallis M, Aston M, Price S, Piccinini-Vallis H, Rehman L, et al. “It is not the diet; it is the mental part we need help with.” A multilevel analysis of psychological, emotional, and social well-being in obesity. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2017;12:1306421.
47
Patel S, Pelletier-Bui A, Smith S, Roberts MB, Kilgannon H, Trzeciak S, et al. Curricula for empathy and compassion training in medical education: a systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2019;14:e0221412.
48
Armstrong K. Twelve steps to a compassionate life. Toronto, ON: Random House; 2011.
49
Curtis E, Jones R, Tipene-Leach D, Walker C, Loring B, Paine SJ, et al. Why cultural safety rather than cultural competency is required to achieve health equity: a literature review and recommended definition. Int J Equity Health. 2019;18(1):174.
Supplementary Material
File (cjdpr-2021-012suppla.docx)
- Download
- 15.28 KB
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
Volume 82 • Number 3 • September 2021
Pages: 115 - 120
Editor: Dawna Royall
History
Version of record online: 21 July 2021
Copyright
© 2021.
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Other Metrics
Citations
Cite As
PhillipJoyPhD, LisaGoldbergPhD, MatthewNumerPhD, SaraKirkPhD, MeganAstonPhD, and LaureneRehmanPhD. 2021. Compassionate Bodies, Compassionate Practice: Navigating Body Image Tensions among Gay Men. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research.
82(3): 115-120. https://doi.org/10.3148/cjdpr-2021-012
Export Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
There are no citations for this item
View Options
Login options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.
Subscribe
Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research
