Unpacking Body Image Concerns and Disordered Eating for Transgender Women: The Roles of Sexual Objectification and Minority Stress

• Published in: Journal of counseling psychology 2019-03, Vol.66 (2), p.131-142
• Main Authors: Brewster, Melanie E., Velez, Brandon L., Breslow, Aaron S., Geiger, Elizabeth F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Body Image; Body Image - psychology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Defense Mechanisms; Dehumanization; Discontent; Discrimination; Dissatisfaction; Eating Disorders; Feeding and Eating Disorders - epidemiology; Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology; Female; Gender Identity; Human; Humans; Internalization; Middle Aged; Minority Groups; Objectification; Objectification theory; Physical attractiveness; Self Concept; Self image; Sex Discrimination; Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology; Sexual Behavior - psychology; Sociocultural factors; Stress; Stress, Psychological - epidemiology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Surveillance; Test Construction; Transgender persons; Transgender Persons - psychology; Women; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0022-0167; 1939-2168
• DOI: 10.1037/cou0000333

Synthesizing both objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) and minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003), the present study used a pantheoretical model of dehumanization (Moradi, 2013) to examine body image concerns and disordered eating symptomatology with 205 transgender women from the United States. Objectification theory constructs (i.e., sexual objectification, internalization of sociocultural standards of attractiveness, body surveillance, body dissatisfaction) and minority stress-related variables (i.e., antitransgender discrimination) were examined as direct and indirect predictors of disordered eating. Results of a latent variable SEM (with a higher-order dehumanization factor comprised of sexual objectification and discrimination) generally provided support for our hypothesized direct and indirect relations. As expected, dehumanization was related directly to internalization and disordered eating and had significant indirect links to body surveillance, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating via internalization. Potential implications of a pantheoretical model for future research with transgender women are discussed. Public Significance Statement Transgender women experience gender-based oppression that can take the form of sexual objectification and/or discrimination. These negative experiences may contribute to poorer mental health outcomes (i.e., body dissatisfaction) and physical health outcomes (i.e., disordered eating).