Deviations from the prototype: Associations between women’s subjective weight and perceived sexual orientation
Silvia, Jr., William
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125519
Description
Title
Deviations from the prototype: Associations between women’s subjective weight and perceived sexual orientation
Author(s)
Silvia, Jr., William
Issue Date
2024-06-18
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Rios, Kimberly M
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
Stereotypes
Fat Studies
Sexual Orientation
Femininity
Masculinity
Language
eng
Abstract
Western norms of femininity prescribe that women should be thin; however, lesbian women are stereotyped as distinct from feminine norms and more aligned with norms of masculinity. Shared stereotypes may cause women who are fat to be perceived as more likely to be lesbians. In three studies, I found support for this hypothesized relationship. In Study 1, 199 undergraduates demonstrated an implicit association between images of larger/smaller women and words associated with stereotypes of lesbian/straight women. In Study 2, I analyzed Chicago Face Database (CFD) data (N = 20-131 raters per stimulus) using previously identified correlations to find support for a correlation between subjective weight and perceived gender roles for both female and male stimuli. In Study 3, 111 undergraduates rated 90 female and male CFD faces. Female faces of higher subjective weight were rated as more likely to be lesbian or bisexual than female faces of lower subjective weight. Overall, these findings suggest that white US perceivers judge higher-weight female targets to be more masculine and therefore more likely to be lesbian or bisexual relative to lower-weight female targets. Future research should consider expanding this methodology to studies of men or studies using diverse populations.
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