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 Copy

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

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.

Graduation Semester

2024-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125519

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 William Silvia, Jr.

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