ABSTRACT

The assumptions people make from body shape can have serious implications for the well-being of the individuals inhabiting such bodies. Fat people are subject to pervasive and resilient social stigma and discrimination, leading to negative mental and physical health outcomes, including negative sexuality-related outcomes. Though previous studies have examined the personality traits attributed to, or the sexual attractiveness of, varying body shapes, no research has asked participants to make attributions of sexual traits to varying body shapes. The purpose of this study was thus to examine sexuality-related trait inferences made from body shapes. Participants (N = 891, 70% women, M_age = 25.28) were randomly assigned to view 5 computer-generated 3-dimensional body models of varying shapes developed using the skinned multi-person linear model. Participants rated their sexual attraction to each body and the degree to which each of 30 traits (10 personality and 20 sexual) applied. Results demonstrated that larger bodies are generally viewed as less sexually attractive. Further, constellations of sexuality traits were predicted reliably by body shape, demonstrating that people hold sexual stereotypes about a diverse range of body shapes. This study provides an initial comprehensive demonstration of the sexuality-specific traits associated with varying body shapes.

摘要

人们对身体形状做出的假设可能会对居住在这些身体中的个体的福祉产生严重影响。胖人普遍受到社会污名和歧视，导致负面的心理和身体健康结果，包括与性相关的负面结果。尽管以前的研究已经检查了归因于不同体型的人格特征或性吸引力，但没有研究要求参与者将性特征归因于不同的体型。因此，本研究的目的是检查从身体形状得出的与性相关的特征推断。参与者（N = 891，70% 女性，M_年龄 = 25.28) 被随机分配以查看 5 个计算机生成的不同形状的 3 维身体模型，这些模型是使用蒙皮多人线性模型开发的。参与者评估了他们对每个身体的性吸引力以及 30 种特征（10 种性格和 20 种性）中每一种的适用程度。结果表明，较大的身体通常被视为性吸引力较低。此外，性特征的星座可以通过体型可靠地预测，这表明人们对各种体型持有性别刻板印象。这项研究初步全面展示了与不同体型相关的性特征。