Why Some Fat Lesbians May Find it Hard to Lose Weight

rubylee

rubylee

New member
Any fat lesbians here?

I'm just curious if any lesbians have
a hard time losing weight because
there's a recent that finds a
link between childhood sexual abuse
and obesity in lesbians.

The study finds that lesbians who
were sexually abused when they were
a child are at high risk in developing
obesity. Also, these group of lesbians
may find it hard to lose weight.

I'm a closet lesbian who was sexually
abused when I was a child, but I prefer
to believe that my weight gain was
because of my big appetite. :D

It's hard to conceive how being a
sexually-abused lesbian can contribute
to weight gain. Perhaps there're other
confounding factors.

What do you guys think?
 
It's hard to conceive how being a
sexually-abused lesbian can contribute
to weight gain. Perhaps there're other
confounding factors.
Click to expand...

I don't think that the sexual preference of the person really has anything to do with it.

Childhood sexual abuse can really screw with a person's head if it's not dealt with - Drug abuse, Alcohol abuse, self-abuse food abuse - all are possible results of sexual abuse...
 
I'm not sure how being a lesbian would be a part of the equation either...but definitely the other part. Eating to bury emotions, memories, to hide...
 
Yes, and research has shown that, at a subconscious level, sexually abused people (regardless of sexual orientation) put on weight to prevent from looking attractive or sexual in any way. This doesn't mean every single person who's been sexually abused does this. Just a correlation. And it's understandable. It's a huge violation. But I have never heard of a correlation between orientation and weight gain.
I also agree a person can remain a closet lesbian in real life, if they anonymously tell people on a message board their orientation.
 
Personally, I can't see that being a lesbian has anything to do with it, but I can see the relationship between sexual abuse (or any other kind of abuse for that matter) and problems with weight.

My partner was emotionally and physically (not sexually) abused as a child, and she has suffered from both anorexia and bulimia, and has also self harmed. Obviously, she is a lesbian, but I don't think the eating disorders and the self harm would have been any different if she had been straight.
 
i have someone very close to me (male) who was badly sexually abused as a child. they have serious problems today as a result. anxiety,obsessional compulsive disorder and terrible food phobias. wont eat out, unless its somewhere they know:are paranoid that there foods been tampered with etc. also have a female straight friend who was s/ abused as a child. she has terrible issues with food and body image. goes from starving to binging regularly. slim
 
I agree with many of the above posters, sexual orientation has little to do with it, and given that the research was created to study the effects of childhood sexual abuse and obesity in Lesbians, they probably already knew what they would find, just not to what extent. Why though, are they singling out Lesbians? It would seem to me that eating disorders and negative body image would occur with any person male or female that had been sexually abused.

I fit into the sexually abused category, and from the time the abuse started until it stopped, I gained 50+ lbs, and I am not a Lesbian. I remember hoping that being fat would make it stop, but it didn't. I tried to hide beneath the fat, but I couldn't. IMO there are way too many variables that should be taken into consideration. Perhaps someone should also put some effort into the person who committed the abuse, did the abused tell and anyone, how long did the abuse occur, was it a household member or someone else. Let's not focus only on the stigmatized body weight.

I was lucky, I got out, I was able to move on and deal with what happened to me in some ways, but it negatively affected me in other ways. Others are not so lucky and cannot deal with or face what happened to them.
 
Why does this study only target lesbians? Heterosexual females are also molested. Moreover, not all lesbians have been molested.

So, it would make more sense if the study focused on all women who were molested because sexual orientation initself is not a factor in weight gain.
 
Interesting, but I agree with other posters, I don't think sexual orientation has much to do with it. They may have chosen to study only lesbians, but I would guess if the study were open to all orientations, they'd find the same occurrence in the general population regardless of orientation. I think there might also be a motive behind some studies to try to link homosexuality (in women or in men) to being sexually abused because they just can't seem to accept that homosexuality occurs naturally.
 
Some people are so f@$#en stupid. Internet does not count as comming out. Every single day everyone walks past heaps of homosexuals and due to there desire to keep it to them selves or because they dont typically scream 'GAY' you will never know. Grow up.
 
I dont know whether the study referred only to the so-called "closet" lesbians, or just lesbians in general, but because homosexuality is still not quite socially accepted in most cultures, there is most likely still some amount of emotional difficulty (similar to that of the sexual abuse) experienced by most gay people. In the case of closet homosexuals (what exactly is the PC term for closet?) this effect is most likely magnified, since they have still not come to terms with the idea of even their closest loved ones knowing their orientation.

i think what the study is trying to say is, combine a traumatizing childhood past with a currently socially deviant* lifestyle, and the resulting emotional impacts are going to make it difficult for most of these people to focus on weight loss.




*note that deviant is an academic term in this case, not an opinion or judgement of my own
 
Personally I think this study is messed up. Sexual abuse MAY lead to some lasting mental issues that result in a person consciously or subconsciously eating to intentionally become less desirable but that has absolutely nothing to do with orientation and is solely based on childhood trauma. I think people will use this as a cop out so they can once again cling to whatever makes them "feel" more secure with who they actually are.
 
People are so terribly complex. I hate the way some scientists try to group people that way. There are so many different factors that contribute to weight gain for anyone and there are lots of detrimental effects from being abused and everyone responds differently! As for being homosexual there is a level of social nonconformity that makes a lot of other people nervous if not down right hostile and that has to be a stresser. However all that doesn't mean if your an abused, homosexual that you will have a weight problem. sigh as long as we can fit everyone in a nice neat labeled box right*rolls eyes*
 
no matter what if you are gay or not, if you've been sexually abused, you may have weight, behavior issues or other different types of issues. Simple and to the point!
 
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