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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Review article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Review article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Body image research among sexual minority men in the Mekong region
T2 - A scoping review
AU - An, Ly T
AU - Waling, Andrea
AU - Bourne, Adam
PY - 2025/3/31
Y1 - 2025/3/31
N2 - Body image among sexual minority men (SMM) has received increasing attention. However, the current literature has primarily focused on white SMM and body image and physical appearance concerns among SMM. In response to a call for more nuance in understanding how SMM perceive and make sense of their body image in a broader sociocultural context, we conducted a scoping review to examine the extent and nature of body image research among SMM in the Mekong region. We searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycInfo-1806 (Ovid), ProQuest Central, Social Science Premium Collection, and Web of Science and identified 25 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the findings suggest that body image research in the Mekong region is limited in the range of topics, study populations, and methods, with quantitative studies on preferences for masculine physical traits among young and well-educated Chinese SMM dominating. Furthermore, the current literature is primarily influenced by Western scholarship, which predominantly uses Western measurement and theories. We encourage scholars from other countries in the region, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, to engage sociocultural approaches in research on the body image of SMM.
AB - Body image among sexual minority men (SMM) has received increasing attention. However, the current literature has primarily focused on white SMM and body image and physical appearance concerns among SMM. In response to a call for more nuance in understanding how SMM perceive and make sense of their body image in a broader sociocultural context, we conducted a scoping review to examine the extent and nature of body image research among SMM in the Mekong region. We searched CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycInfo-1806 (Ovid), ProQuest Central, Social Science Premium Collection, and Web of Science and identified 25 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the findings suggest that body image research in the Mekong region is limited in the range of topics, study populations, and methods, with quantitative studies on preferences for masculine physical traits among young and well-educated Chinese SMM dominating. Furthermore, the current literature is primarily influenced by Western scholarship, which predominantly uses Western measurement and theories. We encourage scholars from other countries in the region, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, to engage sociocultural approaches in research on the body image of SMM.
U2 - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2025.101850
DO - 10.1016/j.bodyim.2025.101850
M3 - Review article
C2 - 39798385
VL - 52
JO - Body Image
JF - Body Image
SN - 1740-1445
M1 - 101850
ER -