Parents who know that their son is gay additionally may pressure him to be muscular due to their lack of acceptance of their son’s sexual orientation, shame that their son is gay, or a sense of protection (e.g., a muscular build may prevent a gay boy or man from being the target of a hate crime). Regardless, these parental pressures appear to be detrimental to gay men, manifesting as appearance comparison and muscularity dissatisfaction. Body fat dissatisfaction was
predicted in a positive direction by media and friend pressures to be lean and, interestingly, in a negative direction by friend pressure to be muscular. Of these variables, friend pressure to be lean was more closely tied with body fat dissatisfaction. Gay men may turn
to their friends’ opinions as a source of how they feel about their body fat. When friends pressure them to be lean, they are more dissatisfied with their body fat. Conversely, friends’ pressures to be muscular may actually help gay men turn their focus away from being dissatisfied with their body fat.