Table 3.

Summary of body image findings related to sexual orientation

Theme	Sub-themes	Representative quotes
Body image	More body type community (n=9) diversity in LGBTQ	"I’m surrounded by a lot of pre-med people and everybody seems to look the same and everybody seems to have the same body style, which is way different from like if you go to [the student-run LGBTQ campus group]… everybody kind of embraces their own individuality there..." (female, 24, bisexual)
	Gay males emphasize particular aesthetic (n=12) Narrow definition of masculinity (n=7)	"I feel in the gay [male] community it’s really competitive as far as really superficial things or concern [with] appearance… there’s this pressure I feel I need to just look the best that I can. I mean …, so... I fit in with the cool gay people." (male, 19, gay) “Being a male, in general, you are expected to be a bigger and more athletic looking person to maintain that standard of masculinity. So like you are already expected to be masculine but then you have to be like this kind of like processed masculine for the queer community… we all want to be simultaneously slim and muscular at the same time.” (male, 22, gay)

Number in parentheses represents the number of respondents who commented on this theme Italics represent sub-themes where sexual orientation facilitated healthier body image