Sexuality & Gender Diversity

Bodies and appearance change as we age and involve losing muscle, gaining body fat, wrinkling of the skin, and greying hair. Overall gay and bisexual men are unhappier with their bodies compared to straight men. Gay and bisexual men may also become unhappier with their appearance as they age. HIV can change a person’s appearance because of the disease itself and side effects of its treatments. Older gay and bisexual men with HIV may be worried about aging because some believe HIV makes you age faster. People who are unhappy about their appearance and growing older may have poorer well-being. Research finds that being resilient can buffer the relationship between appearance and well-being. Some people might cope by exercising or planning to exercise if they are unhappy with their appearance. This study will use data from the “Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging among Men Who Have Sex with Men” project. We will see if unhappiness because of appearance or aging is related to well-being in older gay and bisexual men. We will see how these relationships are buffered by different coping strategies and reslience. We will also test if being HIV-positive makes a difference in these relationships.