Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
Published on: May 31, 2021
Experiences of body image in the gender non-binary community: A qualitative analysis
Jaz Burstall1, Kian Jin Tan2, Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia1
1School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract:
Body image concerns are prevalent within transgender communities - many transgender people engage in disordered eating to suppress or accentuate secondary sex characteristics and reduce gender dysphoria. However, this research has mostly been conducted with binary transgender people. Here, we examine how non-binary people experience and relate to their bodies. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with 13 gender non-binary individuals living in Australia. Photo elicitation techniques were utilised, and the transcribed interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: Expansive Understandings of Body Image, Body Image can be Linked to Gender Dysphoria, Cultivating a Preferred Body can Lead to Gender Euphoria, Appreciating Diversity in Non-Binary Body Ideals, The Androgynous Body Ideal is not Universally Accepted, and Experiencing the Body as Functional rather than Aesthetic. The present findings highlight the diversity of experiences of body image for non-binary people. The non-binary concept of body image was found to be expansive, stressing various physical attributes involved in social gender recognition and physiological sources of gender dysphoria. Some participants valued gender-affirming medical intervention, others were accepting of their bodies as they are, attributing their body confidence to the process of affirming their non-binary gender.
Related Concept Videos
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
The Y Chromosome Determines Maleness
Evolution
Around 300 million years ago, the two sex chromosomes diverged from two identical autosomal chromosomes. Over time, the Y chromosome has lost most of its genes, shrinking in size....
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development

