Fridae

There's a common myth that lesbians are just ugly women too unattractive to get a man.

While there's definitely some dubious science behind that jism of wisdom, there appears to be solid research behind a new report from a US university that says lesbians are more than twice as likely to be overweight as straight women.

Boffins at the Boston University School of Public Health found that lesbians were 2.69 times more likely to be overweight and 2.47 times more likely to be obese than heterosexual women from a survey of some 6,000 females.

Now I've been porky in my time but I've never blamed my sexuality. For those extra pounds I like to point my finger at stress, laziness, beer, and, of course, the universal scapegoat, my ex girlfriend. In fact, now I'm single the lard has legged it, but not my love of girls.

So is it true? Are dykes more likely to be dumpy than their straight sisters? And if so, why do lesbians tend to be larger?

What do the boffins say?

A similar study by scientists at the University of California several years ago says it might be because lesbians face greater levels of discrimination than straight chicks. To cope with this extra pressure, we resort to binge eating of comfort foods that are high in fat and calories, they suggest.

I can see the slogans now. "Your hate is making me fat!" It seems a bit of a cop out to blame society. Besides, everyone responds to stress in different ways. Possibly as many women lose weight under pressure as gain it. Gay men face similar discrimination. So why aren't fags blimps too?

Ms C, an American dyke in Beijing says she doesn't believe the scientists.

"I don't think lesbians are fatter," she scoffs. "There are a lot of fat people in the world and I don't know if the scientists know this."

She says the myth that lesbians are heftier comes from a vile habit of the media to portray us that way. She points to a recent article in the New York Times on same sex marriage which carries photos of some fairly sturdy dyke lawyers.

"Why is it that every time the New York Times has an article on lesbians it's always some ugly man-faced Larry? They don't even look like women. Can we get some beautiful les out there to represent us a tad better? No senator wants those Indigo Girls-loving, dog-hair covered, man-suit wearing bears to get married, but us. I mean. Really!"

And from that media distortion comes a Pavlovian-dog response where the public only pricks up its ears to beefier dykes.

"The problem is that people can only identify the fat ones," Ms C says. "People think lesbian equals fat. This rumour can easily be dispelled at most lesbian bars."

Canadian-Chinese lesbian, Jockie - who is just right - is with the boffins.

"It's not a stereotype!" she says. "Lesbians are, as a rule, often fatter than their straight female counterparts. Maybe we should be playing less softball and going on more runs."

Or drinking less beer.

She adds that many dykes gain weight on purpose - to look more masculine.

"When I wanted to be boyish, I gained weight on purpose to be... bigger," she says. "A lot of the boi dykes do it here. They get heavy on purpose. To be more mannish. I think you're allowed to be fat in the lesbian world. You don't get judged for it the same way. And the married lesbians --well they are at home, eating. I don't think they do it on purpose, but they are happy."

Ms L, a British lesbian in a long-term relationship with a Chinese woman, says she thinks it may be a political statement.

"We're rejecting the feminine stereotype," she says. "As a lesbian you go beyond the gender stereotype of a beautiful women - thin and desirable to men."

But, she adds, she's sick of fat dykes on telly. "Just look at the Eurovision Song Contest winner," she complains. Serbia's Marija Serifovic -a beefy out-dyke - won the competition last month. A tongue in cheek - don't ask me what cheek - report by the Sydney Star Observer, headed "Lesbian chic" cited a partygoer in Belgrade's only gay-friendly club as saying Serifovic's victory was, "a big win for Serbia, a small step for gay rights."

Ms L - who is kind of skinny - says she is part of a "new breed of lesbian" who have rejected the "old-dyke" stereotype of striving for that anti-feminine look.

"It used to be a political statement to look shit," she adds. "But we haven't rejected beauty, we've just created new codes of beauty, such as looking androgynous."

But the good news is that the Boston study found that lesbians were more at ease with their bodies than straight women. We may be fatter, but at least we're happy and fat! And maybe it's because we don't have such a problem with the pounds that we feel less pressure to lose them

Tolly, a British lesbian living in Beijing says girls are just more accepting.

"Girls are more forgiving and put less strain on their partners to be a certain shape," she says, adding that she quite likes big women.

Jockie agrees.

"One of the more important reasons is that lesbians can be fat and still get laid," she muses. "The rules are different in queer culture - from haircuts to style to body shape. It's another standard. At home in Canada, some of the most sought after women I know are larger in size, especially trans guys."

Even Ms L agrees. She says lesbians have been through enough sorting out their sexuality, that body shape issues are small fry.

"We've done all that soul searching," she says. "So we're more easy with whatever we end up being - whether that be a fat person or a thin one."

Right. Another beer anyone?