Geosocial networking apps and disordered eating among queer Asian American men: a serial mediation model of racial oppression

BACKGROUND: Queer Asian American men face pervasive experiences of racism in romantic and sexual contexts (i.e., sexual racism), which may heighten their risk of developing disordered eating concerns. Moreover, geosocial networking apps (GNAs) used by queer men are a pertinent risk factor for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Nevertheless, no studies have examined the links between GNAs, racially relevant factors, and disordered eating among queer Asian American men. Hence, grounded in intersectionality theory and the racially expanded model of objectification theory, the present study investigates the associations between GNA intensity and GNA sex-seeking with disordered eating through sexual racism and internalized racism sequentially. METHODS: Participants were recruited through Prolific. Our final sample consisted of 265 queer Asian American men whose ages ranged from 18 to 65 (M = 28.42, SD = 8.32). All analyses were conducted through SPSS (v.29). RESULTS: Serial mediation analyses indicated that GNA intensity was indirectly associated with greater disordered eating through sexual racism and internalized racism sequentially (B = 0.028, SE = 0.013, 95% CI [0.008, 0.058]). Similarly, GNA sex-seeking was indirectly associated with greater disordered eating through sexual racism and internalized racism sequentially (B = 0.061, SE = 0.026, 95% CI [0.018, 0.118]). CONCLUSIONS: As queer Asian American men engage with GNAs intensively and for sex-seeking purposes, it is possible that they may face sexual racism and subsequently experience internalized racism, which consequentially is associated with greater disordered eating. Social justice-informed implications are discussed. For instance, GNAs may consider implementing educational advertisements to inform users of the pervasiveness of sexual racism and antiracist policies that integrate features that flag and remove profiles or interactions with racist language.