Transgender and gender diverse people exhibit more negative body image and lower wellbeing than the wider population. This difference can largely be accounted for by high gender minority stress and low gender congruence. These variables were interrogated with a positive body image approach, with efforts to increase the representation of trans men and nonbinary people in body image research; to this end, 310 participants were recruited for an online questionnaire. A Perceptual Gender Incongruence Measure was also formulated to measure gender incongruence in the perceptual modality, which was found to be psychometrically sound. Non-affirmation was the primary minority stressor predicting lower body appreciation. Moderation analyses revealed that this was especially the case for transgender women and cisgender men. Lower attitudinal gender congruence and higher perceptual gender incongruence were both predictive of lower body appreciation. Moderation analyses revealed that these effects were exacerbated in transgender women and nonbinary people but dampened in transgender men. This makes a novel distinction between transgender and gender diverse groups which may be relevant to mental health interventions. Cisgender men also exhibited an exacerbated effect of perceptual gender incongruence on body appreciation, possibly reflecting their desire to adhere to gendered appearance norms. Future research should apply an intersectional perspective to these findings and examine nonbinary identities with greater specificity.
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