A fine figure of a man: defining male body image
Growing up, I thought that I would marry a guy that was tall enough for me to wear heels and strong enough to carry me off into the sunset. Every Disney princess married a man with flowing hair (Prince Eric) and a toned body (Tarzan). Although I did not realize then that every male in Disney movies, even the pauper on the street and the barbarian in the forest, had a model’s body, this image instilled in me a standard that all males should have flawless, chiseled bodies.
Expectations for the “perfect” body type are established at a very young age (based on parental cues, according to mirrormirror.org) and instill the belief in boys and girls that they have to look a certain way to be attractive to society. While girls are expected to be lean with small waists and long hair (Aurora), boys are expected to be tall, muscular, and square-jawed (Aladin). Girls learn that they need to be slim from Barbie dolls and males learn to be muscular from superhero action figures. Males are equally subjected towards high body expectations, but are oftentimes neglected by society in their struggles with their insecurities.
Many organizations such as The Body Positive and About Face promote a healthy society highlight the insecurities of females and strive to encourage females to be confident in their own skin. However, they oftentimes neglect the males who are equally insecure. According to Psychology Today, 63 percent of men are unsatisfied with their abs, 52 percent with their weight, and 45 percent with their muscle tone.
Males are equally subjected towards high body expectations, but are oftentimes neglected by society in their struggles with their insecurities.
Insecurity is especially severe among teens due to an “imaginary audience”. According to Dr. Steve Aguillon, school psychologist, an imaginary audience is when someone feels like everyone is looking at them. This can cause more self esteem and insecurity issues with body image as adolescents may feel pressures to live up to society’s standards.
“Teens will see images and try to replicate them, but the image that people see isn’t always the image with the full story,” Dr. Aguillon said. “Any environmental exposure to media is important. It can potentially influence anyone.”
Media such as magazines, television ads, and public health campaigns can easily distort one’s perception on an ideal body because the “number of images we see in the media and the excessive amount of exposure we have to those images, according to mirrormirror.org. The average child watches 20,000 television commercials every year. Most advertisements, such as clothing, dieting, or even cars involve well built men. Anything we look at for hours has to affect us. The constant bombardment of unrealistic photos and ads can create feelings of insecurity.
However, these advertisements and flawless photos are not a representative to the general population. According to mirrormirror.org, “the average American man is about 5’9” and weighs about 190 pounds” while the “average male fashion model, though, is about 6’1” and only weighs about 160 pounds”. Therefore, following models on Instagram or even online shopping can affect any male to believe that he should also be 6’1” to get a certain amount of likes on a post or to pull off the same sweater as well as the mode.
Such media is not only a misrepresentation of the American population, but is also unreal and unrealistic. Justin Bieber’s Calvin Klein ad — a photo of the shirtless, toned celebrity — is one of many examples of an unrealistic expectation due to the amount of photoshop used on that photo. Society looks at such photoshopped photos posted on Instagram (andrehamann) and on front covers of magazines (Men’s Health) to hold all other males to the same standard.
Anthony Keyvan, sophomore, and an actor who has numerous starring and supporting roles to his credit, shares that the flawless skin on screens are not real, after experiencing the professional hair and makeup process for television and documentaries.
“Everyone has blemishes on their face. No one has a perfect skin tone without acne. I’d like to see Nickelodeon or Disney let their actors go makeup-less. It would show that actors aren’t perfect,” Keyvan said.
Even children are taught to look for a Prince Charming that is not only kind, but handsome. This teaches male adolescents that only a golden tan and white straight teeth can be accepted in society and be the “good guy”.
“[The stereotype] sends a message that you can’t be a prince if you aren’t perfect, which is unfair because I think anyone can be a prince if they want to,” Keyvan said. “The image that Disney is sending by making all their characters flawless in every way is unrealistic. Not everyone looks like that. Not every prince in the real world is perfect.”
“[The stereotype] sends a message that you can’t be a prince if you aren’t perfect, which is unfair because I think anyone can be a prince if they want to,” Keyvan said.
According to Dr. Aguillon, developing self confidence can be done by staying true to oneself, which consists of one’s values, attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about oneself. This is important because “what society thinks is beautiful may not be what you think is beautiful.” Getting advice from adults who have a bigger picture on life can also help. Because an opinion on body image comes from ego, a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance, self confidence is essential to become content with one’s own body.
It is important that our generation recognizes that boys, just like girls, are also insecure with their bodies, especially in a patriarchal society that demands all males to be masculine in both their physical and mental state. However, this can be stopped with a realistic mindset for males’ bodies and an understanding that health is what is important, not size or shape.
