An Invisible Issue

The Media's Effects on Males

Men are different than women in many ways, one being that internal conflicts are retained as internal conflicts, meaning issue among men are not a expressed as they are among women.

Traditionally, most of the concerns about the media and body image have revolved around girls, but more and more, researchers and health professionals are turning their attention to boys as well. A growing body of research indicates that although boys are less likely to talk about their insecurities, they too experience anxiety about their bodies, (Norman, M. 2011)

Although body image is viewed as more of a 'feminine issue', it affects everyone. Just like the cultural standards today for women revolve around people like supermodels and Hollywood actresses, the same goes for men. Whereas these standards are a sort of definition of masculinity, therefore a source of frustration.

It may not be obvious, but body image concerns in males are unbelievably high, and increasing day by day.

"Evidence suggests that more men are experiencing body image dissatisfaction than was previously thought," said Helen Fawekler, a PhD psychology student at the University of Mebourne. "There is an increasing recognition that men can suffer from these problems."

2009 Issue of Men's Health
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The main culprit behind these problems is the media. We see things like GIJoe and "Jersey Shore", and we're exposed to men with a common body image. This image has been a standard for years, and as time goes on, the standard becomes higher and higher due to more of these body images in the media.

"The media promotes a certain idealized image of what it means to be a male," said Elaine Hosie, a registered psychologist and director of counseling working with adolescent males. "In regard to the body image debate, the media plays a large role in the idealization of what it is to grow from a child to an adolescent, to an adult male."

Additionally, it's not only the body image of other men that causes insecurities, but surprisingly, women's body image can have the same effect. In a 2008 study, young men were more self conscious after reading "lad magazines" featuring photos of sexualized, scantily-clad women, based on the belief that girls would expect similar idealized physiques from men as well, (Aubrey, J.S. and Taylor, L.D. 2009).

With the media full of these "perfect" body images, which are ultimately unattainable, everyone is affected in different ways. Sadly, younger boys are enormously affected. In 2005, a University of West England study showed that the media influence had the largest influence on whether middle school boys were dissatisfied with their bodies.

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Body Dysmorphic Disorder rates are skyrocketing, and the extensive unattainable standards in the media are directly to blame.

"We have found that a very large percentage of men, as many as eighty-five percent, are dissatisfied in terms of weight; around half want to lose weight and half want to gain weight. They are looking for the "ideal" -- minimal body fat and a large amount of muscle," said Fawkner.

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It is widely assumed that eating disorders are diseases that only affect women, but this is not true at all. In fact, Body Dysmorphic Disorder is quite common in males. Another study by the University of West England found that fifty million (four out of five) men have body image issues, but much fewer admit it.

A common disorder due to a distorted body image among men is Bigorexia, a muscle dismorphia, essentially the opposite of Anorexia, which is the desire or need to increase size or muscle mass. And the sad part is that only about ten percent of people who get help for body dymorphia or eating disorders are men.

"It is true that the overall evaluation of a person's physical appearance is still more a part of how women are evaluated than men. There are more stringent standards for female beauty," said Stacey Tantleff Dunn, an associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida. "But I think that the standards for men are equally hard to obtain in terms of muscularity, leanness and youth."