Men struggle with body image too
Body positivity has been a thing that every girl and feminist have been advertising, talking about the world’s standards are not what defines a girl’s body value and beauty. People are all here for it, girls of all different sizes and races has came out declaring their love for their body.
Image courtesy of Pinterest under the account Molly Grunewald
People love this, people support this, but as we go online and search for body positivity posters, most of them consists of the bodies of women, but men body positivity posters are nowhere to be found. Even though women do have it worse in this society, but let’s not forget about the unrealistic body image the media and society portray for men. In books, an attractive man is described with “chiseled abs”, “tanned skin”, “tall”, “just the ‘right amount’ of facial hair”, “muscular and toned”. In movies, we see the main characters with a worked-out body, and usually the bigger-sized actor is always the comic relief. People always looked past this, but to many men, this was the start of the struggle with body image. Chubby men are attractive, muscular men are attractive, short men are attractive, tall men are attractive, skinny men are attractive, men with a lot of facial and body hair is attractive, men with not a lot of facial and body hair is still attractive. Many people always thought that men wouldn’t care about their bodies, since because they are men. Young boys, teenagers, and even grown-ups struggle with their body image, either they’re not tall enough, not buff enough, not hairy enough, too hair, a little too chubby, or just doesn’t fit well with society’s definition of a “good-looking man.”
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
Photo courtesy of Pinterest
Men’s body image and their struggles matter too, it should also be viewed the same way women’s body positivity is viewed. Men also struggle with body image, they also look into the mirror hoping that they could just grow a little bit taller, maybe have more facial hair, less acne, buffer arms, abdominal muscles, tanner skin, lose some weight, and gain some weight. They go through the same things women have to go through with their body image too. Don’t forget that, and next time when you try to make a seemingly harmless joke about a guy’s weight, body hair, or height, please think about what many young men, teens, and adults have to go through, looking into the mirror thinking they’re not enough for the world’s beauty standards. Truth is, they are, we all are, all sizes, all races are beautiful, no matter men or women.
Featured image – photo courtesy of Ella Byworth