Buff Male Models May Hurt Men's Self-Esteem

May 7, 2004 -- Commercials featuring topless models with buff bodies and unattainable physiques may make the viewers feel depressed and unhappy with their bodies.

Sound familiar? It is, but this time it's the men's turn to feel insecure.

Researchers say many studies have shown how images of beautiful, Barbie-like models negatively affect women's self-esteem, but this study is among the first to look at how a "culture of muscularity" may affect men's self-esteem.

In the study, researchers found that watching TV images of muscular, shirtless men lifting weights and selling cologne and deodorant left men feeling depressed and unhappy with their own muscles.

http://content.health.msn.com/content/article/86/99193.htm

Oh good, now they can create a market of diet and muscle building products (tailored to men) which capitalizes on their newly damaged self esteems?!

Side note: I'm sure this seems petty considering all that's occuring, but it's an interesting read, and I thought we could use a diversion around here? *sigh*

I don't think most males think that way when we look at other males.

Burp. Can you get me another beer?

The older guys seem to uhm *burp and fart* away their anxiety ;)

Here's your beer...

I always wondered why i was never anxious.

*my* life. ;)

I don't mean to speak for all men of course. But, I often wonder if beans are not only tasty and healthy, but downright therapeutic in a psycological sense!?

trying to drop 40+ lbs

... women want money, not muscles.

... they'd happily take both :)

If I wanted men in the first place, I would go for the muscles, thank you very much.

(On edit.... since brains wasn't one of the options)

profess that money is the key to their love connection, above attributes like looks, age, and -- oh yeah -- little things like personality and character. One otherwise somewhat sane young lady told me that she wouldn't care if he was a complete you-know-what, as long as he can be her 'daddy.'

Then again, this is Los Angeles...I think there's maybe more of that here, spun off from the eminently shallow and obsessed-with-superficiality entertainment industry. Who wants to marry a millionare? Everybody, it seems.

How else would an unattractive doofus like Donald Trump end up with all of these young models?

those women. If they are going after men with money, well, it becomes a buyer's market with the men as the buyers. When those who are distaff and avaricious are no longer so "young and fine", they just get traded in. And I don't feel a fucking bit of pity for them.

Lots of short-sighted foolishness hereabouts. Lots of trading-in, too.

I mean, it'd be so easy even for a man to join the chase here...just hang out at a grocery store, or whatever, in Beverly Hills and look better than the rich husbands that these women now wish they'd never married (money aside, of course), and...




Hmmm...




You know, the Hills of Beverly are just a few minutes from here....




Hmmm...

:D



My name's Forrest, and I'll be your pool boy today, ma'am. Where do you want me to couple my hose to?

... women want money, not muscles.

... but women can earn their own money these days. We can even afford to buy a toy boy for the evening. So get to the gym, and keep your viagra prescription up to date.

O8)

... It's a great place to sit and watch chicks. I just wish they sold beer there.

a lot of women don't go to the gym - leering f***s. :puke:

... I was just joking. And that's the saddest excuse for not going to the Gym that I've ever heard.

women don't care to be leered at (unless they are 'hos)

.. and it is an incredibly sexist attitude.

you could never understand

... and wherefore the anger?

then you'll understand

It's sexist of me to want to work out with other women, instead of in a room full of men that feel they have the right to stare, make comments, and otherwise harass me. Whats sexist is the men who feel they have the right to treat women this way.

kinda embarassing, but the idea is to see what they're doing that I'm not. I wonder if an ouside observer would think I'm leering at the guys.

What drives me batty is when these huge guys do lifts with really bad form and I say to myself, "no no no, he's doing it all wrong!" then I recall how scrawny I am.

Doh!

david

And a black market in steroids.

*shakes head*

Get off the steriods guys!
Being kind is far more important than a 6 pack ;)

but no point in complaining, either. Just have to adapt and draw self-esteem from somewhere else. I certainly won't be calling for TV to avoid beautiful female models and actresses.

:toast:

I bet that something will change as it effects more men though? Perhaps if nothing else an *understanding* of what *it* does will be garnered?

The wider issue is that the commercialisation of beauty and of the aesthetic in general denigrates both men and women. The fact that women are portrayed as creatures to be appreciated for their beauty alone also denigrates men, because it implies that a man is unable to separate his aesthetic and personal judgements. That the shoe can then also fit the other foot is hardly surprising...

and the chim implant. And the hair plugs .....

Oh yes, this is real as can be. Listen to the ads on sportsradio and realize, no exagerration, they are 50% for hard-on pills.

where the woman says "my man takes Levitra." I don't know about you, but if my wife looks that good at 40+ I don't think there would be a problem with the "one who must be obeyed."

In fact, I think you might be a homo if you couldn't get it up for her. (Apologies to Jeff Foxworthy and actual homosexuals who might find this offensive - it's sarcasm).

I started using the new 18 blade razor - the Decapitator - and discovered to my horror that no barely clad women came into my bathroom and rubbed my face.

I couldn't understand how they could be so wrong in their advertising - a half naked woman always comes on TV to show how smooth the man's face is. Not at my house.

I'm starting to think there's something wrong with me.

:hi:

You see that's the double standard with these commercials, I don't recall any commercials of half naked men rubbing a womans face in recent years?

And, I'm Swedish, ta boot!

HA HA HA. :D

I signed up for the infini-blade system wherein you glide effortlessly over a never ending series of blades for eternity. I'll miss my wife and kids, but it seems worth it for a potential face smoothing....

;)

Men's Health and Men's Fitness magazines have very little to do with Health or Fitness.

They seem to be hollow rags pumping you to buy more quick fix crazy bodybuilding products.

For women, some of the articles will be surprisingly familiar. There are articles on pleasing your women in bed with advice from real women (gasp). There are other articles on how to get that rocking ab for the beach this summer. There are quickie work out and even recipes for goodness sakes aimed at the single man (how to make a healthy meal from a can of soup and stale crackers I joke you not).

The men in these magazines are incredibly fit and bizarrely proportioned.

Honestly, if you flip through them you have to wonder despite a few pictures of the men with women if some of it is not thinly vieled soft porn for gay guys. BTW, gay guys if you are into the buff hardbody thing these magazines would probably be interesting.

There are diet products, colognes, deodorants and lots of exercise equipment and body building stuff including in the ads.

The whole purpose is to draw men into the cycle of vanity that fuels most of the makeup and industries revolving around capitalizing on the insecurty of women.

+

don't forget porn stars.

models have been making women neurotic for years. Turn off the fucking tv!

my self-esteem can occasionally take a hit because of stuff like that. I'll admit it. I know women probably have a far worse time with their body image in general, but men are beginning to feel the same way.

It all boils down to does the man (or woman) want a body like that and be willing to work for it?

Not everyone could be Mr. Universe, but almost anyone can have a body that turns heads. It's all a matter of willpower, knowledge and patience. Sadly, most people are devoid of the latter and quit trying in a month or so. It usually takes 3-6 months to see good progress.

And pay no heed to these muscle rags. Half of the average rag is devoted to what Mr. Olympia is doing for workouts these days. They leave out how much steroids he is pumping in his ass daily, however. The other half of the rag tries to sell you the super-duper-new-and-improved fat burner/muscle builder/hormone releaser/blah blah blah. Good bodies don't come in bottles as they would have you believe.

should remain clear on is this

"The level of muscularity and attractiveness that are idealized in the media often are not attainable for the average man,"

as the article states.

Of course this applies to women as well. Some of us gals just don't have a 100 pound bod with a 38 DD chest, in the gene pool?

Ahhh, but thank goodness for plastic surgery!

So, I pretty well don't feel bad.

If this report is true, then 10,000 years of cultural programming got changed in a generation.

The difference between men and women has typically been that a man can be out of shape and feel like he looks great where a woman can look great and feel that she looks terrible.

:shrug:

Why should we be surprised that this sort of thing can get to men as well as women? It just demonstrates that there is no intrinsic psychological difference between men and women, just varying social influences. The companies grasped this fact a long time ago, and are now making money off men's insecurities. Its all part of the same bullshit...

and take good care of myself. And I look all the better for it! I know, I don't sound very progressive in these issues.

do it babe!

I'm off to walk my 10,000 steps as I do daily. ;) :hi:

Cheerio!

;)

If I see a bunch of really buff guys lifting weights and selling cologne and it lowers my self-esteem, I don't blame it on them. It all stems from the desire I have to look like something I don't look like. If you accept yourself for who you are, then all the shirtless hunks in the world won't make a difference to your self esteem.

To me, this attitude doesn't preclude goals of self improvement. But my efforts at diet and exercise have a lot more to do with my health than looking good. I look fine. ZenLeftyGirl agrees. No need to look like the guy trying to sell me the Gilette Mach 18 Eviscerator and the fancy colognes. :shrug:

Thank you.

So now men have to deal with all the issues we women do. Seems like we're regressing. The ideals get harder to attain, as we all get further from them.

I was wishing that we could see women taking on male attitudes toward their bodies, rather than the other way around.

for me at least. I've been uber scrawny my whole life, but I'm finally getting on and sticking to a fairly good workout routine. I'll never be as huge as the guys on the ol' TV, but it does give kinda something to work towards. I can say, "if that putz can do it, then why not me?"

Kinda like we have moral and intellectual role models too. Something beyond us, that we're never likely to match, but that we can strive for.

Just my backwards opinion...

david

more about your intellect and your soul then your pecs babe!

Of course taking care of yourself is attractive, if it's for *health* reasons.

but maybe that is just me.

Most women seem to prefer a ripped, muscular body ... but only within reason and in normal proportions.

I'm probably muscular enough as it is, underneath twenty pounds or so of "softness". (Damn you, Little Debby!)

Plus, there are all those things that you really can't do that much about. It's impossible to live up to "tall, dark and handsome" when you're 5'8" with a fair complexion. :)

this



than THIS?



I'm not going to criticize the latter as being putrid and warped -- to many of these threads (especially VoluptuousWoman versus SlenderWoman) end up nasty like that -- but I do know that I have no desire to look anything like that second dude. Good for him. I appreciate the dedication it took to get like that, especially if without the help of steroids, but it's just not for me. Besides, I'm not sure that his physique is exactly 'healthy' in some ways, percentage of body fat aside...mobility, for example, would seem like at least a small issue here. Regardless, I've always had the impression that most of the heavy-duty muscle dudes are short (in the same way that sprinters tend to be shorter and stockier than marathon runners) and, at my height and frame size, I'd have to obey heavy-traffic restrictions when I walked across bridges if I were ever to attain that kind of bulk.

But, yeah, a bit of muscle definition is nice, though I'd only have it as a side-effect of working out for other reasons (health and balance, mental and physical, etc). Ditto bulk -- I've got all the muscle mass I need, just through hard physical work, and if I ever get more it won't be because I hit the weight machines in an effort to beef myself up. Again, nothing against those who DO (DU does teach one to constantly cover one's bootie against the mere possibility of offending someone's sensibilities, does it not?), but if I was going to do weight training it'd be for endurance and speed (martial arts is my thing), and then maybe strength.

And of course men have the same kinds of pressures and anxieties forced on them by advertisers and media ideals (films, TV, etc). I'd agree that women are more targeted in this way, and probably always have been, but it's still there for men, too. The fact (sometimes) and widespread perception that men hold a free pass in attainment of a physical ideal -- whether because they're loaded with dinero or for whatever reason -- doesn't diminish that. The double standard is not complete and watertight. I feel it, especially here in LA (home of overweight entertainment executives who'll fire or not hire and actor because of alleged weight excess), but I'm not under any illusions that its minor influence on me is anything like that suffered by many women. Still, it is my feeling, no matter how minor.

Off to admire myself in the mirror....

Unfortunately I prefer the anorexic look, which is not good for anyone, but it's hard to re-train your eye.

You're getting all the hot chick action you can get, right? right? right?

I feel like my body isn't up to societal standards for masculinity. I do kinda get upset when girls my age are checking out guys who are muscular. And there's me...who is not-so muscular. :( I'm not fat or anything, I just feel I could lose a few extra pounds and tone up my muscles a little bit.

Yeah, so this makes me unhappy with myself. :(

If you sit around watching Angel all day, you're bound to have high standards for yourself. It's impossible to watch that show and not think, "Gee, I kinda wish I looked like him."

david

watching WWE wrestling. Now talk about high standards!

I've actually been on a diet of one meal a day in the past few weeks to lose the extra pounds. When I go back to my apartment(I'm at mom and dad's for the week), I'm going to hit the gym at a rate of one hour/day. :(

I think those guys are way too big (my wife agrees). But it does amaze me how someone can put on such massive amounts of muscle when I struggle to gain 5 pounds in as many months.

Good luck with the gym! Your diet sounds crazy, though.

david

I blame our society. :(

I have big bones. It runs in my family.
These are things guys think about?

excuses? I don't know.

david

I think it was for some beer. They had all these guys saying things that women say all the time, like "do I look fat in this" and "I have my mother's thighs; I just have to accept it." They sounded ridiculous and really pointed up the stupidity of the "am I fat" ritual women engage in.

I guess as a woman, I find it hard to sympathize. Too many men let themselves go to pot, if the male models can inspire them to do a few sit-ups, it would be nice! I don't go along with anorexia/bulimia and I've encountered a few men (very few) who have these issues, but surely there is nothing wrong in a model being nicely built. It's better than the stick skinny rock star bodies from way back when, although I'm imprinted to like those bodies, let's face it, that kind of skinniness is quite unhealthy. Now ridiculous overbuilt bodies, the kind that come from steroids, they should just be ignored for what they are -- exaggeration to make a point or a sale.

Balance would be nice, wouldn't it?

Creatinine, steriods. Protein shakes. Not as big of a market but getting bigger all the time. And spas were a huge market in the 80's-90s exploiting both men and women. Where have you been?

Eit: Oh and before I forget. Does Charles Atlas ring a bell? Anybody remember those Cartoon Ads?

I am saying that they are more prevelant as of late.

We can name ONE individual like Charles Atlas, when we can name *several* females with elevated standards of beauty, from that same era.

And, would ya lookie here?

Experts: Male Eating Disorders on Rise

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040511/ap_on_he_me/fit_male_eating_disorders

And this is also interesting.

...concerns about the relationship of dieting to eating disorders originated with an experiment conducted during World War II with normal weight subjects. Young men who ate a semi-starvation diet for 6 months developed negative emotional reactions including depression, irritability, and anger, and a few engaged in binge eating behavior that persisted even after they had free access to food...

Sarahbelle makes the most sense. That's exactly what they are. Plastic people. Fakes.

Your original post made it out to be as it's a new thing. It's not. I had to deal with this shit 30 years ago.

Trying to see who can be the bigger victim gets nowhere. Try to eliminate sexism on both sides, ok?
I could name a few more:

Fabio
Hulk Hogan
Lou Ferrigno
Swartzanegger was in the 70-80s in his prime.

Edit: two more.
Robert Redford
Burt Reynolds

I realize it's a problem in both regards, but men have had a different set of pressures entirely on a *mass* level.

I don't believe in playing the victim, I actually meant to open discussion. :hi:

I think men should discuss these issues more.

I agree the scope of the problem is becoming larger for both sexes and it's mostly a problem of too many seeing media as reality when it's mostly fantasy.

Another negative of living in a purely capitalist and militaristic society.

it's TV and it's commercialized ;)

Oy, where to run to ey?

I don't know about the Oprah like show but hey, who knows? ;)

About the only thing I can think of to combat it is it starts at home, love your children and teach them that they don't have to conform. Just be healthy.

your children.

I refuse to *conform* especially when trying to set an example for my daughter. :hi:

since I'm a narcissist. Hey, I know what I am! :)

I'm so sick of "plastic people" being thrown at us. There are so many varieties of beauty both male and female. Why do we have to circumscribe to artificial crap? I mean in the "real world" someone could be considered very attractive, but the same person could be picked apart by someone who expected some phony, android of perfection. Besides all men have more upper body muscle as a secondary sex characteristic anyway (okay, maybe not the ripped abs, but so what?).

Anyone who is worth anything is evolved enough to like real people. Yes, chemistry and attraction matter, but we shouldn't have to either starve ourselves, use chemicals, or cut our bodies to attain it- male or female.

:toast:

Which features guys like this:







Holy inferiority complex, Batman!

On one level, I can admire this kind of physical beauty in men, but it bugs me to have my wife do it, and think she's comparing me to that ideal.

I think all men should be FORCED to eat a certain amount of of chips & beer, just to make things fair...

:P Yawwwwza!

On one level, I can admire this kind of physical beauty in men, but it bugs me to have my wife do it, and think she's comparing me to that ideal.

It's not like that for me personally, it's like admiring *art* or any other kind of natural beauty. I don't hold my husband to that standard at all. ;)

"I don't hold my husband to that standard at all."

Can you honestly say that if your husband did look like Paris or Agememnon or Hercules, you wouldn't appreciate it?

I love my wife, and she's gorgeous, but if she looked even more Venus or Helen I wouldn't shed a tear either, as long as she's still her.

Does that make sense?

I agree it's easy to appreciate like art, but art's nice in the home too. :)

(not necessary, though)

david

but as you say, there are many other considerations. ;)

:)

T'ain't too fun, is it boys? Now you know how we feel.

(witness Charles Atlas ads from the '30s)

...so I think that men have always -- or for a good long time, anyway -- been subjected to these same pressures, even if not at the same repugnant dosage.