Essay about Male Body Image - 639 Words

Body image is what you believe about your physical appearance. Images of beautiful men and women are displayed everywhere from billboards to television advertisements. Fortunately, everyone does not look the same. Looking at models and movie stars often can create a negative self image of oneself in relation to these images. Approximately 46 percent of men of normal weight think about how they look constantly or frequently (Cloud, 46). The emergence of men’s new obsession with body image is connected to pressures from the media, plastic surgeons, and peers. The media plays a primary role in the mushrooming fascination between men and their body image. An article in the New York Times said, â€Å"G.I. Joes have morphed over the last†¦show more content†¦Thanks to popular shows like Extreme Makeover, men are being presented with an effortless itinerary to the perfect body. â€Å"More than 1.2 million men had cosmetic plastic surgery in 2003, representing 14 percent of the total cosmetic plastic surgery population† (ASPS). â€Å"The number of males having cosmetic plastic surgery procedures increased 28 percent from 2002 to 2003† (ASPS). â€Å"The number of upper arm lifts increased 606 percent since 2002 and buttock lifts increased 554 percent since 2002 - both of these procedures are often performed for patients following bariatric surgery who have lost a massive amount of weight† (ASPS). Plastic surgery can be motivation for men to look good; one step for easy self-improvement. As plastic surgery becomes more fashionable, even one’s own peers may start to consider artificial body parts. The pressures of one’s peers are also a contributor to increasing concern for body image. Starting at elementary and middle school, bullies would usually pick on the fat and timid boys as if they were sources of entertainment. Constant poking and prodding will have a major impact on their personality and self-image. As overweig ht children move on to high school, more of the same is experienced. For instance, football players are muscular and therefore have a feeling of power over other students. Even other students feel as if they have power because they all want to be in their ‘cool’ group. Either during orShow MoreRelatedThe Male Struggle with Body Image1583 Words   |  7 Pages people tend to focus a lot on females and the problems they have concerning their body image based on popular culture, stereotypes, and other generalizations of how a woman â€Å"should look.† What we do not realize however is that males struggle with their body image as much as females do and are often not recognized in their fight to meet the expectations of society. Males struggle with all kinds of eating and body disorders just as females do and the expectations pushed on them by the media, womenRead MoreThe Male Struggle with Body Image1632 Words   |  7 Pages people tend to focus a lot on females a nd the problems they have concerning their body image based on popular culture, stereotypes, and other generalizations of how a woman â€Å"should look.† What we do not realize however is that males struggle with their body image as much as females do and are often not recognized in their fight to meet the expectations of society. Males struggle with all kinds of eating and body disorders just as females do and the expectations pushed on them by the media, womenRead MoreThe Effects Of Media On Gay Male Body Image1209 Words   |  5 Pages(2015). Using Objectification Theory to Examine the Effects of Media on Gay Male Body Image. Clinical Social Work Journal, 44(1), 105-113. The existing studies have indicated the gay male adults are more likely to develop body image dissatisfaction than other male populations due to variety of social and culture elements—particularly in media. Lanzieri and Hildebrand argued that gay media sources had produced the ideal male physique that negatively impact on its audiences. They had conducted a researchRead More Male and Female Body Ideals and Image Essays1017 Words   |  5 PagesBody image is defined as â€Å"the subjective image of one’s physical appearance established both by self-observation and observation by others† (Body Image). â€Å"Ideal† body image is constantly re-evaluated throughout the ages. Unfortunately, today, the ideal image is at its height in the American culture. Many factors, such as magazine articles, television shows, and even childhood toys are said to have an influence on body dissatisfaction. This negative self-image has caused many dangerous disordersRead MoreHow Does The Media Affect Male Body Image?874 Words   |  4 PagesExploratory Analysis: How Does The Media Effect Male Body Image? Today in modern society, we are driven by social forces. Not only do we strive for human approval and companionship, we also thrive on social media. The media plays such a pivotal role in what we buy, eat, wear, etc. that we are conditioning ourselves to fit the mold for the â€Å"perfect† or â€Å"ideal† body type. This social construct has been a pressing issue for many years regarding the female physique, but not as much has been said onRead MoreThe Controversy Over The Unrealistic Body Image1351 Words   |  6 Pages The controversy over the unrealistic body image portrayed by the culturally iconic Barbie doll has been a topic of interest in sociology for many years. The research on this subject aims to determine the role that Barbie plays, if any, in the prevalence of negative body image and self esteem issues in young girls. The Barbie doll, introduced by Mattel, Inc. in 1959, can easily be considered the most popular doll in the world with 99% of 3 to 10 year olds owning at least one Barbie doll, andRead MoreSocial Media And Its Effects On Society1167 Words   |  5 Pagesas Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook in some cases, and Snapchat all show a certain body image. Body image is a proponent of self-esteem. Your body image, in medicine and psychology refers to a person s emotional attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of their own body (Nordqvist, C. (2014, September 17). In many cases the idea of body image can be skewed by what is seen on social media. The ideal body image that socia l media promotes for young women is slim, while for boys it is muscular. ManyRead MoreThe Effects Of Advertising On Our Society1504 Words   |  7 Pagescampaign, now it’s an unrealistic ideology of body perfection. This kind of product pushing comes with many different side effects that we as a consumer, might not realize. It is so detrimental that it becomes imbedded in your subconscious. Technology has made it to the point where it’s hard to tell what is real and fake. Advertising has created a pandemic in the way we view the body image of ourselves and the opposite sex in society. The â€Å"perfect† image is damaging to people causing an alarming growthRead MoreThe Negative Effects Of The Mass Media And Body Image998 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluence on an individual’s body image. The media distorts reality, promotes weight-teasing, and with the lack of diversity, it leads to body dissatisfaction, that would be a person’s negative thoughts about their body, and can inevitably lead to eating disorders. Also, media distorting reality can lead to mental illness and a low self esteem. The body image of many people does not reflect who they are but it rather reflects what the media portrays. Introduction What is body image? It is the internal representationRead MoreRelationship Between Barbie Dolls And The Development Identity And Self Concept1464 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent images of traditional Barbie dolls, Mattel’s new line of Barbie dolls, or neutral images, three commercial videos were created. The videos were selected so that they would fit with the central themes of the study to retain the girl’s attention for a reasonable length of time. After exposure to the video, self-concept and racial identity were assessed through an evaluative measure of body dissatisfaction from which girls picked figures that represented their realistic body image, their idealistic