Men's Pressures
According to a study
done in 1997 by Garner "The Body Image Survey" it was found that an amazing 45% of American men were dissatisfied
with their muscle tone--almost doubling the percentage found in the same survey in 1972. It is thought for every man with
severe muscle dysmorphia, dozens of others experience at least some distress about their muscularity.
This is
seen more prevalently due to the exposure modern men experience to the "supermale" images. According to Pope, Phillips
& Olivardia (2000) the hard bodied lifeguards in Baywatch are viewed by over 1 billion viewers in 142 countries. Hollywood's
most masculine men of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were John Wayne, Clark Gable and Gregory Peck. There is no comparison
to modern cinema's muscular action heros like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, or Jean-Claude van Damme.
"Today while growing up, a young man is subjected to thousands and thousands of these "supermale" images.
Each image links appearance to success--social, financial, and sexual. But these images have steadily grown leaner and more
muscular, and thus more and more remote from what any ordinary man can actually attain.
Similar to little girls
growing up with the "ultra thin" Barbie Doll. Little boys have been subject to G.I. Joe along with other action
figures. It is interesting to see the evolution of these figures as they keep up with the messages of body image for children
over the last 30 years.
Another surprising finding is
that men are catching up to women. In 1997, nearly as many men as women were dissatisfied with their over all appearance."
From a survey in Psychology Today 20 (1986) it was found that a high percentage of men of all ages were unhappy with their
looks from ages 14-60s.
Findings
- 30
percent of men said they smoke to control their weight.
- 58 percent of men reported having dieted to lose weight
- 4 percent of men said they make themselves vomit to control their weight
- 40 percent of men said that at
least half of their workout time is spent exercising to control their weight.
