Whitehead 1

“I Want Muscles like that Guy!”

Males and Body Image: The Effects of the Media Reach More than Just Women

Megan Whitehead

Professor Wilkerson

English 103

29 October 2009

Megan Whitehead
 Whitehead 2

Professor Wilkerson

English 103

29 October 2009

“I Want Muscles like that Guy!”

Males and Body Image: The Effects of the Media Reach More than Just Women

Many Americans are familiar with the claims that the media plays a significant role in

influencing female body image. There has been a noteworthy amount of research which has

investigated the link between media influence and eating disorders among teenage girls, as well

as the link between female celebrities and athletes and the resulting low self-esteem of the

female audience. However, has anyone thought about the guys? Men have long been thought to

be free from pressures to shape their bodies in a certain manner because they had other avenues

upon which to base their self-opinion (Crandall). However, while women have been the major

source of concern, there has been a recently rising debate that male body image is also heavily

influenced by the media, from athletes to clothing advertisements, and from action figures and

comic book heroes to “muscle-enhancing” supplements. In a recent surge of male-directed

media, men are becoming more and more aware of their own body.

Numerous articles argue that the media traditionally distorts only the images of female

athletes, degrading women everywhere. One such article presents that, “Photos of successful

male athletes overwhelmingly show them in serious, action poses, while powerhouse women are

often trivialized, romanticized, and sexualized”(Holste, 2000). The article references both

scholars and womens’ sports experts in continuing its argument, claiming that men often find

powerful and athletic women “threatening”, and therefore must portray them in a much more

delicate fashion so as to not be intimidated.

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However, it is possible to read a bit deeper into this supposed “insecurity” of men. Yes,

women are becoming more and more stereotyped by sports media, but aren’t men as well? In

contrast to women, men are shown as being strong, hardy, determined, and tough. Isn’t this a

stereotype that has the potential to negatively influence male body image? Male athletes in the

media are often portrayed as the “epitome of manliness”(Rehberg, 2001). In the report “Boys To

Men: Media Messages about Masculinity”, the authors identify “The Jock” as one of the most

popular stereotypes in the media. The report goes on to define the jock as being willing to

compromise his long-term health for short-term athletic success, feeling a necessity to “fight

other men” in games of sport, avoiding “softness” in favor of being aggressive, and

demonstrating “his power and strength … to win the approval of other men and the adoration of

women” (Children Now). While there is limited research on such stereotypes, it is not
Image
unreasonable to assume that such portrayals in the sports media can and do have a significant

impact on American males. Although most of the focus is still on females and their “unfair”

portrayal in sports, there are subtle suggestions that do point to a potential issue with male

influences as well. For example, ESPN’s website - a prominent sports programming network -

has listed the top 10 hottest male athletes on one of its main pages (“Hottest Male Athletes”).

According to the New York Daily News, “While we admire [male] professional athletes for their

incredible abilities, it doesn't hurt that they also have some of the world's hottest bodies”

(“Hottest Male Athletes”). In a journal article from Evolution and Human Behavior, research

concluded that student athletes claimed to have more sexual partners than non-athletes,

supporting the theory that athlete equals attractive (Faurie, Charlotte, Dominique Pontier, and

Michel Raymond). Furthermore, it has been noted that the adolescent male is, just like his female

counterpart, vulnerable to pressures to attain the “ideal” body. The “ideal” male body consists of

a masculine physique, tallness, and muscularity (Parks, Pamela S. McKay and Marsha H. Read).
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Parks and Read also state that in order to achieve such a body, many adolescents opt to

participate in athletics. Where could these boys have learned that being an athlete will help you

achieve an “ideal body”? While it is possible that they could have been taught that regular

exercise and physical activity can lower body fat and boost confidence, it is also highly probable

that young males associate the athletes that they see on TV with attractiveness, and therefore

associate attractiveness with being an athlete. Considering Image 1,

David Beckham is the chosen model for a “got milk” ad, which sends

the message that male athletes are healthy, buff, serious, and

attractive (Image 1). Nathalie Koivula further confirms the claim of

media influence by concluding her research with the statement that

sports coverage “continues to reinforce … traditional expectations

regarding … masculinity (Koivula, Nathalie).” Even male athletes themselves feel the need to be

more muscular and stronger, as evidenced by the proliferation of steroid-use in professional male

sports (Parssinen M. and T. Seppala).

In addition to body image influences from male athletes, there are other forms of

advertisement that also have a negative impact on male body image. According to Tracy Tylka,

the lead psychology researcher at Ohio State University has stated that, “Men see these idealized,

muscular men in the media and feel their own bodies don’t measure up (Crandall).” In a recently

published study in the North American Journal of Psychology, Amy Baird and Frederick

Grieve’s findings indicated that “exposure to male models in advertisement [did lead] to a

decrease” in male participants’ body satisfaction (Baird, Amy L and Frederick G. Grieve). In

Image 2, the advertisement is for a clothing company, Abercrombie and Fitch, but the model

isn’t wearing any particularly noticeable clothes – other than about an inch of jeans that are

shown. Instead of just selling their product, they are also selling an idealized body image of a
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male. The message the billboard is sending is “This body is hot, fierce, attractive, and 100%

male.” It is evident that seeing such images could make a man who is less muscular and fit feel

somewhat depressed about his body image.

According to additional studies, the “value of having a muscular body” has greatly

increased over time (Pope, et al). While women, on average, claim to want to lose between five

and l0 pounds of body weight (Cash, Antis, & Strachan), men are now claiming to want to gain,

on average, 3 times that amount in muscle mass (Pope et al., 2000). Although the “ideal” body

goal for men is to develop a more muscular and beefed up frame rather than the female’s thin

Image
frame, men are still subject to the same advertisement pressures as
2
women are. According to Stice, “the internalization of the ideal

body shape as presented in the media is well accepted as a causal

factor in the development of eating disorders (Stice). This holds

true for both females and males. While it can be argued that the

media pressures on men are still much less influential than those on women, there is still much

need for awareness of the male situation. It is true that in American society, men have several

other ways in which to promote their masculinity, including income, vehicles, occupation, etc

(Baird). According to Pope et al. however, the “commercial value of the male body has

increased” since the mid-1980s, and one can only expect this trend to continue (Pope et al.). In

addition, Baird and Grieve admit that their results, as well as those of similar studies, produced

small differences between the exposed and non-exposed groups. However, they justify this by

reminding the audience that the amount of exposure time to the advertisements was very short

(Baird). In reality, men are exposed to such advertisements on a much more frequent and regular

basis, which actually supports the theory that the total effect of such advertisements on male

body satisfaction is probably much more significant than the study sample results. It can also be
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argued that many of the studies have been conducted using college-aged Caucasian males as test

subjects, and therefore lacks diversity which could create skewed results. However, it is

noteworthy to mention that college-aged Caucasion males are the population most likely to be

affected by pressures to obtain a certain body image (Lynch & Zellner). Therefore, the results do

apply to the population in which they are the most representative and important. This holds true

as well for studies and claims surrounding female body image; results are typically only

generalizable to the young female population, but again, “young women are at most risk for

dissatisfaction with their bodies (Baugh).

Can this be healthy?

Americans recognize the terms “anorexia” and “bulimia” and understand that many

females, both young and adult, often starve themselves in order to appear thinner and, in their

mind, “more attractive.” However, it is becoming more and more evident that men experience

mental disorders associated with low self-esteem as well. There is a new term that has emerged

in the past decade: muscle dysmorphia. According to an article in Psychosomatics, muscle

dysmorphia is a disorder characterized by an individual becoming “pathologically preoccupied

with their degree of muscularity”(Pope, 1997 ). In other words, these individuals have developed

a compulsive and habitual obsession to how sculpted and toned their bodies are. Pope and

Gruber add that muscle dysmorphia may lead to serious health issues, including distress,

impaired social functioning, and most importantly, abuse of steroids and other muscle-enhancing

substances. It is noted that all of these consequences of muscle dysmorphia can have serious

long-term effects. While steroid use is at the extreme end of ways to obtain an ideal image, they

are extremely dangerous and are a probable cause of increased mortality amongst many athletes

and people who power train at intense levels (Parssinen and Seppala). According to an
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exploratory study in 2002, male participants reported that they associated muscularity with

“being healthy and fit”, and that being fat was related to “weakness of will and lack of control”

(Grogan and Richards). Not only do these results demonstrate the shift in American culture

towards a more-concerned-with-body-image male population, but also demonstrate the skewed

mental assumptions of men which can lead to unhealthy behaviors. In addition, muscle

dysmorphia can lead to damaged muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments through excessive

exercise and weight-lifting (Mccan). In addition, those with muscle dysmorphia spend up to 5

hours a day thinking about the fact that they are “too small” and “not big enough (Pope, et al.).

This is clearly mentally unhealthy. In addition, because muscle dysmorphia is very similar to an

obsessive compulsive disorder, there are many unhealthy social side effects. These include

missing important events, risking unemployment by extending lunch breaks at the gym, and

missing exams because they conflict with workout schedules. Also, men with muscle

dysmorphia typically suffer from related depression from their lack of self-confidence, as well as

a constant fear of losing muscle mass and becoming unattractive. Muscle dysmorphia may also

lead to relationship issues. In two extreme examples, one man feared having sex with his wife

because he felt that he would waste energy that could be used in his workouts, and one man

refused to kiss his girlfriend because he feared that calories could be transmitted through saliva

(Pope, et al.). Excessive dieting associated with muscle dysmorphia can also lead to the more

familiar eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia.

Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any current efforts or policy changes in effect

that are working to fight the stereotypical male body image seen in the media. However, there is

promise in that there is evidence for efforts against female representations in the media. Just as

the research and awareness into male issues lagged behind that of women, perhaps the same will
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be true for efforts to correct this phenomena. Until then, Jeanne Rust, PhD and CEO of a

treatment program for teens with eating disorders offers the following suggestions:

When you feel that an advertisement message makes you feel bad about your body

image, argue back by writing a letter to the advertiser. Also, you can

attempt to “boycott” certain industries and products that appear to

send negative body image messages. Rust suggests getting friends

and students involved as well, and comments on the power of

grassroots movements. Image 3 depicts a very muscular and strong

Superman action figure, which is an example of an item that could

Image
be boycotted
3 due to its association with negative body image and muscle dysmorphia among

males. She reminds us that “consumers have much more influence with corporations than we

realize” (Rust).

In conclusion, while there is limited research and opinion at this point on the effects of

the media and advertising on male body image, there is substantial evidence that there is indeed a

need for concern and further investigation. Females are not the only gender suffering from low

self esteem and negative body image, and are also not the only ones who are resorting to

unhealthy behaviors in order to live up to societal standards which are presented through the

media. It is important that we as a nation become less fixated on looking at just one side of the

argument, and become aware of issues on the other side as well. It appears that Americans are

focusing too much on the struggles of women in this masculine, patriarchal society, and are

forgetting that this mindset puts pressures on men as well. Not only are women being feminized

and “put down”, men are being “masculinized” and pressured to be successful, powerful, and

now more than ever, attractive.

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Works Cited

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