Body Image

 Last time I spoke about the issue of skinny shaming of women, which is only one of the problems associated with unrealistic body image. The topic about female images in the media has been widely discussed, with correlations found between looking at models and felings of depression and self-loathing, eating disorders, and in general unhealthy behaviors as a result of dissatisfaction with oneself.

This, however, does not just apply to women. More and more images of the “perfect” male body type have pushed men to their own eating disorders and detrimental use of steroids or other harmful supplements, all aimed at achieving abs, biceps, and looking like the latest beach photo of Hugh Jackman. And while the issue has been widely addressed for women, it is still very closed when it comes to men. They have been ridiculed for their shortness, fatness, skinniness, and other aspects of their appearance that do are not in the category of masculine. There is no “Real Beauty” campaign for men, you can rarely see an overweight guy in movies without him being the funny man, who compensates for his looks by providing money or entertainment. If a man is fat or short, this is always discussed and connected with stereotypical complexes. If they are not dreamy, they are not worthy. This needs more attention.