Men have issues too?!

I don't hate it.

I have been focusing this blog on the effects of magazines on women, how the images published lead to heightened body dissatisfaction and well as eating disorders, BUT I haven’t discussed whether or not they affect men. I have a decent amount of guy friends, and they all claim they don’t understand why girls watch what they eat, why we are so self conscious, blah blah blah. But, what I have found is that guys are actually self-conscious too. A few days ago I was talking to a couple of my guy friends about their upcoming spring break trip to Cabo. They actually revealed to me that they have been working out more, watching what they eat, and drinking less alcohol to prepare look good in a swimsuit and tone up their “Cabo bodies.” In fact they have coined their new regimen, the “Cabo diet.” Mind you, it ain’t looking too promising for them anyway, sorry about it.  After that I started to think more about this, when I am at the gym, the majority of the inhabitants are males. Mind you I hate the gym just for this reason. Ladies, ever gotten approach by some sweaty dude at the gym tryna chat you up and get your number? Like seriously, every single treadmill is open but you choose the one RIGHT next to mine and stare at me until I make awkward eye contact with you so you can strike up a conversation?! Smart girls stay away from the gym solely for this reason.   

Lookin' a little wax figure-ish to me.

Anywaayyy, I decided to research this a bit and get some more information, do magazines effect men like they do women? In a more general study in the Review of General Psychology regarding gender differences, men scored and rated themselves significantly higher in terms of physical appearance, athleticism, personal self, and self-satisfaction self-esteem. But other research shows that men aren’t necessarily concerned with size and weight like predicted, but rather other issues such as body odor, body hair, and sweating. A study published by the San Francisco State University found that the more media young men engaged in, such as magazines and prime time TV, the worse they felt about their bodies. It makes sense. Think of Abercrombie & Fitch ads, the model’s head might be cut off in the photograph, but it doesn’t even matter, his abs are as chiseled as a granite statue. So the magazines and billboards might not display men as stick thin like they do women, but rather hairless, sleek, and built. That is a lot to live up to if you are just an “Average Joe.” Magazines are even known for airbrushing men. On a 2007 cover of Men’s Fitness Andy Roddick was pictured with much larger arms than usual, a cover headline splashed next to him saying “How to Build Big Arms.” That’s got to be false advertising or something. Let’s get real, the dude plays tennis, he’s not a body builder. There is no way his arms are that jacked. So it seems like guys really do face some of the issues that women do, whether they let onto it or not.