Do men see themselves in the body positivity movement?

“Men want to be leaner and more muscular. Wide shoulders, narrow waist,” says fitness trainer and physiotherapist Dr Gary McGowan. “Ideally, they desire to ‘look like I lift’ in clothing.”

30-year-old Nathan says that these are the typical ideas men are exposed to. “A lot of male models show men in good shape – abs and everything,” he says. “It made me feel like the only way to be a valid man was to have visible muscles.”

This desire for muscularity begins in childhood and can be difficult to escape, says events promoter Dylan. “Growing up, it was you have to be a sports star or an action man. Brands wouldn’t dream of having someone who didn’t look like they could win Wimbledon or bench 200kg.”

For 35-year-old Vikram, there was a shift when these idealised bodies became the male body du jour. “I vividly remember people making fun of pro-wrestlers or Schwarzenegger-types for looking comical. Now it’s what men want – extremes.”

Body image issues

A 2021 survey from UK charity CALM and Instagram showed that 48% of men aged 16 to 40 struggle with their body image and, in 2019, The National Study of Youth Mental Health in Ireland revealed that almost two-thirds of Irish male adolescents try to ‘bulk up’ or maintain muscle mass. Clinical psychologist and eating disorder specialist Dr Zuzanna Gajowiec says these developments are cause for concern.

“The pressure for men to look lean and have very defined muscles is incredibly high. Boys and men with eating issues and body image issues are underdiagnosed and undertreated, and health professionals often minimise symptoms,” she says.

The desire to meet the ideal build pushes some men to employ strategies that lead to harm and drug misuse. “Many men use steroids to enhance muscularity,” says Gary. “Such drug use is illegal, which means many men are doing all of this in the absence of monitoring or reliable drug sourcing.”

Even outside of steroid use, men can fixate on off-the-shelf supplements to their own detriment. Zuzanna has worked with “teenage boys eating so much protein they developed kidney issues”.

Benign strategies often used by men can cloak more problematic patterns. Zuzanna says it is important to remain vigilant.

“It usually starts with symptoms that appear positive – interest in healthy eating, going to the gym,” she says. “Later, it develops into more and more of an obsession, when the person can’t be as flexible as they were before. They can’t miss training.” And there are plenty of socially accepted tools available to drive them further down that road. For example, one study found that nearly one-third of men perceived MyFitnessPal (a popular fitness tracking app that includes a calorie-counting function) as a factor contributing to their disordered eating.

Links to masculinity

In exploring how these body ideals form and why men find themselves perpetuating them, interdisciplinary researcher Dr Matt Kennedy draws attention to the concept of hegemonic masculinity. “Hegemonic masculinity explains that there are rigid ideas about manhood that affect all men,” he says. “It creates an ideal of a man that is completely unattainable and yet men feel the pressure to compare themselves to that model.”

Dylan finds this trend to be rife in his own circles. “I don’t think men are at a point with each other where we can be honest about what we look in the mirror and see and what we’re insecure about. You’re always trying to introduce yourself as a more masculine version.”

Even when satisfied with a body’s function, men can continue to internalise shame. “My body fulfils its purpose, I’m active, I can move … but I struggle a lot with body dysmorphia and feeling bad about my body,” says Dylan.

This stress can be compounded for sexual minority men. Research suggests that gay men are more likely to be dissatisfied with their weight or body image (along with bisexual men and women). In particular, gay men are more likely to misperceive their own body and this can lead to problems with body dysmorphia and muscular envy.

Marketing graduate Jamie says there’s external as well as internal critique that feeds into these insecurities. “My relationship with my body is affected by a bunch of stuff, but whatever most recent man has snubbed or appraised me is a part of it, and they’re struggling with the same ideals,” he says. “It’s like you can feel them running you down a list of things they want checked off, and you know that is coming from somewhere else.”

Looking for a fix

While it’s not the conventional wisdom, research has shown that men can certainly have high levels of body dissatisfaction and even place greater importance on their appearance than women.

But for Terence, 25, the body positivity movement is just not happening for men. “I’ve never had a conversation about this with any man. We have pragmatic conversations: How can I get bigger? It is goal orientated and never focused on not feeling good enough.”

This focus on problem-solving and an aversion to emotion is reiterated by Nathan: “It isn’t overt at all, and it’s usually a conversation of how they’ll fix it.”

Dylan says the representation that exists is rarely positive. “A lot of what you see is relevant to health and nutrition. … It can quickly diverge into ‘this is the thing you need to look this way’. There is no scope for bodies looking different.”

Honest conversations

From experts to the everyday man, the common consensus on what’s needed is openness and honesty. Trainer Gary stresses this when working with clients. “For me, helping men to understand this concept of what is and isn’t realistic can be quite helpful.”

Psychologist Zuzanna agrees: “We must speak about the truth. About the real costs of having a ‘perfect body’. … The body types presented to us are not natural and not accessible to most people unless they harm their bodies.”

Matt, who is a boxer as well as a researcher, adds that we need to find ways for men to express their masculinity in a way that allows for the vulnerability. “In somewhere like a boxing gym, men have established their masculinity. They are fighting, so they can let their guard down. They can hug each other.”

There is also a need to challenge our accepted derogation of men’s bodies, too. “The idea of challenging insults on men’s bodies is a strange concept,” says Terence. “I don’t think it is addressed in the same way as it is with women.”

And, as Dylan points out, without real honesty in the conversation, you may never know how deep the dissatisfaction lies: “Your mate might always joke about how bad his hairline is, but you don’t know how much it affects him.”

Interested in developing a more mindful form of masculinity? Join human performance coach and former international powerlifter Ciaran May for his masterclass on managing stress and mental health as a modern man.