The Male Struggle with Body Image

In today’s society, people tend to focus a lot on females and the problems they have concerning their body image based on popular culture, stereotypes, and other generalizations of how a woman “should look.” What we do not realize however is that males struggle with their body image as much as females do and are often not recognized in their fight to meet the expectations of society. Males struggle with all kinds of eating and body disorders just as females do and the expectations pushed on them by the media, women, and even other guys. There is a frightening lack of treatment because guy’s hardships are ignored and even overshadowed by women’s struggles. Males also go through the harmful effects and risks that come with the efforts they endure to change their body image, steroids for example, as well as denying that they have problems or concerns with their bodies because it could make them look weak to others when men are supposed to be “tough.”
When hearing the topic of eating disorders, many think of young girls with anorexia or bulimia trying to drop their weight or attain a certain physique. In reality, females are not the only ones with eating disorders, males struggle with these disorders as well, even if they are not in the same way. A recent disorder is becoming more and more popular among young and older males today. This disorder is known by two nicknames: bigorexia for males obsessed with being more bulky and manorexia for men that want a leaner look, but the medical term is muscle dysmorphia (Barker 1). Technically, muscle dysmorphia is more of a body disorder, but much like an eating disorder, the sufferer is obsessed with being built and muscular. This disorder can also lead into other eating disorders because of ...

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