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Body Image and Men - Seven Health: Eating Disorder Recovery and Anti Diet Nutritionist

May 17.2016


May 17.2016

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at Portugal airport waiting to come back home. I’d been out in Portugal playing golf with 10 friends, as well as my Dad, who’d also flown over from Australia to join us. A very memorable holiday.

As I sat killing time I was flicking through Facebook and looking for things to read. I came across this article in Esquire magazine about the rise of something called “spornosexual”. After reading this post, I suggest checking out the article.

The term spornosexual is used to describe a male who is social media and selfie obsessed and takes his cues on his appearance from sport and porn. It’s similar to the idea of metrosexuality but with the idea of metrosexuality it’s more about dressing sharp and good grooming, while with this, it’s more about looking the part to the nth degree while wearing very little (or absolutely nothing).

If you were to take a hundred guys and ask them if they had a magic wand, what would their ideal body look like, I bet the response to come up more than any other, would be “Brad Pitt in Fight Club”. I know it is the response I’ve always given and according to the Esquire article I’m not alone.

Body Image and Men, Seven Health: Eating Disorder Recovery and Anti Diet Nutritionist

To quote the article on this topic “He looks great but he’s not massive. He’s just got really good abs, good arms and an alright chest. And that’s what people want: to be lean, have a six pack.”

Now on the surface of things, I don’t think there is anything wrong with a bit of vanity. Wanting to look good naked or doing exercise to change your shape or size isn’t inherently wrong.

Where I see it becoming a problem is when this stuff becomes an obsession that negatively impacts on someone’s life. Or when they start following practices that are damaging to their health, all in an attempt to change their appearance.

I will add that this isn’t always the case. If someone is coming from a situation where they are eating poorly and not exercising, making changes in this manner can lead to better quality health. But it’s definitely not the only way to do it and just because someone has a more aesthetically pleasing body doesn’t make them healthier (and it definitely doesn’t guarantee that this body is sustainable).

I was recently watching this clip of Dorian Yates, who was previously a professional body builder and 6 times Mr Olympia. He talks about how he got his body fat so low for contests, to around 3%, that he was getting foot pain just from walking and standing. The under sole of the foot has cushions to protect it when walking and because he had taken his body fat so low, these fat pads had disappeared.

He talks about getting such intense cravings around food that he’d be having dreams of eating certain things, waking in a panic believing it had happened. Or how he’d struggle with sleep because his energy intake was so low (in relative terms for what he needed) and he’d constantly be waking up due to stress hormones and low blood sugar.

Body Image and Men, Seven Health: Eating Disorder Recovery and Anti Diet Nutritionist

Now people could argue that this was Dorian’s job and that this wasn’t happening all the time, only when prepping for a contest, which I agree with. But too much of the leanness that people are keeping all year round is maintained in ways that damage their health with very little let up or “off season”.

Just like the standards for what a female body “should” look like have become less and less attainable, the same thing is true for males.

There is a great clip from a movie called Bigger, Faster Stronger, all about male body obsession and steroid use. In the scene it looks at the evolution of the GI Joe action figure from the 60s up to present day and how his body has changed over time. We’re talking about going from an everyday guy, to one that has huge biceps and a full six pack.

Or in more recent terms, look at the changes in Hugh Jackman’s body throughout all the X-Men and Wolverine movies. In the first movie, which came out in 2000, there is no denying he was in good shape. But the level of size and leanness that has happened in each successive film over the last 16 years is huge.

All these changes mean that a lot of the pressures that were historically placed on women, and the problems that this caused, are now things that are being experienced by men, especially young men and teenage boys.

I want to see people caring about their body, eating well, doing exercise and getting stronger (physically as well as mentally and emotionally). And there are real benefits to people setting themselves challenges and working towards goals. But when this crosses the line from healthy to unhealthy, from enjoyment to obsession, we have a problem.

Like so many facets of life, context is everything. Some guys can follow a strict diet regime and like intense exercise, and they can keep up this lifestyle without consequences. But for many (maybe even most) this can be a slippery slope into neurotic food practices and a fragile self-esteem that is based almost entirely on appearance that alienates them from the other areas of life.

Body Image and Men, Seven Health: Eating Disorder Recovery and Anti Diet Nutritionist

Whether you’re a guy or a girl, your sole purpose in life isn’t to look good. And while this seems very obvious when stated in this way, it’s easy for someone to find themselves forgetting this when making their decisions about what to eat or how they should spend their time.

What I find equally disturbing about this stuff is that these often-unhealthy behaviours are so prized and encouraged because of their social currency and the status it provides

You then have someone who is overweight or obese who receives derision for their body and their “lack of” self-care. While this person could be in perfect health, and much healthier than their “ripped” counterpart, because of the way we think and talk about fat, they don’t receive the social kudos and are more like a pariah.

And with these changes in what’s expected of the physical form, fewer people can make it into the “in” group. This leaves more and more people on the outside, often feeling terrible about themselves and their “malfunctioning” body.

If people want to spend their time moulding their body in a certain way, to look lean or ripped or whatever adjective, then that’s fine. But don’t confuse appearance with health. And don’t ostracise those who haven’t made it their choice to spend their life in this way (if choice is even the right word considering how elitist so much of this stuff is and how unavailable it is to massive chunks of the population).

Because health isn’t a look, it’s a way of being; and often those who appear the healthiest, aren’t really so. But that’s cultural conditioning for you.

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Comments

One response to “Body Image and Men”

  1. Clare Parr says:

    Another brilliant post thanks so much Chris .

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