A few men I know have been telling me "Body image isn't just a girl thing!" I always knew that and never claimed that body image issues or eating disorders were reserved for only those of us who are female. I've met quite a few men and boys with full blown eating disorders, some as young as thirteen years old. So I don't want anyone to accuse me of being sexist or unfeeling towards men in respect to body image and eating disorders, it's just that I'm a girl and many of my friends are girls, so guess who I talk to the most about these things? But guys, I hear you.
Recently a few men have actually come out to me and said they suffer from occasional negative body image thoughts. They told me that they fear that women have unrealistic expectations of what their bodies should look like based on male models and actors (gee, that sounds oddly familiar.....) and on two separate occasions Men's Health magazine was mentioned as a trigger. The pictures of rock hard six-pack abs seem to cause the most insecurity, although in one article I read it stated that men's biggest worry was the size of their junk. However, I also know that the majority of women don't really care about these things, if they want their guy to lose weight it's most likely so the guy stays healthy. Personally, I don't find the bodies in those images attractive at all, they look frightening and I know other women my age who have said the same thing.
Personally I've had to consciously decide that I can not look at fashion or entertainment magazines because they directly affect my thoughts, mood and eating patterns. None of the guys I've talked to have said the same, only that seeing the images in some magazines makes them feel bad about themselves. I have noticed that if I look at the images on the covers of those magazines while in the check out line, I will automatically become depressed, think "I wish I looked like that," and I have even been known to put "guilty" foods back and not buy them. Negative body image thoughts are dangerous, they kept me an extra week in treatment because although I was eating 100%, I was hating myself for it.
So, man or woman, it doesn't matter. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with media, it's hard to find anyone who honestly doesn't have some degree of body image issues. The important things to do are to avoid triggers, remember that those images have been unbelievably doctored, and if needed get help for these issues.
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