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The preferred male body shapes of college men and women

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Abstract

Recent research has suggested that the number and types of eating disorders and/or negative body perceptions among men are on the rise. This study was designed to examine the adoption of muscular ideals by males. Two hypotheses were examined through the use of a very thin to very muscular silhouette assessment. These hypotheses were: 1) men would report that their ideal body shape would be more muscular than their current body shape; and 2) men would believe that women would find a more muscular shape more attractive than women actually report. Results of the study done with 244 undergraduate students supported both hypotheses. Implications of the findings are discussed.
... Young men sought the mesomorphic body for themselves during the 1950s and 1960s, a time when boxing gyms became popular (Deno, 1953;Mishkind et al., 1986). Several authors suggest the "V shape," with its broad shoulders, a tapering torso and slim waist, became increasingly popular in the 1980s and 1990s, as sedentary white-collar workers sought to live up to a muscular ideal, and a burgeoning consumer culture rapidly expanded market share by commodifying men's as well as women's bodies (Dutton, 1995, Grieve et al., 2005Mishkind et al., 1986). Seminaked male models appeared in advertising, and the "sexy body" also "became the young body" (McDowell, 1992;Parks & Read, 1997). ...
... A "hot" man was toned or even bulked up, and sagging flesh became a potent "signifier of decay and disorder" (Bordo, 1999, p. 225). The corollary was "bigorexia," in which large muscles are never large enough (Bordo, 1999;Grieve et al., 2005). ...
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The term “Dad Bod” first emerged in a 2015 article by college student Pearson and initially described a young male physique that balances fat and muscle and also connotes a relaxed lifestyle involving ample amounts of beer and pizza. The term has since gained in popularity and entered the household lexicon, often in relation to early-middle-aged men. Using Scott’s theory of “performative regulation” and digital articles from men’s health and fitness magazines, blogs, and other popular media outlets, this article examines connections between the Dad Bod and female sexual desire, health, well-being, men’s body positivity, and masculinity. The Dad Bod speaks to profound tensions in neoliberal society which men navigate in a range of ways by ignoring, resisting, and/or embodying this identity.
... Women consistently choose ideal figures that are smaller than their perceived current size [2,3,[6][7][8], whereas males choose ideal body sizes that are similar to, or larger than, their perceived current size [8,20,21]. In a study by Grieve, Newton, Kelley, Miller, and Kerr [22], men chose an ideal male body that was more muscular than their current body and thought that women would prefer a more muscular male body than was actually preferred by females. ...
... In recent decades, the media focus on male bodies has been increasing, which may lead to a shift in male body perceptions (i.e., the muscular ideal) [7,22,38,39]. With the increasing pressure on men to attain certain societal ideals, disordered eating in men could increase and this muscular ideal could minimize the gap in body image concerns and disordered eating among men and women [7]. ...
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Background Body image and disordered eating research has focused mostly on the female experience. The present study examined gender differences in the relationship between personality, disordered eating, and body image dissatisfaction. Methods Participants were 238 female and 85 male undergraduates (Mage = 20.52 years, SD = 4.22) at a Canadian university. Materials included a battery of self-report questionnaires pertaining to personality, body image, and disordered eating. ResultsAs expected, females reported more body dissatisfaction and disordered eating than males. Personality factors were found to be significantly related to the experience of body dissatisfaction in both genders. Further, several personality traits significantly contributed to the prediction of male (high Neuroticism, low Conscientiousness) and female (high Neuroticism) body dissatisfaction beyond the influence of body mass index (BMI). Interestingly, and contrary to findings with female participants, personality traits were not significantly related to disordered eating scores in men. Among women, disordered eating scores were significantly predicted by high Neuroticism and Extraversion, and low Conscientiousness. Conclusions Although the relationship between disordered eating, body image dissatisfaction, and personality is well-documented in females, this relation may differ for males. The focus on male body image has been increasing in Western society; exploring how males view their bodies may be beneficial to researchers and clinicians alike.
... Uma vez que o ideal social do corpo masculino é um físico mesomórfico (Grieve et al., 2005;Parks et al., 1997;Ridgeway et al., 2005), uma maneira aceitável de diminuir a ansiedade social e ganhar músculos é através do levantamento de peso. Portanto, levantar pesos diminui a ansiedade, levando ao reforço dos comportamentos negativos relacionados com esse hábito (Grieve et al., 2008). ...
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Os distúrbios alimentares e de imagem são uma realidade comum de praticantes de modalidades de força, que possuem uma forte influência do meio na maneira que conduzem as estratégias dietéticas e, na forma como percebem o próprio corpo, já que utilizam de corpos belos para vender uma falsa visão de saúde. Sabendo disso, os objetivos deste trabalho foram conscientizar sobre o problema, demonstrar os fatores de risco e entregar as principais formas de tratamento. Para isso, foi utilizado o método de revisão bibliográfica para reunir diversos achados sobre este assunto. Ao fim, foi possível perceber os riscos atribuídos ao meio fitness e o quanto essas influências podem impactar na saúde física e mental dos indivíduos que passam a conviver nesse meio e a consumir esse tipo de conteúdo.
... In the popular culture of the United States, muscularity is often seen as an attractive core component of the ideal male body (Leit et al., 2001). Further, previous studies of American college students have found that men overestimate the degree to which women associate muscularity with attractiveness (Grieve et al., 2005). Thus, Asian American men who want multiple sexual partners may engage in MODE to achieve that body ideal. ...
Article
Grounded in an intersectional framework, the present study investigated the extent to which racism, gendered racism, and conformity to masculine norms are associated with Asian American men’s muscularity-oriented disordered eating. The study also examined if ethnic identity moderated the association between both forms of racism and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. 220 Asian American men completed an online cross-sectional survey that contained the study questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the associations between our predictor variables and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Gendered racism, conformity to the masculine norms of playboy, heterosexual presentation and self-reliance were positively associated with muscularity-oriented disordered eating, whereas conformity to power over women was negatively associated. Racism and the remaining masculine norms were not associated with muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Ethnic identity did not moderate the association between either form of racism and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Given that gendered racism was positively associated with muscularity-oriented disordered eating whereas racism was not, researchers and practitioners may consider prioritizing intersectionality in their understanding of Asian American men’s eating pathology. Results emphasize the importance of examining both race and gender in conceptualizing Asian American men’s muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Data Availability Statement: Data for this study are available upon request from the first author.
... Results about social anxiety symptoms are somewhat in line with findings by Chandler et al. 34 who underlined that these symptoms may represent a motivational factor underling MD symptoms through negative reinforcement. The fear of negative evaluation by others, especially about one's physique, is an aversive state; since the social ideal for the male body is a mesomorphic physique [35][36][37] , an acceptable way to decrease social anxiety is gaining muscle through lifting weights. Therefore, lifting weights decreases anxiety, thus leading to the reinforcement of the weight lifting behaviours 33 . ...
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Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) is a psychological disorder characterized by the preoccupation with the idea that one's body is not lean and muscular. The current study aimed to explore MD behaviours and symptoms in three groups of recreational athletes: bodybuilders (BB; n = 42), strength athletes (SA; n = 61), and fitness practitioners (FP; n = 22). Furthermore, we assessed MD-related psychological features as well as possible psychological predictors of MD among groups. Results highlighted that the BB group reported more beliefs about being smaller and weaker than desired compared to the other groups, whereas individuals in the SA group reported setting higher standards for themselves than the FP group. Lastly, orthorexia nervosa and social anxiety symptoms emerged as predictors of MD symptoms in the BB group. Taken together, our findings suggest that individuals in the BB group are characterized by more MD general symptomatology than those in the other groups; furthermore, only orthorexia nervosa and social anxiety may play a specific role in predicting MD general symptoms in bodybuilders.
... Results about social anxiety symptoms are somewhat in line with findings by Chandler et al. 34 who underlined that these symptoms may represent a motivational factor underling MD symptoms through negative reinforcement. The fear of negative evaluation by others, especially about one's physique, is an aversive state; since the social ideal for the male body is a mesomorphic physique [35][36][37] , an acceptable way to decrease social anxiety is gaining muscle through lifting weights. Therefore, lifting weights decreases anxiety, thus leading to the reinforcement of the weight lifting behaviours 33 . ...
... Men most often report a body ideal that is mesomorphic, which includes a lean and muscular physique, large biceps, a V-shaped chest, and toned abdominal muscles. Unfortunately, Grieve, Newton, Kelley, Miller Jr., and Kerr (2005) found that college men viewed their current bodies as not matching the cultural ideal. ...
Article
Psychological research pertaining to the study of men and masculinity has discerned that men are increasingly becoming dissatisfied with their bodies. However, men’s body image research has been neglected as researchers originally concluded that only women were impacted. However, the last 20 years has begun to elucidate factors and consequences of muscularity-focused body image dissatisfaction among men. Particularly, some men engage in dangerous behaviors (e.g., excessive exercise, dieting, steroid use) in order to obtain a body with large biceps, chiseled chest, and defined abdominal muscles. Also, more men are experiencing characteristics of muscle dysmorphia (MD), a subtype of body dysmorphic disorder, in which they believe that they are not big enough and continue to abuse steroids, excessively exercise, engage in body checking behaviors, and sacrifice work/life balance and interpersonal relationships. Although there is an increase in men with negative body image and symptoms indicative of muscle MD, there has been scant literature examining factors that precipitate and mitigate body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, and MD characteristics. Therefore, the current dissertation study examined a mediation model associating conformity to traditional masculine norms with body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, and MD characteristics, identifying both gender role conflict and self-compassion as mediators of this relation. A total of 154 college-aged heterosexual men completed counterbalanced measures pertaining to the aforementioned constructs and results suggested that gender socialization (i.e., traditional masculine ideology and GRC) was positively related to body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, and MD characteristics. Also, self-compassion was found to be negatively related to body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, and MD characteristics. However, both self-compassion and GRC did not mediate the relationship between traditional masculine ideology and body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, and MD characteristics. Implications for mental health practitioners and researchers, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are provided.
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The current study aimed to ascertain the relation amongst body dissatisfaction, self-objectification, and internalization of media ideals on appearance anxiety in males. The study followed quantitative correlational survey research design and through purposive convenient sampling, the data from 334 males, age ranging from 18-25 (M= 20.9 SD= 1.80) was collected from different areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The scales used for the collection of data were Appearance Anxiety Scale – Brief Version, Internalization subscale from SATAQ – III, Male Body Dissatisfaction Scale and Self –Objectification Scale. The findings revealed through Pearson’s Correlation test were that there is a significant weak correlation between Body Dissatisfaction and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.20, p < 0.01), followed by weak significant correlation between Self-Objectification and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.15, p < 0.0.1) and a similar, however highest correlation was found between Internalization of Media Ideals and Appearance Anxiety in males (r=.20, p < 0.01). According to the results the relationship between Self-Objectification and Appearance Anxiety in males is weak, withonly 1.8% of the variance in Appearance Anxiety being explained by Self- Objectification. The relationship between Body Dissatisfaction and Appearance Anxiety in males is also weak, with only 3.6% of the variance in Appearance Anxiety being explained by Body Dissatisfaction. The relationship between Internalization of Media Ideals and Self-Objectification in males is stronger, with 12.2% of the variance in Self-Objectification being explained by Internalization of Media Ideals. The findings can help understand the predictors of appearance anxiety in male population in Asian cultures.
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Son yıllarda, zihinsel sağlık alanında, bireyin algılanan kas gelişimindeki yetersizliği üzerine aşırı ve bazen rahatsız edici bir şekilde odaklanmasıyla tanımlanan kas dismorfi hastalığının yükselen bir önemi olduğunu görmekteyiz. Bu takıntı, bireyin gerçek fiziksel görünümünü genellikle gölgede bırakmakta ve günlük yaşama önemli ölçüde müdahale edebilmektedir. Bu zihinsel sağlık sorunu giderek yaygınlaşmasına ve artan tanınırlığına rağmen, kas dismorfisinin psikolojik bozukluklar geniş spektrumu içindeki tam yeri, bilim insanları arasında tartışma konusudur. Beden dismorfik bozukluk, yeme bozuklukları ve obsesif-kompulsif bozukluklar gibi durumlarla belirgin özellikler paylaşmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, benzersiz özellikleri, ayrı dikkat ve araştırmayı hak etmektedir. Bu analitik inceleme, kas dismorfi ile yeni terimler ve anlayışlar arasında ilişki kurmayı amaçlayan son araştırma çabalarına derinlemesine dalıyor. Zihinsel sağlık söyleminin evrilen manzarasıyla, beden imajı algıları, toplumsal nesnelleştirme ve narsisizm unsurları gibi daha geniş kavramların kas dismorfi yorumuna entegrasyonu söz konusudur. Bu ortaya çıkan görüşler, sınıflandırma etrafındaki tartışmayı zenginleştirmekle kalmıyor, aynı zamanda bu durumun çeşitli yönlerini anlamamızı da artırıyor. Kas dismorfi ile beden dismorfik ve yeme bozuklukları arasında önemli miktarda ampirik veri bulunsa da, obsesif-kompulsif ve belirli kişilik bozukluklarına olan bağlantıları daha sağlam bir şekilde araştırmaya ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Kas dismorfinin ayrıntılarına ve çok yönlü ilişkilerine gerçekten hakim olmak için, bu zihinsel sağlık konusundaki evrilen endişeyi aydınlatabilecek sıkı randomize klinik kontrollü deneylere acil bir ihtiyaç vardır.
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