Male Beauty Trap

Weight and beauty concerns are no longer exclusively female issues.

Men and boys are increasingly obsessed with their body image and are rapidly falling victim to the same kinds of social and cultural pressures as women and girls, say the authors of The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession (Simon - Schuster, 2000).
The three authors are recognized medical professionals treating body image disorders. Their case histories confirm the seriousness of the problem.

Meanwhile, the American Journal of Psychiatry (February 2005) reported on a study that concluded body image disorders appear to be more prevalent in western than nonwestern men. The study authors also found that young western men display greater unrealistic body ideals and dissatisfaction with their bodies compared to Taiwanese men.

These differences may reflect western traditions which emphasize muscularity and fitness as a measure of masculinity, along with increasing exposure of western men to muscular male bodies in media images, and a more significant decline in traditional male roles in the West.

All these factors place greater emphasis on the body as a measure of masculinity and may be the reason for an increase in body image disorders and anabolic steroid abuse by western men.