Body image has always been a big issue for women, however, not many people talk about body image issues that affect men. There is this unspoken belief that women suffer more than men when it comes to self-esteem issues; however, I don’t believe this is true. I believe men and women equally suffer from self-esteem issues.
When I was younger I was admitted to a hospital. I had a room in the eating disorder wing of the hospital, though I wasn’t admitted for that, but I was shocked when I saw a man with anorexia. For years I struggled with two eating disorders and had mostly thought it was a feminine issue. I joked about my male friend being skinny and called him a manorexic, not really knowing what that meant. I was naive to think that eating disorders and body image issues were only a woman’s problem. I think what affected me most was the fact that this was a grown man with a wife and a child who was suffering so horribly from anorexia that he was hospitalized. He was skin and bones.
I did not really understand why a man would have these problems. I couldn’t comprehend why a guy would not eat or feel this way about his body because men are supposed to have it easier than women.
I don’t normally think a lot about body image as of late, even though I’m still struggling with my own weight. However, a few weeks ago, my friend was very upset. He said he tries so hard to watch what he eats and to exercise because he hopes that one day he could look in the mirror and like what he sees. This recalled the memory of my time at the eating disorder clinic and what I witnessed.
There is this misconception that men don’t have body image issues and only women struggle with this. Men are just like women when they see images of the "perfect body." They have the same feeling of defeat when they look at an image of a man with a chiseled physique, just like a woman does when she looks at a woman with a tiny waist and no body fat. Women chase after the thigh gap while men try desperately to get the six-pack that might be unachievable. The fashion and entertainment industry engendered in us these images, of Barbie and Hercules, and not meeting up to those standards makes us feel like failures.
When my friend told me that he did not think much of himself, I wanted to cry. How could society make someone with such a good heart be so insecure that he or she is constantly nitpicking what he or she eats and how much he or she exercises. I also think that there is more promotion now for body positivity for women than there is for men. There is a plus size movement for women, however, men are left behind. There is no campaign by Axe body spray to show men of all different body shapes accepting who they are the way Dove has in their ad campaigns. Guys aren’t allowed to talk about vulnerability and insecurity it seems.
As a woman struggling with an eating disorder, I understand just how hard it is to overcome these ideals that society sets for our appearances. I also think it’s important to remember that we are not alone as women in feeling this way.
