When people think of body insecurity, what do you think of? Even if you aren’t insecure about yourself just take a couple of seconds to visualize a person that is and keep that image in your head. Since the world mainly discusses the issues of society vs. body images I would assume that most of you probably thought of an overweight/underweight female. And please, don’t get me wrong that is a serious topic, which is, fortunately, being discussed and seen as an issue. But, not a lot of people really hear about a man and the everyday battle between them and their reflection.
As soon as I wake up in the morning and look at the mirror, I stare at myself standing before me. A look of disgust comes across my face as I try to suck my belly in as if it would magically disappear. Later on when I’m at school walking around campus, I see the many bodies that shut my complete confidence down. Looking at all of the couples walking together, I keep wondering if that’s the reason why I’m single because the person that I would dream to be with would never bat an eye toward my direction.
Society has painted a picture of how men are supposed to be and because of how the world views men, we have difficult times expressing our insecurities. As men, we must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon and with all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon. (I had to) Because of this, men struggle more with expressing their insecurities and it makes it harder for us to communicate to people about these issues.
Viewing the media in our world today you'll see the impossible beauty standards that society puts in check for men as well. When you look through a GQ magazine you see the many thin, toned up models that play the strong games of the jawline and eyebrow. Their teeth looking as straight and white as the Westboro Baptist Church and their hair that looks like a painting from DaVinci himself. You see, as much as all of us would love to look like that, photoshop really lets the world escape from reality.
We all want something we don’t have, and it sucks because the people who don’t understand simply tell us “Oh! Just lose some weight!” or “You want to bulk up? Go to the gym and work out”. For everyone else reading you need to realize it’s much deeper than just losing weight or pumping up some iron. There are people that have an illness standing in the way of their insecurities and many that just can’t do what they want because of their genes. In order for body acceptance to become more relevant for the world, we all need to just understand one another.
So guys, for all of you that go through this I want you to know that it’s okay. Someday we'll all get to where we want to be, I just know it. Even though you feel it, you're not weak at all and I know you'll find your happy place eventually. You'll be where you want to be and go where you want to go because you are strong. And you know, It’s okay if you get help along the way because we all need that extra push to cross the finish line.
