Recently, plus size male model Zach Miko opened up about his physical insecurities in an interview with the NY Times. Miko is the first brawn male model to sign under IMG's new division of modeling. Coined, “brawn,” IMG makes an attempt to remove the plus size term and present a more realistic male body shape and image. IMG Model's president, Ivan Bart, commented in an interview with WWD, "Brawn has a body positive message. Brawn has physical strength."
We’ve heard stories of plus-size female models being signed into modeling agencies despite the media's portrayal of body image as seen in a women’s plus size section in stores and online. But signing brawn or plus size male models? I’ll admit, the thought never occurred to me. Often times, a plus size male section is missing from stores, only supporting the idea that having different body types can’t be beautiful.
Of course, the article was filled with very attractive photos of Miko, posing with big brands like Bad Rhino and Target.
Miko's signing is an effort to move past the mainstream modeling industry, where men aren’t supposed to talk about their body issues. Although the brawn male model is not a new idea in the world, it is still a new concept for countries like the United States. In Germany, there are three modeling agencies dedicated solely to brawn male modeling.
Our goal as a society is to recognize that body image issues are not gender specific. There is no lack of talk about the female’s body image in the social media, but surprisingly, male body image issues are very prevalent in today’s society.
“We typically think of females when asked about eating disorders or body image issues because historically, females have been the focus,” Mia Holland, Chair of Human Behavior Programs at Capella University, tells Yahoo Beauty. “But males are just as susceptible to eating disorders and disordered body image as females. It is important that our society recognize males as a vulnerable population who are equally affected by media, social pressures, and unreasonable body image expectations as females.”
As for Zach Miko, I wish him all the best in his career as he becomes one of the first publicly known IMG brawn model. Check out his instragram below!
Instagram: Zach Miko
