Body Image in Boys and Young Men

Body image problems and disorders traditionally have been associated with girls and women, and the existing literature has focused on adolescent and young girls. This may be due to the fact that most males do not admit or acknowledge that they have problems or issues with their personal body images. Moreover, the literature that does exist on males and body image is inconsistent and sporadic. Yet, in recent years such issues among males have become more prevalent, and researchers have begun to focus on males as subjects of body dissatisfaction.

Defined as “a multidimensional construct that represents how individuals think, feel, and behave with regard to their own physical attributes” (Muth & Cash, 1997, p. 1438), body image involves two components: (1) body image evaluation, identified as the evaluation of an individual's thoughts and beliefs about his or her physical appearance; and (2) body image investment, identified as behaviors an individual performs to manage or enhance his or her physical appearance (Cash & Szymanski, 1995). According to the American Psychiatric Association, body dissatisfaction is not defined as the inability to accurately perceive one's figure or body size, nor is it defined as the connection between physical shape or size and self-worth; these are definitions and symptoms of eating disorders. Rather, body dissatisfaction consists of negative feelings or attitudes about these characteristics.

Such discontent is becoming more prevalent among adolescent boys and young men. Research has shown that 50% to 70% of teenage boys want to change their body sizes or shapes. Males who are involved in athletic activities, who are struggling with sexual identity, or who are overweight or obese are more likely to experience body image and dissatisfaction issues. Generally, underweight and athletic boys desire to “get bigger” or increase muscular density, whereas overweight boys desire to lose weight. This is different from adolescent girls, who strive for slimness and weight loss. Additionally, although a high percentage of females are dissatisfied with their body shapes, such dissatisfaction among boys is less common and appears to be unrelated to body weight. Females are typically unhappy with the lower body, whereas boys are more dissatisfied with the stomach.

In terms of athletics and body image, boys and young men involved in sports in which lean and smaller body types are preferred typically also have higher levels of body dissatisfaction. The most common sports that concentrate on body weight and size are wrestling, swimming and diving, track and cross-country running, cycling, and gymnastics. These activities place a high priority on low body weight and low body fat, leading some male athletes to engage in dangerous behaviors, such as laxative use, excessive exercise, calorie and fluid restriction, self-induced vomiting, and starvation, in order to achieve a set weight or qualify for a specific weight class. Such expectations lead adolescent boys and young men to internally compare their actual body sizes and shapes to the ideal physique; the discrepancies cause distress and body dissatisfaction. A 1997 study by Parks and Read found that adolescent football players were more satisfied with their bodies than adolescent cross-country runners were. The researchers stated that this difference could be because the body images of football players were closer to the mesomorphic male ideal.

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