male eating disorders

A flat, lean stomach, with defined, toned muscles, flawless, tanned skin, and a body fat percentage less than an average preschooler’s age. Sounds like a familiar description of any given model in Cosmo, Mademoiselle, or Glamour. But in today’s society, this description now applies to any Men’s Health, GQ, or Details magazine you thumb through. These media images, once only aimed at women, are now increasingly present in male culture and are putting the pressure on men to look perfect. However, the negative results of these images that have been seen in women in the form of eating and image disorders are now beginning to increasingly spread throughout the male segment of the population. These results are harder to spot, though, "because men often attempt to control their weight more by over-exercising than under-eating, and may appear to be physically fine," according to Steve Bloomfield, the Eating Disorders Association spokesperson. Whether through steroids or eating disorders, males face a new threat in terms of body perfection.

THE RISE IN MALE IMAGES IN THE MEDIA AND THE ADONIS COMPLEX

Being male in America used to be easy. There was hardly a worry about weight, looks, or health. But over the last 20 to 30 year

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All are trying to attain the perfect body, as seen in so many media outlets, and are making it an obsession. ’”

Men face a difficult road when it comes to admitting and getting help for eating disorders. According to Anne Hale, professor of marketing at the University of Victoria, this trend is being driven by aging baby boomers that hope moisturizers and other cosmetics can make them look younger. " This is what worries researchers in the field of eating disorders. Researchers in the field analogize this increase in standards to a G. Meaning is negotiated through the use of language. Looking at a study done by Psychology Today on men’s dissatisfaction with their body, this obsession proves evident. With the increase in male images in the media, they feel as though men are following in the same footsteps as women have in dealing with what they see. Lynn Ponton, a psychiatrist at UCSF medical center says, "Boys aren't supposed to have problems such as eating disorders. People must realize that those tight abs and toned muscles come at a price - a price that can be both costly, and deadly. Roberto Olivardia, an expert on the Adonis Complex, believes that there are over 300,000 men in the United States afflicted with this disease. So what can a society do? Brian Pronger, a professor at the University of Toronto, suggests teaching children to look at body images in the same critical way they are told to consider art and literature - to be able to recognize what has merit.

The combination of these three premises, according to the Symbolic Interactionism theory, form a persons looking-glass self. The premises used are creating social reality through meaning, creating meaning through language, and taking the role of the other through thought.

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