Niki Bezzant: Let's talk about body dissatisfaction

Women are subject to often overwhelming pressure and judgement about appearance. Photo / 123RF

When we think of disordered eating and body image issues, we tend to think of this in relation to women. It's women, after all, who are subject to often overwhelming pressure and judgement about appearance. We don't often think of this as an issue for men, too. But new research adds to a body of evidence suggesting men also suffer with body-image issues and eating disorders.

The new study, from Melbourne University, looked at the attitudes of 40 men aged between 17 and 53 towards body dissatisfaction, and explored their perceptions of stigma and gender bias around this.

What they found was the men in the study believed body dissatisfaction in men was less dangerous than in women; a man looking to improve his physique was "trying to get healthy" whereas in women aiming to "get skinny" is perceived as more dangerous. The men also thought there was very little portrayal of male body dissatisfaction in the media; eating issues were portrayed, they felt, as "female issue".

There were also some interesting contradictions in male attitudes towards their bodies. The "ideal" male physique – lean, muscular – was praised and associated with positive values like self-respect and discipline. But trying too hard or having too much interest in their appearance was frowned upon. It's undesirable for men to be seen to be over-invested in how they look.

It's undesirable for men to be seen to be over-invested in how they look. Photo / 123RF

This echoes previous research, which has found that male gender roles dictate men avoid weakness or femininity, with which appearance concerns are largely associated.

This is an odd thing. The new study suggests these masculine norms also stop men from talking about body dissatisfaction or issues of body image.

"Body dissatisfaction was described as a taboo topic, because appearance concerns were perceived as to be contrary to masculine norms — especially pragmatism and stoicism," the researchers write.

This was expressed by one participant simply: "Guys don't talk about their bodies ... [There is a] societal perception that girls are the ones who speak about the problems and guys just soldier on [and] just forget about it."

This is clearly not ideal. With mental health and wellbeing rightly a focus now, we should be encouraging all people, including men, to talk about all the things that cause them anxiety. It's not right, any more, for men to feel they just need to harden up, rather than express concerns about their bodies.

Or, in fact, any aspect of health. It doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest that if men were more comfortable talking about their bodies in general, men's health overall might be better. The masculine norms that make men hesitant to say they're not happy with their bodies are likely related to the reluctance of men to address other health issues; to seek medical help for symptoms that might be seen as embarrassing, for example, or to get regular health checks that pick up things like prostate or bowel cancers.

It's up to all of us to encourage each other to speak up, in all areas of our health. It could be life saving.

*Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide; www.healthyfood.com