to worry now we have equality with body issues

[nettlewine]

The most popular men's magazine these days is men's health. I can't help but be very sad that men now have the same self hating body issues. These magazines are full of stuff to make you feel bad and quick fix solutions that do nothing. Fancy skin care stuff doesn't do anything more than bog standard stuff, buying an expensive watch won't improve your life and no supplements will be any better than a good diet.

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3063814/Three-ordinary-men-replace-beer-bellies-six-packs-just-10-WEEKS-juggling-busy-jobs-family-duties.html

This mail article is ridiculous, three guys in good shape have a personal trainer for a fe weeks and have badly taken unflattering photos compared with ones done with different lighting and a make over and surprise they look better. Its just awful to think anybody falls for this shit.

YANBU, but from what my gay male friends tell me, this is not in any way a new development, it just took a little more time for the insecurity manufacturing industry to realise they could just go on diversifying until they hit the straight male population. Yay equality. Yay.

I don't think we have anything even so much as approaching equality with body issues.

Yes, I do feel bad that men are now having all these high standards thrown at them, but to be honest, at the same time I am a tiny bit glad. I think it's much harder to be sickeningly judgemental about other people's bodies, when society starts putting expectations on you yourself.

I don't think this is new. But is starting to affect larger groups of men. I work with the fitness industry and have seen man and women all striving for the perfect body for years. Men's health has been around for years, always with similar articles.

Its becoming more mainstream and I know pressure to look a certain way is affecting more men I know away from work and the gym.

Even my dh who has never been in a gym, ever is now planning on coming to mine with me to gain some muscle. He is fit, but his top half doesn't have much muscle. At 40 he has started wanted to add it. Which isn't unusual, except he has never bothered about it before. I am unsure if its media pressure or the fact that he now works with me and is spending more time around huge men.