An impossible, perhaps even dangerous standard

[D_Tim McGnaw]

So...the bottom line is...use some common sense. If you dont have the metabolism to eat fatty foods a lot, eat sparingly. Park your car at the futhest point from the store you want to shop at. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Try to get your heart rate up a good deal for about an hour or so every day. I lift weights and run a lot every day, with a day or two of rest per week. I have a decent body- but I know that I'm never going to look like a Mens Health model.

You have an amazing body TomCat :wink:, but I think you've misunderstood the point of this thread. :redface:

 

[FRE]

So...the bottom line is...use some common sense. If you dont have the metabolism to eat fatty foods a lot, eat sparingly. Park your car at the futhest point from the store you want to shop at. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Try to get your heart rate up a good deal for about an hour or so every day. I lift weights and run a lot every day, with a day or two of rest per week. I have a decent body- but I know that I'm never going to look like a Mens Health model.

You don't have the body of a champion, but it certainly is very good. In fact, it's good enough that I bet it attracts attention.

 

[25300]

I'm 6' 7" and weigh 275.5 lb. I am built solidly and tall so I definately dont fit that lean male body type.

Due to the sheer exposure to this current, universally accepted as 'perfect', body type, I do sometimes push that little bit harder at the gym or cut the calories ect, but realistically I will never look like them.

Women have told me that being such a large man (I'm solid, not overweight) is unattractive and that they wouldn't go near someone as big as me.

This, coupled with the model images made me wonder if my body type was unattractive. But I think many people don't understand when to accept the beauty in their own body type, whether it is the body type in fashion or not.

I see many people my age do dangerous amounts of physical activity on a scarce diet, and I definately agree that it becoming an increasing problem with young men, while I think that women are weaning away from the size 0 image, due to the mass exposure of it's unhealthiness.

 

[FRE]

I'm 6' 7" and weigh 275.5 lb. I am built solidly and tall so I definately dont fit that lean male body type.

Due to the sheer exposure to this current, universally accepted as 'perfect', body type, I do sometimes push that little bit harder at the gym or cut the calories ect, but realistically I will never look like them.

Women have told me that being such a large man (I'm solid, not overweight) is unattractive and that they wouldn't go near someone as big as me.

This, coupled with the model images made me wonder if my body type was unattractive. But I think many people don't understand when to accept the beauty in their own body type, whether it is the body type in fashion or not.

I see many people my age do dangerous amounts of physical activity on a scarce diet, and I definately agree that it becoming an increasing problem with young men, while I think that women are weaning away from the size 0 image, due to the mass exposure of it's unhealthiness.

For a man who is 6'7", a weight of 275# doesn't seem excessive. When women say that they wouldn't go near someone as big as you, it seems that they are more concerned with an ideal body than with character. Your gallery photos don't offer much of a clue about what you look like, but there are more important considerations than physical appearance anyway.

Obviously, unless we are blind, the first thing we notice about someone is how he / she looks, which in some ways is unfortunate, but there is a limit to what we can do about it.

To the extent that concern with appearance causes people to live in a more healthful manner, it is good. Unfortunately, it causes a few people to go to unhealthful extremes, and that should be avoided.

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

I'm 6' 7" and weigh 275.5 lb. I am built solidly and tall so I definately dont fit that lean male body type.

Due to the sheer exposure to this current, universally accepted as 'perfect', body type, I do sometimes push that little bit harder at the gym or cut the calories ect, but realistically I will never look like them.

Women have told me that being such a large man (I'm solid, not overweight) is unattractive and that they wouldn't go near someone as big as me.

This, coupled with the model images made me wonder if my body type was unattractive. But I think many people don't understand when to accept the beauty in their own body type, whether it is the body type in fashion or not.

I see many people my age do dangerous amounts of physical activity on a scarce diet, and I definately agree that it becoming an increasing problem with young men, while I think that women are weaning away from the size 0 image, due to the mass exposure of it's unhealthiness.

Thank you for posting, this is a very revealing post. It just points to the fact that this is an issue faced by ordinary guys, and not just models, and it's interesting that you bring up the issue of some of this pressure coming from female perspectives of male beauty too.

I know lots of straight women who would feel no compunction about criticising a man to his face for being too muscular and bulky and making it quite clear they're attracted to a more ultra-lean looking guy. Were the roles reversed I'm not sure a guy could get away with saying something like that without drawing down some pretty hefty criticism from the women he was saying this too.

 

[earllogjam]

I agree with most of what you're saying here, but I disagree that ultra-leaness and the dangerous habits which are used to achieve it are a phenomenon restricted to the Fashion industry, and I think the "tortured victims" you're referring to are far more numerous and diverse a group than you may think.

You may be right. Being a bearish middle aged guy myself and living outside of NYC, I don't travel in those circles. Oil and water. I do watch Project Runway however. :tongue:

 

[FRE]

Some people, especially women, even have surgery to help conform to a particular body type. Breast implants are good example. Some women even have cosmetic genital surgery in an attempt to make that area of their bodies more attractive and often experience medical problems as a result. None of this is new. In earlier times, Chinese parents had their young girls' feet bound, a very painful process that left them crippled for life. To a lesser degree, American women have done the same thing; to be able to wear stylish shoes, women have had bones surgically removed from their feet. And let us not forget the tight lace-up corsets that women used to wear.

I've read that some men have had surgical implants to make themselves look more muscular. Many have had eye surgery to avoid the need to wear glasses. Hair transplants are another example. Unless a person is seriously deformed, having surgery simply to conform to a standard of physical appearance is not a reasonable thing to do.

I continue to believe that people should make a reasonable effort to keep themselves in good physical condition by having a good diet and getting adequate exercise, which many people fail to do, but almost anything can be carried to destructive extremes.

 

[Lex]

I'm 6' 7" and weigh 275.5 lb. I am built solidly and tall so I definately dont fit that lean male body type. ....

See, this is reaction from women is just silly nowadays. There was a time when women WANTED a big, muscular man (like the Brawny Man).

I checked your gallery and you look great. Especially in this pic:
http://www.lpsg.org/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/217749/cat/500/ppuser/25300

For a man who is 6'7", a weight of 275# doesn't seem excessive....

I agree, but I want to caution that we can not simply go by numbers alone. Even if his weight was much higher, it could all well be muscle and he could still look great.

...

I've read that some men have had surgical implants to make themselves look more muscular. Many have had eye surgery to avoid the need to wear glasses. Hair transplants are another example. Unless a person is seriously deformed, having surgery simply to conform to a standard of physical appearance is not a reasonable thing to do.

MTV used to run these shows, called True Life, I think. On one episode, they followed a rather handsome guy who decided he needed calf implants. Discovery Channel used to have plastic surgery shows that intermittently highlighted men having facial, eye and liposuction.

I do draw a distinction between body issues and eye problems. I am approaching needing reading glasses. This does not bother me. There are, however, reasons, to wear contacts or have eye surgery rather than deal with glasses (if you need them all the time, for example. Foggy lenses are a bitch).

I continue to believe that people should make a reasonable effort to keep themselves in good physical condition by having a good diet and getting adequate exercise, which many people fail to do, but almost anything can be carried to destructive extremes.

The challenge here is that the food manufacturers work against our need to eat well and be healthy. They make false claims, sell junk to get us addicted, and lie.

 

[B_dxjnorto]

On one episode, they followed a rather handsome guy who decided he needed calf implants.

"Doctors" think of new ways to make people unhealthy all the time.

 

[FRE]

See, this is reaction from women is just silly nowadays. There was a time when women WANTED a big, muscular man (like the Brawny Man).

You are quite right. The body type that is considered most stylish now probably won't be most stylish 10 or 20 years from now. I can see that if a woman wants (to be crude) a quick lay and cares nothing about her partner except his physical attributes, having a prefect body, according to current standards, may be an important consideration. But if she is looking for a husband or life partner, the health and character of a man should be the most important considerations. Also, although men may be able to maintain the same body type for decades, there are no guarantees and, in any case, hair will turn gray, some will be lost, there will be wrinkles, etc. Probably a woman will not be able to discard her partner or husband for a new model when that happens.

Having outstanding physical attributes can actually be a disadvantage if the man or woman possessing them relies too heavily on them instead of developing desirable character traits. Even so, a man or woman who cares about himself or herself and his or her partner will make a reasonable effort to remain healthy and usually that helps to maintain a pleasing physical appearance.

It's obvious that many people (both men and women) put too much emphasis on style and appearance and not enough on the things that are more important.

 

[FRE]

The challenge here is that the food manufacturers work against our need to eat well and be healthy. They make false claims, sell junk to get us addicted, and lie.

You are quite correct.

Occasionally eating junk food is harmless, but if junk food becomes a significant portion of one's caloric intake, it is seriously detrimental.

It would be nice to be able to have a can of soup occasionally. However, if one reads the labels, it becomes obvious that practically all of them are loaded with sodium, among other ingredients that we would be better off without. I have actually written, to no affect, to Campbells about this and pointed out that anyone can add salt if he wants to, but we cannot remove it. I have suggested that they add NO salt, and label the cans, "Unsalted; salt to taste." Not surprisingly, they are unwilling to do so. The same is true with V8 and tomato juice. One can buy tomato juice with reduced salt content, but it costs significantly more than heavily salted tomato juice. Of course one could avoid buying all pre-processed food, but realistically, that would be seriously inconvenient and, for many people, totally impractical. When one becomes used to food without excess salt, food with excess salt doesn't even taste good. Excess sodium is only part of the problem.

It would be easier for people to maintain their health and physical appearance if supermarkets and fast-food restaurants offered better choices at reasonable prices, which I believe they could do if they chose to.

 

[BIGBULL29]

"Doctors" think of new ways to make people unhealthy all the time.

I have to agree with that. Making money is more important than anything to most of them.

 

[Bbucko]

I've read that some men have had surgical implants to make themselves look more muscular. Many have had eye surgery to avoid the need to wear glasses. Hair transplants are another example. Unless a person is seriously deformed, having surgery simply to conform to a standard of physical appearance is not a reasonable thing to do.

Pec implants and various types of buttock augmentation techniques (whether injected fillers or full-on implants) are actually very common. Arm implants are hardly unheard-of but are somewhat more rare.

There are also many guys who get their faces filled, lips filled, eyes done and various dermatological procedures (like dermabrasion), not to mention lipo.

There's a guy I see at work all the time. he could be anywhere from 32 to 55, though the elasticity of the skin on his body would make me guess late-40s. He's lean to the point of emaciated, though he's got unnaturally bulging pecs and a high, rock-hard booty which hardly square with his bony torso and ultra-thin arms and legs. His face has obviously had work: the eyes have that tell-tale upward cant on the outside from having been lifted, his lips are puffy and unnaturally large (bordering on the grotesque) and he's had so much Botox that his range of expression is very very limited. Oh: and his teeth are either veneers or caps: perfectly straight and gleaming, brilliant white.

He's by no means unusual down here in South Florida. Although I find him completely unappealing, I do have to give him credit for such complete dedication to the pursuit of his ideal, no matter how unlikely (or unnatural).

 

[DrCalvin]

Thank you for posting, this is a very revealing post. It just points to the fact that this is an issue faced by ordinary guys, and not just models, and it's interesting that you bring up the issue of some of this pressure coming from female perspectives of male beauty too.

I know lots of straight women who would feel no compunction about criticising a man to his face for being too muscular and bulky and making it quite clear they're attracted to a more ultra-lean looking guy. Were the roles reversed I'm not sure a guy could get away with saying something like that without drawing down some pretty hefty criticism from the women he was saying this too.

i wholeheartedly agree, if a man told a woman that she was too curvy, he would probably get a slap in the face

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Pec implants and various types of buttock augmentation techniques (whether injected fillers or full-on implants) are actually very common. Arm implants are hardly unheard-of but are somewhat more rare.

There are also many guys who get their faces filled, lips filled, eyes done and various dermatological procedures (like dermabrasion), not to mention lipo.

There's a guy I see at work all the time. he could be anywhere from 32 to 55, though the elasticity of the skin on his body would make me guess late-40s. He's lean to the point of emaciated, though he's got unnaturally bulging pecs and a high, rock-hard booty which hardly square with his bony torso and ultra-thin arms and legs. His face has obviously had work: the eyes have that tell-tale upward cant on the outside from having been lifted, his lips are puffy and unnaturally large (bordering on the grotesque) and he's had so much Botox that his range of expression is very very limited. Oh: and his teeth are either veneers or caps: perfectly straight and gleaming, brilliant white.

He's by no means unusual down here in South Florida. Although I find him completely unappealing, I do have to give him credit for such complete dedication to the pursuit of his ideal, no matter how unlikely (or unnatural).

Several of my wider social group, males, between 30 and 35, not all gay, get botox as a preventative for deep expression lines. I'll grant you none of these guys seem to be starving themselves or the like but two of them have veneers. I know several guys who've had their ears pinned back or had nose jobs to correct unsightly misshaping from breaks. I know lots of guys (again a fairly even mix of straight and gay) who get non-surgical procedures like chemical peels, micro-dermabrasion, or who use tanning beds or fake-bake or hair-removal treatments.

Strangely in the case of the straight guys a lot of them aren't even the kind of metro-sexual type which seemed to blossom a few years ago. Most just seem to be regular guys who feel a general social pressure to look "their best" as most put it. They're kind of the thin end of the wedge, at the other end of the scale there are increasing numbers of men who are seeking a wide range of cosmetic surgeries and many who are going through other dangers to look "their best".

I've had a the odd bit of non-surgical stuff done now and then (nothing with syringes or blood), and I take some time to lavish a bit of attention on myself at the beauticians every now and then in an effort to keep time somewhat in check. As well as vanity I'm sure some small part of my motivation is a wider social pressure which many men are feeling to some degree or another. In many cases this is harmless, probably in most, but I do think there are guys out there who are being pushed in to dangerous territory.

 

[jakeamule]

The thing is that men are at the exact opposite spectrum than women with this issue. Men are told that they should not care about how they look and if they do care, then that means that they are not a man. Even though the media is showing these lean and unbulky men, it's usually geared towards women and fashion. Men still say to eachother that being big and hairy is 'manly'. Men are now trapped in between being 'manly' or 'attractive' without being able to talk to others for the threat of their manhood. This confusion is a perfect source of eating disorders.

 

[Bbucko]

Several of my wider social group, males, between 30 and 35, not all gay, get botox as a preventative for deep expression lines. I'll grant you none of these guys seem to be starving themselves or the like but two of them have veneers. I know several guys who've had their ears pinned back or had nose jobs to correct unsightly misshaping from breaks. I know lots of guys (again a fairly even mix of straight and gay) who get non-surgical procedures like chemical peels, micro-dermabrasion, or who use tanning beds or fake-bake or hair-removal treatments.

Strangely in the case of the straight guys a lot of them aren't even the kind of metro-sexual type which seemed to blossom a few years ago. Most just seem to be regular guys who feel a general social pressure to look "their best" as most put it. They're kind of the thin end of the wedge, at the other end of the scale there are increasing numbers of men who are seeking a wide range of cosmetic surgeries and many who are going through other dangers to look "their best".

I've had a the odd bit of non-surgical stuff done now and then (nothing with syringes or blood), and I take some time to lavish a bit of attention on myself at the beauticians every now and then in an effort to keep time somewhat in check. As well as vanity I'm sure some small part of my motivation is a wider social pressure which many men are feeling to some degree or another. In many cases this is harmless, probably in most, but I do think there are guys out there who are being pushed in to dangerous territory.

It's a thin line, indeed. And also one I'll admit is wholly subjective. Whether because of my upbringing (flinty New England stock) or my age (we used to find peculiarities appealing, whether of appearance or personality) or, more likely, some combination of the two, I find this quest for impossible standards neurotic, self-defeating and rather vulgar.

Huge, perfectly straight bright-white Chicklet teeth set into an older man's face just looks creepy and unnatural to me to the same degree that huge, high pornstar tits don't belong on a woman in her 50s. But I see it all the time. When someone of age overdoes cosmetic work (as they almost inevitably do), they lose something truly irreplaceable: the dignity and wisdom of having lived through their experiences.

 

[FRE]

The bleaching of teeth is sometimes overdone too. Often they look unnaturally bright and white, but that seems harmless compared with what some people do.

 

[B_dxjnorto]

Huge, perfectly straight bright-white Chicklet teeth set into an older man's face just looks creepy...

Female friend of mine got that done just on the upper arch. Whoever did it should have their license pulled.

 

[cdog204]

The standard for male models in New York lately is a height around 5'10" to 6'2", a jacket size of 38 to 40, and a waist around 31 to 33" in most cases. I am 6'1", I weigh just under 180 lbs, size 40 jacket, 15.5/34 shirt, and 32" waist and I have been doing a little bit of modeling. I feel that at this weight I am very healthy and lean and fit, but not too skinny, and most of the other guys that I know who model feel the same. I currently do a strenuous gym workout about 4 days a week and I eat what I want in reasonable portions. I sometimes do experience an extremely poor appetite and have to sort of force myself to eat something but I rarely feel tired.

A year ago I weighed almost 50 lbs more and I felt horrible. I didn't think that I looked bad, but I was always tired. Just a little bit of effort in hitting the gym regularly and eating a little bit less worked great for me. My motivation was simply to feel better, not to achieve some 'idealized' look, but that was not a bad side effect. To my surprise, I have found that I absolutely love working out. I feel sensational and absolutely glow after a good workout.

Based on the horrific problems of obesity, I really don't have a problem with promoting images of lean, sexy people. That's not a bad thing to encourage, we just need to be mindful of promoting healthy ways of achieving those looks and make sure that we have a safety net in place.