Monday, March 07, 2016

44% of Gay Men Say They Are Unhappy With Their Bodies





FYI:  I had nothing to do with the making of this article!

Of (depressing) note:


  • When it comes to their weight, 39% of heterosexual men and 44% of gay men said they were dissatisfied. When asked about muscle tone, 30% heterosexual men and 45% of gay men were unhappy.

  • The second category found that 29% of heterosexual men and 37% of gay men said they had gone on a weight-loss diet in the past year. More than half of both heterosexual and gay men had exercised to lose weight in the past year.

  • Sixty-one percent of heterosexual men and 77% of gay men said they felt people judged them on their looks and many said they felt pressured by magazines and television to have a better body.

  • Regarding sex: People were asked if they tried to hide parts of their body during sex during the past month and which parts. Twenty percent of heterosexual men, 39% of gay men did. The body part they tried to hide the most? Their stomach.


  • I must admit that I have been fairly good about keeping my body-self-loathing in check over the years, but the advent of Instagram -- where you're seeing people who ARE NOT celebrities looking wonderful all the time (like the hot guy I follow up top) -- has made it more difficult. I sometimes unfollow people when it gets to be too much ... or if they post too many of the same shirtless selfie. Then it's just because they lack creativity!

    5 comments:

    Proud But Anonymous said...

    Oh good grief!!
    Almost no one is a 10. Have enough self confidence in yourself - that alone goes a long way. Be proud of who you are and stop obsessing.

    edmcan said...

    It is ironic that men are finally feeling the pressure that women have felt For years. I've always hated my body too, for many reasons. However, when I see pictures of these men with amazing physiques and handsome faces, I'm not envious. I'm happy for them and admire the results. They build their lives around their bodies and building and maintaining them-they eat, not for enjoyment, but for fuel, and solely for the benefit of their muscles. Unfortunately for me, I can no longer work out, something which I always enjoyed and anticipated. I was never like these guys, but I was pleased. Now, I don't think that I could devote myself to myself quite like they do. There is so much more to life than this. Yes, we all should stop obsessing about our bodies, but we won't. Rather, be happier in yourself for leading a life that does not revolve solely around one, ultimately vain, purpose.

    Anonymous said...

    To me, this seems like old news. Look at how the media (especially gay media like this site) obsess with a particular body type. I've realized over the last couple of years that I feel worse about myself after reading this blog. It's like this blog is saying "this is what a man looks like" then I see myself in the mirror and my brain tells me there must be something wrong with me because I don't look like these guys. But, at the same time, I know that I'm more likely to read a post if there's a "hot" guy pictured than an average guy, which only helps to reinforce the problem. It's not anyone's fault, but I really wish someone could get us out of the vicious cycle our society is in with respect to body image.

    T.V. Fritz said...

    That's the gay industrial body complex for you. One reason why I'm becoming transgender. I told my therapist, "I'm going to look as freaky and fucked up on the outside as society has made me feel on the inside." Thank you and good night.

    AndrooUK said...

    Comsidering the already high rates of obese and overweight men, why shouldn't the dissatisfaction rate match it?

    Being fat is not a virtue, it is unhealthy and leads to many negative physical and psychological outcomes, and humans all make decisions based upon appearances.

    We should all aspire to be a healthy weight, and it's not a bad thing to take pride in our appearance.

    We rely on comparisons and consensus to know what is healthy and attractive, so we must compare ourselves to others and make judgments based upon that. It's human nature, and essential to maintaining and improving ourselves and each other.

    If there's a problem with body image, it's to do with social media replacing natural human interaction, with a complementary addiction to positive reinforcement whilst having a total aversion to any negative feedback.