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Inside the rising ‘muscle dysmorphia crisis’ among young men (www.dazeddigital.com)

submitted 11 months ago by LollerCorleone@kbin.social to c/mentalhealth@lemmy.world

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Defined as a preoccupation with one’s perceived lack of muscularity, muscle dysmorphia is becoming increasingly prevalent, causing what experts are calling a ‘silent crisis’ in men’s mental health

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[-] RGB3x3@lemmy.world 53 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I know exactly what this feels like.

I either get to enjoy eating and life in general, but feel like my body isn't big and muscular enough to feel like a confident man or work out all the time but stop eating what makes me happy and in general not enjoy meals.

Media constantly espouses body positivity for women, but men are either ripped or obese. There's no normal, and it makes men feel like they're not good enough.

Body positivity has been ignoring men for way too long.

[-] SkyNTP@lemmy.ml 19 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Embrace dad bod, brother.

Dad bod doesn't necessarily mean overweight with a beer gut. But it does mean that you don't have time to go to the gym to be sculpted for aesthetics. Still plenty of strength and masculinity in it, however.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 32 points 11 months ago

[off topic?]

I was watching 'The Getaway' with Steve McQueen a few weeks ago. At the time the movie was made, Steve was one of Hollywood's top action heroes. When he took his shirt off I thought how skinny he looked. I know that the Marvel heroes work out for months to get the 'superhero' body, but I still made the comparison.

Another story I heard. A friend of mine wanted to buy his nephew the same Luke Skywalker action figure he'd played with as a child. The original toy looked like a skinny farm boy, and the new one had Luke looking like a body builder.

[-] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 33 points 11 months ago

The x men series is a clear example. Look at Hugh Jackman Wolverine in the original movie compared to the newer ones. In the original he was lean, and in shape but not super muscular or anything. By the Wolverine he's a body building monster

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 20 points 11 months ago

Look at some old movies. Buster Crabbe [Flash Gordon] and Johnny Weissmuller [Tarzan] were both Olympic athletes. Back in the day, they were the peak of manly developement; today they'd be henchmen at best.

[-] Hyperreality@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Go back to antiquity. Today's action heroes look like henchmen compared to an average statue of Zeus.

[-] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

That's actually because Jackman was cast very late (it was supposed to be Dougray Scott originally), so he didn't have time to bulk up to superhero physique. X-Men 2's Wolverine is the form Jackman aimed for originally, although he also got even bulkier und more bodybuilder-y later on, like in Days of Future Past.

[-] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 24 points 11 months ago

The lengths they go to today are insane. Like, on top of sort of obsessive body building they're also dehydrating themselves before the bare chest scene for extra definition or some shit. Seems unhealthy all around.

[-] undeffeined@lemmy.ml 5 points 11 months ago

Not to mention the steroids they take while claiming they're natural.

[-] B0NK3RS@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

Manatomy Podcast comes to mind when reading this.

At first glance the example of Men's Health magazine doesn't seem to have changed over the years which is sad.

[-] cmbabul@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Robert Evans recently read some old men’s pulp magazines from like the 50s on Behind the Bastards and it’s really crazy how similar the way they advertise to men then and now are

[-] LongbottomLeaf@lemmy.nz 3 points 11 months ago

Was this the professional wrestling episodes?

[-] cmbabul@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Actually no the Vince episodes were way too full on their own already

[-] LollerCorleone@kbin.social 5 points 11 months ago

Didn't know about that podcast. Thanks for sharing the link.

[-] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

I can see that. The strongest people I know don't look like bodybuilders. There is anexpectations of beauty in it.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

Yeah world record powerlifters have the longshoreman body type not the bodybuilder body type. But that’s also not a healthy body expectation. Reasonably fit is what the standard body expectations should be for most people.

[-] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 11 months ago

Fellas. Go outside.

[-] T156@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Potentially stupid question, but what's the difference between muscle dysmorphia and regular body dysmorphia?

[-] CalicoJack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 11 months ago

Muscle dysmorphia is just a more specific term. Disordered perception of muscle mass, as opposed to more general body size/shape.

[-] Candelestine@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

edit: Yea alright, I get it. That was rude.

[-] besmtt@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago

Updoot for reflecting :⁠-⁠)

[-] KillerTofu@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago

But was it honest?

[-] Candelestine@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Doesn't really matter. Rudeness doesn't belong equally everywhere.

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this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023

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