Stigma around men having body image concerns can prevent them getting help.
A qualitative focus group study explored 40 Australian men’s experiences with body dissatisfaction and sociocultural influences, such as stigma and gender bias. The male participants commonly indicated a perception that body dissatisfaction is less dangerous for men compared to women. However, they often described a lack of media portrayal of men’s body dissatisfaction. Men’s friendship groups were commonly regarded as a strong influence on whether men felt they needed to invest in their appearance and be concerned about evaluation or their diet and exercise behaviours. The men mostly viewed steroids as dangerous and socially undesirable. They generally thought that having muscles signalled their dedication to their appearance but in some cases muscles suggested a low level of intelligence. Body dissatisfaction was described as a taboo topic. Participants also commonly believed that it was unlikely that a man would seek help from a psychologist or general practitioner for emotional distress associated with body dissatisfaction. The researchers concluded that there is a need to increase awareness of male body image concerns, challenge the notion that only females experience body image concerns and normalise the experience and disclosure of body image concerns in men.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12198
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