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Teenage Boys and Body Image: Health Over Appearance
“Boys don’t struggle with the same body image pressure that girls do.” Let’s dispel this myth right off the bat because teenage boys and body image issues are serious problems as well.
To assume that an entire sex is not impacted by societal pressures to appear a specific way, particularly during the vulnerable years of adolescence, is incredibly reductive and, ultimately, incorrect.
While “boys’ body dissatisfaction is typically less severe than for girls, they, too, express dissatisfaction with their body weight and appearance [1].” In reality, up to 30% of adolescent boys report a desire to alter their shape or size [2].
That’s 30% of adolescent boys internalizing societal ideals of attractiveness and resolving to change their physical appearance in order to conform.
30% of adolescent boys struggling with their self-view and connecting their worth with how they look. 30% of boys at risk for engaging in disordered eating and exercise behaviors in order to achieve the “ideal.”
Similar but Different
Accepting that both teenage boys and girls struggle with body image does not mean ignoring the differences between the two.
For both boys and girls, the most impactful cause of body dissatisfaction is related to an unrealistic appearance ideal [1]. However, what this unrealistic appearance ideal is varies from boys to girls.
As one study explained, “in contrast with the thin ideal espoused for females, evolving cultural ideals of male appearance endorse a muscular or mesomorphic physique [2].”
Despite this difference, the mechanism with which it impacts teenage boys and body image is similar to that of girls.
“Repeated exposure to images of unrealistically muscular male ideals may cause men to feel insecure about their own bodies, parallel to the way in which exposure to images of unrealistically thin models promotes body dissatisfaction among girls [1].”
Health Over Appearance
Re-read everything above and take note of how many times appearance is referenced. Too many.
This is a massive challenge in promoting healthy eating and exercising behaviors among adolescents: to remove the motivation of altering appearance.
Adolescents are taught continuously that food and exercise revolve around appearance and that they should be altering their intake or activity based on this.
It is no wonder that this makes an already vulnerable population more at risk for disordered eating and exercise behaviors.
What makes our bodies move and function optimally has nothing to do with appearance, and this is the message we need to be passing along to our teen boys and girls.
Teaching your teen boys this begins with opening up a dialogue. Cultural ideals of what is “masculine” often mean boys are less likely to talk about their feelings, especially when it comes to body image.
Beginning this conversation with them can help them to feel open and comforted and normalize discussions of male body image, self-worth, and emotions.
T
he Tripartite Influence Model of Body Dissatisfaction “identifies the media, peers, and parents as the three formative socio-cultural influences on body image [2].”
Create opportunities for growth by having discussions on how the media portrays male bodies and whether or not this is realistic.
Support your teen boys in exploring how their friendships make them feel about themselves and their bodies and teach them to set boundaries that help them surround themselves with only positive support.
Guide them by modeling healthy eating and exercising behaviors.
References:
[1] Hargreaves, D. A., Tiggemann, M. (2004). Idealized media images and adolescent body image: “comparing” boys and girls. Body Image, 1:4, 351-361. [2] Lawler, M., Nixon, E. (2011). Body dissatisfaction among adolescent boys and girls: the effects of body mass, peer appearance culture, and internalization of appearance ideals. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40:1, 59-71.About the Author:
Margot Rittenhouse, MS, PLPC, NCC is a therapist who is passionate about providing mental health support to all in need and has worked with clients with substance abuse issues, eating disorders, domestic violence victims, and offenders, and severely mentally ill youth.
As a freelance writer for Eating Disorder Hope and Addiction Hope and a mentor with MentorConnect, Margot is a passionate eating disorder advocate, committed to de-stigmatizing these illnesses while showing support for those struggling through mentoring, writing, and volunteering. Margot has a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Johns Hopkins University.
The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective on eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.
We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.
Published July 17, 2019, on EatingDisorderHope.com
Reviewed & Approved on July 17, 2019, by Jacquelyn Ekern MS, LPC
