Male Body Image

The way my father performed his gender has shaped the performance of my gender. My dad also first and foremost always talked about raising me and my brothers as men but not as a binary concept but what he felt manhood represented. That involved in many things such as playing lots of sports or learning how to fight and other activities such as fishing. Although my dad never forced me to play sports it was always a staple in my household and I would we be mocked when I stopped playing a sport out of boredom. My dad constructed my gender self to view men as a group who had to become strong, fast, aggressive, dominant, and achieving in order to fit into society. This interaction with my family has caused my gender construction with other to be
a byproduct of my experiences with him and my brothers. I will generally try to act tougher or more dominant around strangers. My interaction with my family makes has formed how I act around others. My situation also ties to another journal we read called Masculinity Style and Cult. It talks about how American masculinity is associated primarily with the outdoors. The journal states that "The outdoors type is presumed to possess masculine character traits: toughness, resourcefulness, love of being alone, a fraternity with animals, and attractiveness to women and the urge to abandon them." This concept of manhood is how I feel society wants me to be and the basis for how to interact with other in regards to my gender. I am almost always more light-hearted and open emotional when with my friends or my girlfriend and feel less of a need to enforce gender norms when around people I feel open to. However when with my family or other people although I never change myself drastically definitely feel the need to prove my manhood that could be anything from talking to sports even though secretly don’t know a lot about them or pretending to workout.
Although I mostly remain true to myself I often feel like a less of a man around my male peers and family as I am often seen as the soft kid as don’t act manly enough around them. My interaction with other has caused me to construct my gender in a way that both societal norm and my own preference.

My gender has also caused me to look at my body in a negative light in regards to the male gender.
Body image dissatisfaction is a concept that refers to a person's negative perception of his or her own physical appearance. The negative view of the body have generally been seen as a female problem but body dissatisfaction is also very much tied to the male body image as well. The media strongly influences the way males in society perceive their own bodies by promoting the ideal male body image.Although I recognize that my own body is a product of my inability to work out and take care of myself I feel like society has created this subtle image of the perfect male body that all men must live up to in some way. When look at my body get the overwhelming feeling that men must have muscles and I tend to look at my body and compare to more fit men. Unlike women, men want all body parts bigger rather than only losing weight. Male bodies are supposed to be strong firm you have to have a six pack and a tall build and be either smooth or look like a lumberjack. My body, however, is in an awkward place where its soft, smooth, and scrawny. The way I look my body is the way world around me had conditioned me to see. Movies and Television have reinforced a certain ideal image of the perfect body. For example, recent movies such as the Fifty Shades of Grey series have shown that girls will be attracted to you as long you're tall, muscular, aggressive and rich. Although there definitely wide range factors that attract women it all ties back to the idea that males need to have a certain body image and personality to get the girl and gain the respect of their peers. Also, it is not just the way in which a man looks but the size of the man that is also a big factor in society. Short men generally are seen as unattractive to women in society. Although I would consider myself slightly above average height at around six feet tall a good portion of my younger years was spent being one
of the shortest kids in school thus seeing myself as being unattractive and being the but of many jokes from my peers. Even to this day some of my friends still see me as the short guy from middle school and that will never escape me. I am essentially constantly at conflict with my body. The desire to remain comfortable in my natural look and the need to gain a more athletic look to appeal to a wider societal view of the perfect body.