Current Events > Male body image is being talked about more and more these days.

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We learn of Zac Efrons overtraining, his restricted eating, his taking of diuretics to shed water weight and look ripped. I started to develop insomnia, he recalls, and I fell into a pretty bad depression, for a long time.

That frankness feels like a bit of a watershed in an era in which actors have been strenuouslyhoning themselves to meet the sort of narrow beauty expectations normally reserved for women. When Hollywood and social media have created a newly unobtainable standard for a rising generation of boys, its about time men and boys heard what feminists have long argued: Not everyone can contort themselves to achieve some bizarre ideal, and there are real dangers to trying.

Chris Evans acknowledged that training to play Captain America in Marvels superhero franchise meant living with persistent discomfort. Every guy I know who tries to get superhero-big has some sort of freak injury in their body, Evans told Mens Health. A decade later, that candor didnt prevent the magazine from offering readers insights into how they could replicate Evanss regimen.

Even as theyre packaged as self-improvement content, these stories of transformation often leave something out. Chris Pratt began his career as a lovable, soft-bodied comedic actor before losing 60 pounds in six months to transition to action roles. On Instagram and in character on Parks and Recreation, he joked that the change was the result of giving up beer. But there was more to the story, involving a strictly monitored diet and intensive workouts with trainers, all neatly replicated in a guide for readers of Muscle & Fitness.

Although this trend has escalated in recent years, it has been building for some time. The standard for on-screen male shirtlessness rose in tandem with superhero movies after the turn of the century. A decade ago, the journal Pediatrics found that nearly 6 percent of middle and high school boys had experimented with steroids. Today, social media provides a feedback loop, letting ordinary teenagers turn themselves into fitness influencers.

Then theres the potential role of steroids and human growth hormone in all this bulking up, a subject that is much discussed in Hollywood, but rarely above a whisper, and only then to suggest that someone else is sampling the forbidden fruit.

This is why its refreshing to hear blunt talk from high-profile stars about what it actually takes to achieve physiques that are themselves special effects.

I wouldnt recommend anyone do what I did, Will Poulter said about training for his role as the genetically altered superhuman Adam Warlock in the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His regimen, he added, which involved gorging and fasting to build mass and drop water weight, is unhealthy and unrealistic if you dont have the financial backing of a studio paying for your meals and training.

Efron goes further, suggesting its not just the process that is undesirable, but the results, too.
That Baywatch look, I dont know if thats really attainable, he told Mens Health. Theres just too little water in the skin. Like, its fake; it looks CGId.

One interview cant overpower the superhero movies dominating global pop culture. But Efrons honesty is a welcome starting point for a conversation about male body ideals what so-called perfection is worth, and what cost is too high to pay for it.

Sure we shouldn't be idealizing being massively overweight, but this focus on masculinity = beard and muscles is unhealthy and harmful.

Body Image includes Dick Size right???

Body Image includes Dick Size right???

Body Image includes Dick Size right???

I hate being a grower not a shower

I just want more people to be honest about what having those bodies takes.

Like, don't post pictures of someone looking insanely ripped, a picture that others will take as a realistic goal, but then not tell them that the person uses PEDs. Or that they only look like that when dehydrated and fasting for hours

You can post unrealistic stuff, but let it be known it's unrealistic and why.

Rob who plays Mac on Its Always Sunny

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/4/6/AAC2QPAADuGO.jpg

"Look, its not that hard. All you need to do is lift weights six days a week, stop drinking alcohol, dont eat anything after 7pm, dont eat any carbs or sugar at all, in fact just dont eat anything you like, get the personal trainer from Magic Mike, sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day, and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six to seven month span,

I dont know why everyones not doing this. Its a super realistic lifestyle and an appropriate body image to compare oneself to. #hollywood"

Body Image includes Dick Size right???

Fat men are more socially accepted then fat women for some reason

Like the emotional & mental aspect of bigger dudes experiencing body image issues isn't discussed that much

Men set unhealthy standards for themselves to impress women.

Women set unhealthy standards for themselves to... impress women.

It's really not that bad buddy. At least it grows. Some people have microdicks.

Rob who plays Mac on Its Always Sunny

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/2/4/6/AAC2QPAADuGO.jpg

"Look, its not that hard. All you need to do is lift weights six days a week, stop drinking alcohol, dont eat anything after 7pm, dont eat any carbs or sugar at all, in fact just dont eat anything you like, get the personal trainer from Magic Mike, sleep nine hours a night, run three miles a day, and have a studio pay for the whole thing over a six to seven month span,

I dont know why everyones not doing this. Its a super realistic lifestyle and an appropriate body image to compare oneself to. #hollywood"

Body Image includes Dick Size right???

What about the ones that look micro when soft but when hard it looks completely fine. Like a completely different dick.

unhealthy and unrealistic if you dont have the financial backing of a studio paying for your meals and training.

No. Small pp will always be haunting you.

But you can be healthy and in shape and have zero muscular definition.