Body image awareness event at the U of G
Written by Caley Skinner

In discussions about body image, conversation usually focuses on issues facing women, with men being left on the sidelines.

But an increasing concern is now being placed on body image issues affecting men.

According to Matt Stafford, a student at the University of Guelph, he believes men feel pressure to look a certain way, but that there’s a different set of expectations than for women.

Photo by Rashaad Bhamjee

“Guys are insecure because of what’s shown in the media, for sure,” said Stafford. “A good example is when you go to buy boxers, you have to look at six packs and stuffed underwear pictures…guys want to be strong, while girls want to be skinny.”

The Body Image Awareness event, held at the U of G campus on Feb. 9, explored the issues surrounding body image dissatisfaction and deconstructed media portrayals of the ideal body. Jeans in various sizes were hung on display and covered with art under the headline, “Be comfortable in your genes/jeans.” Cutouts of unhealthily thin models papered another kiosk with a sign reading, “Ralph Lauren – What were you thinking?” Another display read, “Don’t judge people by the color of their skin OR by the size of it!”

According to Ashley Skinner, the Wellness Centre’s senior peer, the goal of the event was to clear up misconceptions that society has about the difference between fat and thin.

“It’s about how our culture has come up with these crazy ideals and really gotten away from health at every size,” said Skinner. “We are equating thin to fit and fat to unhealthy when that’s not really accurate.”

So why are we all so obsessed with an image we can never attain?

“The three main triggers for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders are low self-esteem, poor body image and dieting,” said Skinner. “The point of this is to get away from the number on a scale. If you’re healthy, and if you’re eating a variety of foods that are nutritious and good for you and getting physical activity, then your body will fall where it needs to fall to be healthy.”

A display dedicated to the body image issues faced specfically by men was decorated with pictures of tanned, muscular models asking the rhetorical “What a real man should look like?” Daniel Poulin, OUTline coordinator for Student Life, explained the media’s role in perpetuating negative expectation about the male body.

“The media really emphasizes that to be a man you have to be this big, muscular, hyper-masculine individual,” said Poulin. “For some reason being smaller somehow makes you less of a man, which isn’t the case, right? I think that there is a lot of struggle with that.”

But this raises the question of why less attention is paid to body image issues facing men?

“The major difference is that a lot of men don’t talk about their struggles because we live in a culture where men aren’t supposed to reveal their emotions,” said Poulin. “What this causes is a lack of resources and support out there for the men who are struggling.”

Body image issues are actually exacerbated by the student setting. According to Skinner, university campuses are breeding grounds for body dissatisfaction.

“The more education you have, the bigger the risk factor,” said Skinner. “And I think that’s tied up with a lot of things, perfectionism for instance.”

Skinner explained that the Body Image Awareness event and its representatives place an emphasis on being happy and comfortable in your own body rather than fighting it with extreme measures.

“We live in a country where we have what we need, but we drink our food or put it in a powder instead of eat it,” said Skinner.