Do Men Worry About What They See When They Look In the Mirror?
August 27, 2008 by Michelle Smith
Filed under Relationships
Do you think that women are the only ones asking the question, “Do these pants make me look fat?” I did and apparently I was only part right. While reading an opinion piece, by Mike Zimmerman, on Male Body Image in Women’s Health Magazine, I learned that men do worry about body image, but men according to Zimmerman, “…will, however, check the mirror and wonder, “Do these pants hide my gut enough to get me laid?” It’s the same thing fundamentally, and it defines that irresistible logic gap we all try to leap: If the body looks like crap, recalibrate the pants.”
So, yes, they ask the question, they just phrase it different.
All my life I’ve witnessed guys walking around shirtless, despite less than perfect bodies, sometimes with full-on prominent guts displayed for all the world to see. I assumed this meant that men did not give much thought to how they looked or more specifically – they didn’t sweat the beer belly. I was wrong.
What percentage of men worry about body image? “One body-image study found that 45 percent of men were dissatisfied with their physiques; women were only slightly less satisfied at 55 percent,” according to a study mentioned in a 6 part article on Male Body Image — Infoplease.com, by Alice Potter.
Reading Zimmerman’s piece, it gave me a lot to think about. I feel like this information gave me some peek into the psyche of man, like it let one of their well-guarded secrets slip and I feel more powerful because I now have the knowledge that men can be just as uptight as women when it comes to looks. Maybe men and women aren’t as different as originally thought? They look might look rough and tough, but I’ve learned a few things over my years of living and working with both big men and the little men I see every day at school. It’s this – they have feelings, too, much as they try to hide them. So, as I warn my daughters, “Be gentle with boys, because the can be very fragile.”
Ah, yes, men can be fragile. So, it is a good idea to treat them as such in these types of situations. I know my husband – perfectless as he is…just like me – does care about how he looks in clothes. We joke a lot about how we look out of clothes because we’re in the safety of our own space. But when we have to go out into the world – as much as we might not care what people think – we still ask that “how does this look” question.
I think it is human nature to be conscious of one’s looks, regardless of gender.
Not only do men have feelings too, men are people too. We all care about what we look like (for the most part), beer belly or baby belly and all. Before I make suggestions to my husban, I always ask myself how I would feel!
I worry more about how I sound than how I look.
I do think that it’s not the gender that matters, but rather the way that person feels about themselves in general…
Example, I see women wearing things they shouldn’t ALL the time. 350 lbs. + lime green spandex + a tank top that says “KISS ME, I’M IRISH!” only serves to make me question…
How did she actually look in the mirror before she left and think, “I look GOOOD!” ??
Or is it that she didn’t even bother look in the first place? And if not, why?
I’ve seen many men do this as well. There are men who have back hair issues that go get themselves waxed weekly and those who don’t. There are men who think nothing of wearing speedos when they’re carrying around a kegger belly. There are women who wear bikinis who look like they’re 9 months pregnant and they’re not pregnant at all…
I just think that being self-conscious is part of one’s mentality more than anything else. Typically you’re going to find those who are more meticulous with their grooming habits and what they choose to wear have either been raised to be that way or have been victim of embarrassing judgment to make them that way.
I always thought that men were more confident about their outward appearance because they “appeared” to be more confident. , so Zimmerman’s essay, it was news to me.
My boyfriend, he isn’t self-conscious and he’s a big guy. He puts on his pants, slaps on a hat, and he’s out the door. When he goes to work, he put more time into his wardrobe, but the care he takes is really more about proper ironing, than how he looks when he’s done. If you asked me, I’d say he was beautiful in or out of whatever he was wearing. I think he agrees.
Sometimes, I wonder if women think that men are more mysterious than they truly are and vice versa. I may be 42, but I learn something new every day.
And…..Johnny Vito, it’s nice to see/hear a man’s opinion. Thanks.
Men worry very much about their appearance, especially as they age. Mine has recently discovered gray hair and is constantly searching to pluck any out. He also worries about his gut and other appearances. For instance he’ll ask if he looks better with or without facial hair, bald or not bald. I think it matters to us all, but men somehow keep it quieter.
That gray hair, I love it. I’ve noticed that many actors color their hair and it makes me wonder if they’ve never noticed George Clooney. Hello?? Look at what going gray did for that guy. He was cute, but a bit dorky before, now he’s GEORGE.
Men, as they age, they sort of season and grow sexier.
oh and don’t forget Brad Pitt, in recent pics I’ve noticed it in his beard. I think they look mature and wise even somehow. Oh George still looks great too.
Brad Pitt – he colors his, too. I realize that they do it for roles, but what about in between? Imagine how great he’d look if the beard and the hair matched.