Thinking negatively about your body (male or female) can inevitably lead to mental health issues – for some people this may happen over time or very quickly. This is something we know. But in the case of men how does this happen and equally, why is it so hard for men to speak out about such problems?
Coming to these answers is certainly not easy and its important to stress that every individual case of negativity is not the same. In order to gather an idea on what the answers to these questions could be, I caught up with two people who work in very different industries but still come across the very same topic almost every day.
Louise May – A psychologist based in Kent, who has spent 25 years in the mental health industry.
Brian Turner – A (vegan) bodybuilder from San Diego, who has over 150,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, where he creates fitness related content. Before bodybuilding Brian admits to being ‘skinny’ and was motivated to get big by his older brother.
Q. When would a male start to think about his body image and why would this be?
Q. Do you think the stereotypical image of a man that society sometimes expects from males, can have a negative mental effect on young men?
The answers I got from this question interested me and made me think further about society’s role in this whole topic. As a result, I decided to spend an afternoon in London to see just how influential society can be when in one of the biggest citys in the world. Take a look at what I found.
Q. Do you think it would be dangerous for a young male to grow up being so concerned about his image? Could this have an effect on him for the rest of his life?
If you’re a young male concerned about body image, or even a parent worried about your child, it may be worth reading this from NHS Choices. You’re not alone.
The Modern Male Taboo 