Chaun Cheaney is a Russellville High School student athlete and a member of the Panther Paw journalism staff.
An undeniably ubiquitous vision is the idea that every female of all ages struggles immensely with body issues; however, boys and men fight with this adversity as well. Whether it be from at home, with peers, on television, or on social media, many males develop an ideal body type based on what they admire, or what is admired by society. These standards, although they vary greatly between each person, are exceedingly toxic to all intellects and can oppose a healthy mindset and lifestyle.
The physical and mental struggles that result from body insecurities fluctuate in seriousness depending on the male. Some may just change their diet a little, but some may go as far as to taking drugs and supplements due to the great pressure they feel to look good for themselves or others. Obsessed with the urge to modify their appearance, men become mindless to dangers and health risks that their actions can cause. These pressures can also badly affect the mental health of male. Something as simple as not liking your stomach can not only lead to you feeling uncomfortable to take your shirt off at the pool, but it can also be as serious as depression.
As a high school male who runs track, I myself can relate to the pressure of wanting to alter my body. These pressures stimulate from the stereotypes created amongst the sport of track and field, and images commended by my pears. In my case, having long legs and a muscular body with low body fat was the image I wanted to recreate with my own body because I observed that sprinters with these traits were the fastest and often won races.
It was also apparent that my peers gravitated towards the same ideal body image as myself. Not only did I feel unsuccessful because I didn’t have some of these traits, but I felt that if I didn't achieve this desirable image I would be judged by others. I speak on behalf of other teenagers my age that not being accepted in the eye of society generates a great amount of fear. To feel that you are not appreciated or admired by others has a negative effect on confidence and self-esteem to a point where your mind gets consumed with the idea of changing your body or just hiding it.
Unfortunately, some traits that people aspire to have are unachievable. For example, being tall is something not everyone can attain because height is predominantly based on genetics. Although there are some things that you can do to improve your height, there is no direct solution or thing you can do in order to guarantee that you will grow or achieve the height that you desire. This is a common struggle with many people, and it is definitely something people should become more aware of.
Yes, dealing with something that you don’t particularly find appealing can be hard to handle, but if it’s something you can’t change about yourself in a healthy way then you should learn to accept it.
Curious to find out more about insecurities within boys, I conducted my own experiment that tested 17 girls and 17 boys at my high school to compare the struggles of the two genders. Many different aspects can affect the production of insecurities, so in my experiment, various questions were asked in order to get a well-rounded collection of information.
To elaborate, majority of participants felt insecure about their appearance. With that being said, 71.4 percent stated that they have attempted to alter their appearance in some way. Although some may have not felt insecure about anything, those people may have still attempted to change their body, whether that be through their diet, makeup, working out, etc. These actions may have been a result of the 64.3 percent of participants who stated that their opinion on their body has been influenced by social media and advertisements with movies, Instagram, and celebs being the top three.
Despite any of this information, over 70 percent of all students said that they think women feel the greatest pressure in life to look a certain way.
The pressure that is put on men in our generation is greater than what is exposed on media. Men are viewed and expected to hold the representation of being strong-minded and have little care or feelings when it comes to situations that seem to produce strong emotions, such as the struggle with body insecurities. This barrier should be broken to make sure that not only are women getting assistance, but that men obtain it too.
It’s not easy to cope with body insecurities whether you are a male or female, so this issue should gain more recognition to ensure more positivity. We all are born with our own differences, but that doesn’t mean we should feel ashamed about ourselves or feel unworthy. We should learn to embrace our bodies no matter the shape, size, color, etc.