By Angelina Jain and Kyra Kumar
Throughout the internet, social media and even day-to-day conversations, unrealistic standards of female beauty are prevalent in our society. Although, over time, there have been mass social movements for body positivity and acceptance of all body types, the same pressure on teenage boys is often disregarded when it comes to advocating for a social change.
Beauty and perfection are portrayed as a necessity in this world, however, health and physical perfection aren’t factors that travel on parallel paths in our society. There are many instances when people consider resorting to extreme methods of body alteration at the expense of their well-being, for the pure purpose of societal acceptance.
After conducting an online poll of the male student population from Senior School, we received some shocking statistics: 70% of the respondents claimed to have felt pressure about maintaining a certain body image and 15% had tried a severe method of body alteration. Worst of all, every respondent claimed to have either personally faced prejudice based on their appearance or known someone who has. Not to mention that eating disorder statistics assert that 1 in 3 people suffering from an eating disorder is a male, who are much less likely to seek treatment due to fear of emasculation.
These unrealistic expectations, when imposed on pubescent boys, pave a pathway to low self-esteem in later life, but also has adverse effects on the present, like limiting participation in sports competitions, especially in ones where boys have to highlight their bodies, like swimming or gymnastics. Furthermore, in such environments, healthy competition and playful camaraderie are replaced with insecurities that discourage boys and deter them from opportunities. nrealistic standards of beauty are not only self-imposed, but also often promoted by the media through actors, models or other influencers. This ideal is often achieved through Photoshop.
Ucreating unrealistic pictures, which in turn create unrealistic expectations and an outbreak of body dissatisfaction, especially among young teenage boys who only end up building angst and frustration towards themselves.
However, iconic celebrities such as Sam Smith and Robert Pattinson, have been open about their struggles with body dissatisfaction on multiple occasions. Robert Pattinson came forward with his ‘body dysmorphic disorder’, which is an obsessive anxiety disorder characterized by the preoccupation of one’s physical flaws. Recently, he was cast as the famous DC superhero, Batman. Superheroes themselves have a stereotype that suggests muscularity is equivalent to honor, courage, and perfection, furthering the idea of toxic masculinity. Before the boys raise an alarm over the word “toxic” -- because it has happened before -- as if we’re calling them toxic, here’s what it actually means.
Toxic masculinity is not the argument that men are toxic by simply being men. It is a critique of the way men are expected to adhere to certain gender roles within society at large that fit within a traditionalist framework that forces men to be dominant and powerful, which in turn, forces them to limit their emotional range down to faux stoicism and anger. What we mean to say is, it is not their fault that males are this way. This is what society taught you. This is what you saw in your households - where a majority of boys would have probably never even seen their fathers cry. However, it is their responsibility now, to reform this ingrained backward philosophy. This is not a blame game. This is a collective call for action for a better society for future generations. All in all, rather than defining superheroes and other such “masculine” characters as the ideal inspiration for boys, we should insist that all boys are superheroes, and perfect, in their own way. The art of achieving perfection lies in self-acceptance. And anyway, flaws make one far more attractive!
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