I’ve always been a fount of body negativity in my relationships. I’ve fretted to my boyfriends about my Clydesdale legs, the bald peninsula on one side of my head, and my “old lady hands”, among many, many other things. For a long time, the men I dated seemed like unshakable pillars of confidence; they appeared to have limitless patience for my insecurities while being totally immune to their own. I remember one boyfriend, at uni, climbing out of my extra-long twin bed and doing some incredibly unself-conscious nude stretches in the morning light. I was awed by the confidence of that.
But now, as men dip a toe in the body-positivity movement, I’ve realised that my uni boyfriend was probably just feigning confidence. More men are talking publicly about their vulnerabilities, and more men in my life are airing their insecurities to me. “Sorry, I’ve kind of let myself go this year,” a guy told me last summer, mid-coitus; recently a friend shyly asked me if I thought his jeans were too snug in the thigh region. As a body-positivity acolyte, I’m thrilled. As a woman – particularly as a woman trying to figure out the right answer to, “Is my beard too patchy?” – I’m a little flustered.
Of course, men have had body anxieties all along. A heap of research indicates that exposure to impossible female bodies negatively affects women’s self-perception, but far fewer studies explore how men feel when faced with ads of a shirtless Cristiano Ronaldo, briefs straining against his chiseled soccer thighs. (At Men’s Health, we’re aware of this. Our cover stars’ bodies are inspiring, but that’s why we always focus on how hard our subjects work to look the way they do.)
Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Men's Health Australia.
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Denne historien er fra May 2020-utgaven av Men's Health Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Good Guy, Bad Drinker
When booze is involved, you might not be as charming as you think you are
How To Change Your Story
For a third of my life, I lived in an endless replay of the story of how I never measured up – a loop that kept me locked in a spiral of shame and meaningless hustling. Then I got the nudge to do some fact-checking
THE GOOD FIGHT
When the going gets tough . . . the tough put others first. Here we salute some of the more selfless and courageous responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Why? Because hope and optimism are catchy. And in this time of crisis it’s worth remembering that the virus isn’t the only thing that spreads
TAKE REMOTE CONTROL
Working from home using furniture that isn’t built-for-purpose could take a toll on your body. MH editor Scott Henderson went hunting for solutions
Morgan Mitchell
The eye-catching star of the track has stopped running from a troubled past and is doing things her way. Get used to it
SNACK SIZED - WORKOUTS
Purpose-built for the busy man, micro workouts could make you stronger, fitter and more mobile. The best part? You can do them in self-isolation and integrate them into your working day
ENTER THE BEAST
Big, fast and ultra high-performing, Mercedes’ latest offering could make a grown man cry
KUMAIL NANJIANI CAN DO ANYTHING
TRANSFORM HIS WHOLE BODY. REIMAGINE A MARVEL HERO. REDEFINE THE ROLE OF LEADING MAN. AND (OF COURSE) MAKE US LAUGH
HOW 25 YEARS OF THE GEORGE FOREMAN GRILL CHANGED HOW MEN COOK
What happens when an ageing prizefighter, a quirky gadget and iconic ’90s marketing combine to take over the world?
BETTER MAN
Pop superstar Robbie Williams got in fighting shape while beating his mental demons into submission. Here he reveals how he pulled off perhaps the biggest transformation of them all