the end of men

Now Men Hate Their Bodies As Much As Women Do

Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Happy International Men’s Day, fellas! Your gift is all the body-image issues once reserved for women.

According to the New York Times, more than 90 percent of middle school and high school boys lift weights occasionally in order to change their body type. Worse, 38 percent use sketchy, unregulated protein supplements and 6 percent use steroids, which stop testosterone production in men, stunting their growth. Just as women have used the controversial, arguably pro-anorexia “thinspo” and “thinspiration” tags to find like-minded dieters (or enablers) on the Internet, men have begun using “fitspo” and “fitspiration” blogs, which are not yet banned from Tumblr. (For more harrowing reading, we recommend GQ’s September feature on male anorexics.)

As depressing as this report is — we would sooner end women’s widespread eating disorders than share them with men — we’re hopeful that the more people know that body-image issues are not just the domain of vain women, the sooner the medical establishment will offer more comprehensive and preventative care. Maybe? Wishful thinking? Talk to you guys about it in group therapy.

Now Men Hate Their Bodies As Much As Women Do