If you enjoy your clothing style, the way your hair falls on your shoulders, what color your eyes are, or anything else that may come to your mind, let me say that I’m proud of you. Self-confidence and image (of oneself) is a difficult thing to work on in today’s world.

Sadly, a lot of the time, the reality of the situation is, many people don’t always like the way they look. 

Body image is a finicky concept to discuss (in general). Everybody has a different opinion on what it is and how society describes it. It’s a very subjective topic. 

The ideals that one may set as their reference point for body image can seem intense or shocking. The cause of this can many times be traced back to what society’s standards are. And to tell the truth, they can be outrageous at times. 

The expected ‘normal’ and ‘average’ of today’s body images differ quite a bit for men and women. 

The ‘ideal’ look never stays the same for too long; differences due to the times are always changing the deemed baseline.

But to understand why body image standards are forever changing and different, one needs to become familiar with trends and history on the topic. 

Trends only become what they are when individuals continue to talk, explore, or do the same as it. It becomes widespread, moving in certain directions. Keep in mind; the path doesn’t have to be a particularly decent one. 

These ‘upsetting’ directions are what cause opinions and mindsets to become negative. In the case of body image, it can transform beliefs of individuals into strongly disliking their appearance; in turn, it could cause them to hurt themselves to achieve society’s standards of what’s ‘beautiful’ or ‘handsome’. 

For example, the overall male body standard -presently- is to be very masculine; “chiseled abs and bulging biceps,” states Raj Chander from his article “With Superheroes Comes the Pressure of Unrealistic Male Bodies” on Healthline. “Most celebrities, scientists, and average guys agree that there’s one major contributing factor we can credit for the rise of negative body perception for men and boys: the silver screen”. 

Media, in any of its forms, draws attention and desire(s) from its onlookers. It by no means is an exception in women’s body standards also. 

In the case of the female image, it has long been the cause of change and insecurity. It is the root of the forever back-and-forth of what women should appear as in the world. 

Current women’s standards are mainly between skinner and curvy or thick. 

This trend has come back into fashion in recent years due to a significant push in positivity movements for women but still has its issues. “This preoccupation with thinness is a recent development as the perception of women’s body shapes has changed significantly over the past decades,” states Peter Prevos in his “Difference Between Male and Female Body Image: An Experiment” article. 

The flip-flopping fashion of women’s body images has always been a confusing reality. “In the 18th and the 19th centuries, the idealized fashionable body... was much more curvaceous and much more voluptuous," Lecia Bushak says in her “History Of Body Image In America: How The ‘Ideal’ Female And Male Body Has Changed Over Time” article. 

Bushak continues to display the swerving alterations from skinny to curvy and back by discussing it further in historical sequence in the article.   

This confusing pattern seems distracting, but when looking at the history of men's body images as well, it doesn't seem so crazy at all. 

For men, "the "perfect" male body has changed drastically over time...When you see how much the idea of an attractive male body has changed, you'll find that, just like for women, "perfect" is completely arbitrary," as said by Amber Petty in "How men's perfect body types have changed throughout history." 

It may not be talked about as much in today's universe, but men's body image follows (mostly) the same pattern as women's. From muscular to lean, to muscular again, it's a giant circle of looping on and on. 

Male images are not discussed like they should be in media today due to many unfair customs of toxic masculinity and cultural ideals, but they should be acknowledged at the same degree of importance when looking at this issue. 

Because of these skyscraper high standards and influences from society, body image for the genders is seen as outrageous and challenging to achieve. 

Even though there are many issues involved with body images, positivity movements are coming into fashion. 

Real understanding that society's 'word' is just an opinion has come to be the force for bettering confidence in individuals. The everlasting knowledge of one's body is beautiful no matter what another person may think, should be taken to heart by everyone. 

Someone else's opinion is just an opinion. All that should matter is what you believe. 

Work Cited

Bushak, Lecia. "History Of Body Image In America: How The 'Ideal' Female And Male Body Has Changed Over Time." Medical Daily , Medical Daily LLC, 6 Nov. 2015, www.medicaldaily.com/history-body-image-america-how-ideal-female-and-male-body-has-changed-over-360492. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.

Chandler, Raj. "With Superheroes Comes the Pressure of Unrealistic Male Bodies." Edited by Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD. Healthline, Healthline Media , 18 Oct. 2018, www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/male-body-image-problems#1. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.

Petty, Amber. "How men's perfect body types have changed throughout history ." The List , www.thelist.com/56105/mens-perfect-body-types-changed-throughout-history/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.

Prevos, Peter. "Difference Between Male and Female Body Image: An Experiment." The Horizon of Reason , Third Hemisphere Publishing, 9 July 2017, horizonofreason.com/body-image-experiment/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.

Stipkovits, Caleb. "Male beauty standards: a killer of creativity." The South High Southerner , 8 Mar. 2019, www.shsoutherner.net/features/2019/03/08/male-beauty-standards-a-killer-of-creativity/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2019.