Male Body Shaming is on the Rise

No one is immune to body shaming — not even "Aquaman" star Jason Momoa. But the uptick in body shaming of men says plenty about modern masculinity.

Transcript

00:00Recently, there has been some discussion of the term DADBOD, which I see as quite positive.

00:29It seems to be another way to challenge the pervasive ideal for men's bodies to be muscular

00:38and highly mesomorphic, meaning a low level of body fat combined with muscularity, to

00:43be tall, etc.

00:45And this seems to be a recognition that lots of men don't look like that, especially potentially

00:50if they have children and are settled into a relationship and are getting to middle age

00:54or older.

01:15Otherwise, lots of people have said, if they're saying this about Jason Momoa, what are they

01:19going to say about me?

01:21This does reflect, actually, a rise in scrutiny on men's appearances in the last 20-30 years,

01:29and certainly a way that men are being valued for their appearance more so than other attributes,

01:36such as intelligence or creative abilities.

01:39And these are trends that have long affected women, and that feminism has really rightfully

01:46identified and critiqued, that women shouldn't be valued for their appearance.

02:16There are well-established links to clinical severe outcomes, such as depression, low self-esteem,

02:40suicidal ideation, muscle dysmorphia, etc.

02:44Of course, the dad bod term and discussion is quite humorous, but it also has a serious

02:48message that we should be comfortable and even celebratory of the diversity that humans

02:55have in their appearances, including men.