Right now, wherever you are, imagine a Hero. He could be a comic book character, an action film star, or a mythological figure.
What does he look like?
I would imagine he is tall, likely lean and muscular. He probably is handsome, and has a physical presence that implies leadership.
Your vision no doubt is similar to many men’s visions. And I would further bet that there is one characteristic that NO ONE envisions him being…
And that is FAT.
Why Fat Does Not Inspire
The subject of “body image” is a prevalent one in society. Much of this push for “body acceptance” comes from a revisionist rhetoric that disregards health and biological reality, and instead uses ill-defined forms of social psychology to revise “beauty standards.”
This is done in the same of “acceptance,” but it in fact does a disservice to society at large. Being fat is NOT healthy. The research that surrounds this topic is incontrovertible.
Relative to men and masculinity, there is fallacious talk of “unrealistic male standards” for health and body image.
Yet when critically examined, these standards are in alignment with the following:
-Athletic bodyfat percentage, which increases physical performance, lowers multiple health risk factors, and is proven to be more sexually appealing.
-High lean body mass, which increases physical performance, lowers multiple health risk factors, and is proven to be more sexually appealing.
“Standards” of attractiveness for men are in historical agreement with the depiction of heroes as being muscular, athletic, and physically fit men.
These standards are not unrealistic, they are grounded in REALITY.
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