Male body image issues and societal perceptions

Male Body Image

The need for gender-specific survey instruments and measures of body image is clear, given that the same instruments and methods used to measure female body image likely do not apply to male subjects. Future research undoubtedly will be devoted to the development, perfection, and standardization of male body image measures. Since conducting this research two new instruments have been proposed. One attempts to go beyond muscularity, including categories such as body fat, youthfulness, body hair, and penis characteristics. The instrument is called the Multidimensional Male Body Concerns Questionnaire (MMBCQ), and includes more than 30 different items along five dimensions. The MMBCQ was developed by Rusticus (2010).

A second instrument that has recently been developed is called the Male Body Dissatisfaction Scale (MBDS). Proposed by Ochner, Gray & Brickner (2009), the MBDS enables the correlation of body image variables with other psychological variables like self-esteem. Moreover, the MBDS is important in that it allows men to rank specific body image variables as being important to them. This makes the MBDS applicable to diverse populations.

Future research should substantiate the efficacy of these new survey instruments. Future research might also explore the differences between gay and straight men with regards to body image and/or body dysmorphia. Differences between straight and gay men have already been substantiated in the literature, but future research might address differential methods of intervention. Exploring the variables that lead to unrealistic body image might fall within the realm of social sciences other than psychology: such as anthropology and sociology. Research in the area of male body image is multidisciplinary. Anthropology and sociology do offer fruitful avenues of research, yielding potentially rich data on the differences between men of various cultures and ethnic groups. However, psychological approaches to male body image offer the unique opportunity to explore links between body image issues and pathologies. It would be important to know, for example, if there are correlations between male body dysmorphia and depression or anxiety. Future research may also explore the ways that therapists can incorporate male-specific body image counseling techniques.

An exploration of the differences between different age groups might also yield fruitful data. Height, head hair, tanned skin, muscularity, youthfulness, clear complexion, and Caucasian facial features may be among the "ideal physique" designations (Rusticus, 2010). Other variables such as testicle size and overall shape of the penis should also be taken into account. Circumcision status may also be an important variable in determining male body image and self-perception. Whether these variables remain constant among different ethnic groups should be discussed in future research. Moreover, variables should also be correlated with social class status.

Future research could also explore reported sex life satisfaction between the male subjects and their partners. For example, do men who report self-consciousness related to their penis size also experience less satisfaction in bed? Do the partners of men correspondingly report less satisfaction? The relationship between body image and other psychological variables such as personality test scores might also yield information helpful for therapists. Future research might also show whether gay men are more critical of their male partners vs. straight women of their male partners.