The masculine beauty ideal is a set of cultural beauty standards for men which change based on the historical era and the geographic region.[1] These standards are ingrained in men from a young age to increase their perceived physical attractiveness.[2]
Masculine beauty ideals are mainly rooted in heteronormative beliefs about hypermasculinity, but they heavily influence men of all sexual orientations and gender identities.[3] The masculine beauty ideal traits include but are not limited to: male body shape, height, skin tones, body weight, muscle mass, and genital size.[4] Men oftentimes feel social pressure to conform to these standards in order to feel desirable, and thus elect to alter their bodies through processes such as extreme dieting, genital enlargement, radical fitness regimens, skin whitening, tanning, and other bodily surgical modifications.[5][6][7]
- ^ Simonova, Michaela (9 November 2021). "The Ideal Man: Male Beauty Standards Through History". The Collector. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ Lee Yang, Eugene; Koeppel, Kari; Vazquez, Eli (19 March 2015). "Men's Standards Of Beauty Around The World". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ Joy, Phillip; Numer, Matthew (6 January 2019). "How body ideals shape the health of gay men". The Conversation. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ Hames, R. "Beauty" (PDF). University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
- ^ "Body image - men - Better Health Channel". www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ "The Truth About Male Body Image Issues". Newport Institute. 2021-08-25. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
- ^ McCreary, Donald R.; Saucier, Deborah M. (2009-01-01). "Drive for muscularity, body comparison, and social physique anxiety in men and women". Body Image. 6 (1): 24–30. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.09.002. ISSN 1740-1445. PMID 18996066.