RESEARCH NOTES: "THE EMBODIMENT OF MASCULINITY : CULTURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIMENSIONS."

 

EXTRACT FROM A PAPER BY MISHKIND, MARC, RODIN, LINDA, SILBERSTEIN, LISA, AND STRIEGEL-MOORE, RUTH IN KIMMEL, MICHAEL (ED.,). CHANGING MEN: NEW DIRECTIONS IN RESEARCH ON MEN AND MASCULINITY. NEWBURY PARK, CA.: SAGE PUBLICATIONS, 1987, pp. 37- 47.

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HOW MEN FEEL ABOUT THEIR BODIES

"One index of men's bodily concern is their degree of satisfaction with their physical appearance ... Studies suggest that men carry with them images of both their own body and also their ideal body, and that these two images are non identical ... Dissatisfaction [amongst men] is not general and diffuse but highly specific and differentiated. Men consistently express their greatest dissatisfaction toward chest, weight and waist ... Given that men experience significant body dissatisfaction because they see themselves as deviating from the ideal, it becomes crucial to determine the ideal male body type. When asked about physique preferences, the overwhelming majority of males report that they would prefer to be mesomorphic (ie., of well-proportioned, average build) as opposed to ectomorphic (thin) or endomorphic (fat). This preference is expressed by boys as young as 5 and 6 (R. Lerner and E. Gellert. "Body Build Identifications, Preference, and Aversion in Children," in Developmental Psychology. 1. 1969, pp.456-462; and R. Lerner and C. Schroeder. "Physique Identification, Preference and Aversion in Kindergarten Children," in Developmental Psychology. 5. 1971, p.538) and also by college-age men (L. A. Tucker. "Relationship between perceived somatotype and body cathexis of college males," in Psychological Reports. 50. 1982, pp.983-989). Within the mesomorphic category, a majority select what we shall refer to as the hypermesomorphic or muscular mesomorphic body as preferred (Tucker, 1982). This physique is the "muscle-man"-type body characterized by well-developed chest and arm muscles and wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist. Men indicate greater body satisfaction to the extent that their self-reported (Tucker, 1982) or actual (S. Jourard and P. Secord. "Body Size and Body-Cathexis," in Journal of Consulting Psychology. 18. 1954, p.184; and A. Sugerman and F. Haronian. "Body Type and Sophistication of Body Concept," in Journal of Personality. 32. 1964, pp.380-394) body shape resembles this ideal. That many men feel bodily dissatisfaction because they do not resemble the mesomorphic or hypermesomorphic ideal might not in itself be particularly distressing. The discrepancy between self an ideal is problematic only when men believe that those closest to the ideal reap certain benefits not available to those further away. Research strongly suggests that this is true, both because physical appearance is so important generally in our society and because of the specific benefits that accrue to mesomorphic men.

MESOMORPHY AND MASCULINITY

We believe that the muscular mesomorph is the ideal because it is intimately tied to cultural views of masculinity and the male sex role, which prescribes that men be powerful, strong, efficacious - even domineering and destructive. The embodiment of masculinity, the muscular mesomorph is seen as more efficacious, experiencing greater mastery and control over the environment, and feeling more invulnerable ... and men consider physical attractiveness virtually equivalent to physical potency (R.M. Lerner and J.B. Orlos and J.R. Knapp. "Physical attractiveness, physical effectiveness, and self-concept in late adolescents," in Adolescence. 11. 1976, pp.313-326). Hence they experience an intimate relationship between body image and potency - that is, masculinity - with the muscular mesomorph representing the masculine ideal. A man who fails to resemble the body ideal is, by implication, failing to live up to sex-role norms, and may thus experience the consequences of violating such norms."

This is very interesting in regards to the relationship between gay men and the 'ideal' body image of the muscular mesomorph. I believe that gay men have a very strong relationship between body image and potency. The hard muscular body can be seen as an armoured phallus, a metaphor for the power of the hidden penis. From my own experience I know that some gay men have a thing about penis size ("he was hung like a cashew," meaning he had a very small cock, or "he was hung like a donkey," meaning he had a very large cock are common phrases) and some are 'size queens'. When the penis is hidden the external form of the body becomes a conduit for its power. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why gay men desire the muscular mesomorphic body, because of the perceived relationship between potency, the hidden size of the penis and the hard body. I do not agree with Mishkind et al that potency equates solely to masculinity. I believe that potency is about a sexual virility and desire that is independent from, but connected to, masculinity. Masculinity is not just about men, it is also about their history, their identity, their relationship to women, society, culture, behaviour to name but a few. To equate potency with masculinity without qualifying that masculinity operates from multiple perspectives and in many diverse areas is I think a mistake. MB

A MAN'S BODY AND HIS SENSE OF SELF

"Studies have revealed consistently a significant correlation between men's body satisfaction and self-esteem, the average correlation of these studies being around 0.5. Although some studies have found a stronger relationship between body-esteem and self-esteem for women than for men (R.M. Lerner and S.A. Karabenick and J.L. Stuart. "Relations among physical attractiveness, body attitudes, and self concept in male and female college students," in Journal of Psychology. 85. 1973, pp.119-129; and P.F. Secord and S.M. Jourard. "The appraisal of body cathexis: Body cathexis and the self," in Journal of Consulting Psychology. 17. 1953, pp.343-347), others have found comparable or even greater relationships between body satisfaction and measures of self-esteem, anxiety, and depression for men than for women (S. Franzoi and S. Shields. "The Body Esteem Scale: Multidimensional Structure and Sex Differences in a College Population," in Journal of Personality Assessment. 48. 1984, pp.173-178; and B. Goldberg and C. Folkins. "Relationship of Body-Image to Negative Emotional Attitudes," in Perceptual and Motor Skills. 39. 1974, pp.1053-1054). How a man feels about himself is thus tied closely to how he feels about his body. It remains for researchers to examine the relative importance of body image to a man's sense of self when compared to other variables such as career achievement, but the data already available suggest that feeling about body play a significant role in self-esteem.

EFFORTS TO DECREASE THE GAP BETWEEN ACTUAL AND IDEAL BODY SHAPE

We have seen that a great number of men acknowledge a gap between their actual and ideal body types, and that the greater this gap, the lower their self-esteem. As a result, men feel motivated to close this gap. This often depends upon which parts of the body are the foci of dissatisfaction. In a large-scale factor-analytic study, Franzoi and Shields (1984) found there primary dimensions along which men's bodily satisfaction and dissatisfaction occur ..."

According to Franzoi and Shields basically:

1. physical attractiveness (face);

2. upper body strength (muscles); and

3. physical conditioning (fitness)

MB

"Given that the physical effects of endurance workouts may be less readily visible than the effects of bodybuilding, we surmise that men who want to be recognized for their physical masculinity are more likely to opt for muscle building as their form of physical exercise ... A man who strives to bridge the self-denial gap will experience a heightened attentiveness to and focus on his body. This may render his standards more perfectionist (and hence more out of reach) and enhance his perceptions of his shortcomings. Both his limitations and the gap itself can become increasingly salient. To the extent that he feels he falls short, he will experience the shame of failure. He may also feel ashamed at being so focused on his body, presumably because this has been associated traditionally with the female sex-role type ...
Thus far we have focused only on the negative consequences of trying to attain the masculine body ideal. There a powerfully positive consequences. The more a man experiences himself as closing the self-ideal gap - for example, through exercising - the more positive he will feel toward body and self ... The more a man works toward attaining his body ideal and the closer he perceives himself to approximating it, the greater his sense of self-efficacy.

SUBCULTURES OF HIGH BODILY CONCERN

The increased cultural attention given to the male body and the increasing demands placed on men to achieve the mesomorphic build push men further along the continuum of bodily concern. Men are likely experiencing more body dissatisfaction, preoccupation with weight, and concern with their physical attractiveness and body shape now than they did even two decades ago ... we might expect that subgroups of men that place relatively greater emphasis on physical appearance would be at greater risk or excessive weight control behaviours and even eating disorders.
An illustrative group is the gay male subculture, which places an elevated importance on all aspects of a man's physical self - body build, grooming, dress, handsomeness (S. Kleinberg. Alienated Affections: Being Gay in America. New York: St. Martin's, 1980; and R. Lakoff and R. Scherr. Face Value: The Politics of Beauty. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984). We predicted that gay men would be at a heightened risk of body dissatisfaction and for eating disorders. In a sample of heterosexual and homosexual college men, gay men expressed greater dissatisfaction with body build, waist, biceps, arms, and stomach. Gay men also indicated a greater discrepancy between their actual and ideal body shapes than did "straight" men and showed higher scores on measures of eating disregulation and food and weight preoccupation. If the increased focus on appearance continues for men in general, such concerns and eating disorders may begin to increase among all men. (My bold).

CONCLUSIONS

The body plays a central role in men's self-esteem, and men are striving in growing numbers to achieve the male body image. This may have a profound impact on their psychological and physical health. We suspect that the causes and consequences of bodily concern reviewed here represent a growing cultural trend, attributable to increased emphasis on self-determination of health and the ambiguity of current male and female sex roles." (My bold).

 

Mishkind, Marc Rodin, Linda Silberstein, Lisa and Striegel-Moore, Ruth. "The Embodiment of Masculinity: Cultural, Psychological and Behavioural Dimensions," in Kimmel, M. (ed.,). Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage Publications, 1987, pp.37-47.