Hughes 1 Kevin Hughes Erin Dietel-McLaughlin Writing and Rhetoric 14 November 2011 Under Rated Media It seems like

no matter where we look advertisements are constantly affecting us. All genders and all ages are exposed to the media and visuals of persuasion to improve them selves or to be like others. When we think of people affected by advertisements and trying to improve their images and be like others, we tend to think of females. We always see females as the ones taking drastic measures to improve their body image or personality. Likewise, if we hear of someone having an eating disorder or someone becoming depressed because of their looks we tend to think of a female because of many organizations like the Real Women campaign that publicize only female problems. But are females the only ones that are severely affected by this? No, but most people would never suspect a male of having an eating disorder or taking measures to drastically change their body image. In reality, the media also affects males. When males see someone in an advertisement whose looks are perfect, they believe they are different and not normal because they dont look like the photo of the perfect male. Body image is just as important to males as it is to females. Males are much less likely to have an eating disorder, but they are much more likely to take steroids to enhance their body image. In many studies and reports, women, by many measures, are known to be healthier than men, but women also get much more attention in health issues than males do (Guys

Hughes 2 Have Body Issues, Too). In articles, magazines, books etc. we always hear about how the media has an affect on females, but what we rarely hear about is how the media has an affect on a males ego and body image. One main reason why people hear about females affected by the media and not males is because males are brought up to believe they arent suppose to have emotional problems with their body types. Males are raised much differently than females regarding emotions and how they are suppose to be seen by others and act. In Femianos article he talks about how males are brought up to believe certain morals: he says, Sexual stereotyping begins early in men's lives. Boys learn what it means to be a man from family and peers. These ideas about approved behaviors and modes of thought are focused and supported by media messages (Femiano). Every day, males see what they are supposed to look like and how they are suppose to act through the media. For example, when sporting events are on the television, males, who are more likely to watch, see commercials for mostly manly items like beer, work out gear and supplements, and sporting gear. Boys will see these other athletes or men in these commercials throughout their entire life, from when they are born to when they die, and they learn to conform to the medias distortion of what a man should be like. Thus, it is very difficult to change their thoughts regarding how they should act. In 2006, a study was conducted at Western Kentucky University designed to examine the effect of exposure to male models in advertisements on men's body satisfaction. 173 college males were assessed using one of two sets of magazine advertisements. One consisted of either clothing or cologne products alone, while the

Hughes 3 other featured the same products with a male model. The study found that participants who viewed advertisements with products with male models displayed an increase in body dissatisfaction, while those who viewed the first magazine with no male models displayed no change in their body dissatisfaction. The importance of this finding is that the body dissatisfaction experienced through exposure to idealized images of men in the media is only the beginning of possible outcomes such as anabolic steroid use, eating disorders, and muscle dysmorphia (Baird p. 115). Many believe that this image of how men are supposed to be seen can prevent them from living up to their full potential. Males tend to hold back their issues and emotions and internalize their feelings because they believe that if others find out they will be seen as different and odd. There are a large number of characteristics that people would relate to men and being manly. Some people might believe manliness is exactly what they see in the media, or some people think of it for what it actually is. In Timothy Stephensons article, he researched and analyzed the real body of men portrayed in the media. The real body goes beyond the normal characteristics of physique and the shape of a males body (Stephenson). The media goes through so much to completely alter a persons image to try to make them perfect. In some advertisements, the people wouldnt even be able to recognize their own faces because they have been drastically changed. These visuals can make any person feel much worse about themselves after seeing people that have been completely altered to look perfect. The media also expresses males as this perfect looking human lacking hair, blemishes, sweat, and smells. In an advertisement for any type of male clothing, for example, they would never show a male who is sweating

Hughes 4 through the clothing with pimples all over his face because then people will be less inclined to buy the products. Stephenson explains how this affects males by stating, on TV and in magazines eventually becomes our standard of reality and desire; failing to meet it is perceived as deficiency. Characteristics like sweat and hair can be controlled on screen but never escaped in reality, so some men come to see these essential parts of their body as they might a rounded belly or unfirm bicep: as a gross, unfortunate flaw(Stephenson). When males start to see the same type of man who is skinny and muscular with perfect skin all the time, they tend to believe that most people are like that. Then, they look in the mirror and may see some blemishes, sweat, and hair and probably wouldnt see perfectly sculpted abs and a perfect physique. When a normal male who isnt actually like this at all believes they are suppose to be, they can easily become depressed and take extreme measures to attempt to gain this real body. Males too can take drastic measures to alter their own body image. Many teens and adults look to steroids to help gain muscle and seriously change their body types. Most people associate steroids with body builders, pro athletes or occasionally college or high school athletes as well. But many kids that arent participating in athletic take steroids. Kids that are scrawny and get picked on in school may have the urge to take steroids. The kids who are athletes look up to their role models and try to be like them. Since many pro athletes have been caught for using steroids, it is not uncommon for high school or college athletes to believe they need steroids as well to achieve to a high level in their sport. In 2006, 2.7% of male high school seniors reported to be using or have tried steroids to try to achieve to higher goals in their respected sport (Steroid use in High

Hughes 5 Schools). 2.7% doesnt seem like that high of a percent for people to use steroids, but it is taken from a large quantity of students so the number of students that have taken steroids is actually very high. Since this is for high school seniors (students that are eighteen years old and younger), their bodies are still growing. If a male that is 18 years or under takes steroids, their growth can be severely stunted. It is completely paradoxical for a student whose body is still growing to take a supplement that will stunt their growth, so they can keep growing. Students who dont play a sport also take steroids to try to change their body type. In many occasions we do see males with steroid problems in the media. We sometimes see professional athletes getting caught using steroids or celebrities that have used steroids to look better. But, rarely do we hear stories about kids still in high school who ruined their lives because of steroids. Rarely, do we hear about fifteen year old Michael or seventeen-year-old Aaron who both took steroids daily, and ended up committing suicide because they could not control their mood swings and depression (Steroids). These are the issues males have that are actually important that most people do not know about. When we think of steroids, we think of professional athletes who are adults or body builders, not teenage kids trying to better their lives. The media only shows us the people we are interested in like celebrities, professional athletes, or our role models because that is how they will get more viewers, and overall, more money. Even males that are taking legal substances to try to lose weight or put on muscle are still putting their health at risk. In the article, Whos Spiking Your Supplements? Laura Beil tells a story about a man named Heath Stevison who was a victim of legal

Hughes 6 supplements. For a few months he started taking a legal supplement to try to gain muscle to look good for a vacation. In just a few weeks, he had incredible results putting on fifteen pounds of muscle. He began having side effects from the supplement and became extremely itchy on his stomach and sides. During the nights he would scratch himself until his body bled all over the sheets. After a few more weeks he looked in the mirror and saw that his eyes were yellow. After a trip to the emergency room, he became aware that his liver was shutting down because of a surplus of steroids being taken into his body. Just three months after he had been checked into the hospital, the company that had created this supplement recalled it and 64 other supplements for containing ingredients that are steroids (Beil). In the same article this story is from, Dr. Cohen says, manufacturers also play a chemical version of brinkmanship, trying to make a product as close to illegal as possible without crossing the line. We're talking about a very complicated situation where everyone is trying to replicate the actions of testosterone and put that into a pill that flies under the regulatory radar." (Beil) This story shows the negative effects supplements can have on people. We always see advertisements that show people who lost an incredible amount of weight or gained an astonishing amount of muscle in just a few weeks taking supplements. The magazine or network that is showing the advertisement for the supplement does not care if the supplement harmed every person it came into contact with, as long as they make money from it. Similarly, the companies whose product it is will only illustrate and exaggerate the effects of their products to catch the costumers attention. In many cases, these companies dont actually put the amount of a certain ingredient in the drug that is listed

Hughes 7 on the label. Sometimes there can be much more of an ingredient in the supplement that is recommended, and not be correctly shown on the label. These supplements can be very dangerous to mens health while being taking correctly. Therefore, when males do not take the supplements correctly and believe they do not need to work out while taking the muscle enhancement or weight loss supplement, it can be extremely dangerous to a males health. Since many weight loss and muscle enhancement supplements sometimes contain an excess amount of caffeine it puts a lot of pressure on a persons heart. Also, these drugs can have an affect on a males kidney because the ingredients in these supplements are not natural and can be very hard to digest through the body. All of these side effects that are extremely dangerous to consumers, are never seen in advertisements so we never hear about the dangerous problems males face concerning their bodies. A growing problem that we have rarely heard about in males is eating disorders. The statistics for males having eating disorders or any type of body imaging problems is very low. Several years ago 16% of all patients for eating disorders were men (Cohn). This number has been rising through out the past 20 years, so it is most likely higher than that now. However, although the number is lower than females, the real number of males with these problems is much higher than what the statistics say. Most men will not admit to having an eating disorder or tell others if they do simply because that is something that is unheard of and is not considered manly at all. The main reason we dont hear about it is because men dont talk about it. As mentioned previously, men are brought up to follow certain beliefs and act certain ways and one of those beliefs is that men should not have eating disorders. If a male does have an eating disorder it embarrasses them and

Hughes 8 they are less inclined to want it publicized it in the media. Arnold Anderson, an M.D and co-author of the first book ever written about male issues with food and appearance, exemplifies that, Men feel stigmatized about having these 'women's diseases' and have been reluctant to seek help"(Cohn). In the same article it goes on to talk about the males that do try to seek help. At first, it was so unheard of that males can have eating disorders that clinicians did not even believe it was possible. In Cohns article he states, Men have been ignored because clinicians have not thought of them as having these kinds of problems, and men have been too embarrassed to seek treatment (Cohn). The media is a main cause of why many people have eating disorders. In the movie Fight Club, Brad Pitt is standing on a train looking at a Calvin Klein advertisement showing an extremely muscular male body and he says, Is that what a man is suppose to look like? Everyday a male sees someone on television or in a magazine who looks thinner or more muscular than them, and it becomes very hard for someone to not want too look like the man in the advertisement. Some males will do anything to be able to look like celebrities or models and will take drastic measures like eating disorders to be able to look like the media portrayed males. It is proven in a numerous amount of surveys and experiments that more females try to lose weight than males. Since more females try to lose weight, we see more campaigns against females drastically changing their bodies. These campaigns often try to scare women and actually show what is happening and what can happen to females. The media tries to reach out to the more populated side of consumers, females. Therefore, in the media we see and hear about more females who are dangerously losing weight and

Hughes 9 not males. The media knows that most men wouldnt be as intrigued as females to pick up a celebrity gossip or fashion magazine so they do not put male issues in them. The media is filled with all the advertisements and information females are more likely to consume because that is the best marketing strategy for them. The media has a strong effect on persuading males to alter their body images and personality. Although men tend not to show many of their problems regarding their body, it doesnt mean these problems are nonexistent. Males abuse different procedures than females to change their bodies like taking steroids or supplements. Since males tend to be embarrassed about their feelings or disorders, we tend to only hear about females having problems because of the media. Also, it is a dominant strategy for the media to reach out to women because they more open with changing their bodies. With all the attention these days on the effect paper-thin models and actresses can have on girls and women, its worth noting that men can suffer from body image problems, too (Guys Have Body Issues, Too).

Work Cited Baird, Amy L. "Exposure to Male Models in Advertisements Leads to a Decrease in Men's Body Satisfaction." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5>. Beil, Laura. "Who's Spiking Your Supplements?" EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. July-Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=55887d80-63d7-46d3-adb148653142ae95@sessionmgr10>. Cohn, Leigh. "Eating Disorders in Men - Information on Eating Disorders - Bulimia Anorexia." Bulimia.com - Eating Disorders Resource for Recovery and Education. EATING DISORDERS. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bulimia.com/client/client_pages/abouteating_males.cfm>. Femiano, Sam, and Mark Nickerson. "How Do Media Images of Men Affect Our Lives?" Center for Media Literacy. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/how-do-media-images-men-affect-ourlives>. "Guys Have Body Issues, Too - Health - Men's Health - Msnbc.com." Msnbc.com Breaking News, Science and Tech News, World News, US News, Local NewsMsnbc.com. Msnbc, 6 Oct. 2006. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15160230/ns/health-mens_health/t/guys-havebody-issues-too/>.

Stephenson, Timothy. "The Media Assault on Male Body Image SEEDMAGAZINE.COM." SEEDMAGAZINE.COM. 15 Sept. 2006. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/the_media_assault_on_male_body_ima ge/>. "Steroid Use in High Schools - Steroid Abuse .com." Steroid Abuse - Steroidabuse.com. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://www.steroidabuse.com/steroid-use-in-highschools.html>. "Steroids." Your Body: How It Works and Stays Healthy. ORACLE, 2001. Web. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112390/steroids.htm>