Men of 21st cenury and their body image

Perception of the attractiveness of the male body has changed over times for students and also male population in general. There was a time when big wigs and a thin body image wearing fabulously fashionable clothes were called dandy in the 18th century and were looked upon as the trendy male role models.

Dandy -lean male body image of the 18th and 19th century

Young Jason Mamoa with his boyish look

Older Jason Mamoa with a fierce muscled look for his character of Khal Drogo in 'Game of Thrones'.

In the 21st century, the likes of Jason mamoa and the A & F male models with their steroid muscles are seen to be the perfect alpha male. These role models have made men of today hit the gym with a vengeance and resort to artificial means of getting the image of a mucled model of today's times. According to Blouin and Goldfield (2006) steroid users reported that the most significant reason for using steroids was to improve looks and also reported that building muscles also helped elevate their need for  perfectionism  and lower self-esteem.  The results from Blouin and Goldfield( 2006) also suggest that male bodybuilders among the youth are at risk for body image disturbance and the associated psychological characteristics that have been commonly reported among eating disorder patients. Is there a cure for such perception of beauty is a topic much debated over in the media. Maybe if  the role models became lean themself that would change the perceptions, but would these muscled stars ever change their looks is very doubtful.