Think your guy doesn’t have body issues? Think again. In a culture where every other billboard you pass is showing a shirtless man selling everything from razor blades to trendy clothing, guys can’t help but notice.

And of course the men on those billboards don’t look much like your average Joe. For one, they’re chiseled and completely devoid of body fat – as if a french fry has never passed their lips. And they’re completely hairless – no Magnum P.I. or James Bond chest hair to be found anywhere.

It’s enough to make the rest of the male population a little uncomfortable. Subtly the image of perfection has shifted. It used to be a guy could look at a male model and think, “Well, I could look like that too with a personal trainer.” And so men would join gyms and pursue a fitter version of themselves. But now it seems the media has raised the bar. The image men are confronted with today is less and less attainable. In order to even come close, they’d have to not only hit the gym, but also get laser hair removal all over their bodies, hair transplants on their heads and make regular trips to the spa for facials.

Not quite the weekend your man may have in mind.

Men’s Body Issues are Different than Ours

Deborah Schooler, a research associate at Brown University has been quoted as saying that men are not just concerned about their weight and body fat percentages, but also what she calls “real body” issues like body hair, body odor and sweat.

Schooler published a study last spring that was recently featured in Seed magazine where she and a colleague studied 184 male college students and their reactions to the media. What they found was that the more media these young men were exposed to – primarily music videos and prime-time TV – the worse they felt about the “real” aspects of their bodies, the researchers found.

The Vicious Cycle

Like most things in life, beauty and fashion are cyclical. According to Richard Simmons (remember Sweatin’ to the Oldies?), the image of male fitness swings between two extremes. “We seem to go from rugged to smooth, rugged to smooth. You’re either the Marlboro Man or you’re the Surfer Boy. You’re a cowboy, or you’re a lean, mean swimming machine.”

But what if a guy is neither extreme?

There is hope in the form of celebrities who are still regarded as role models, but have healthy and – here’s the key – realistic bodies. Think Matt Damon – he’s fit, but doesn’t look like an anatomical diagram with his shirt off. Or what about Hugh Jackman? Wolverine is anything but hairless. And of course there are the infamous body odor issues surrounding Brad Pitt.

So tell your man to take heart. Whereas the media has one ideal that they have latched onto (for the time being), women by and large are more interested in how solid the relationship is than whether or not the guy waxes his chest or sweats when he works out.

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