Male Body Image
Numerous studies have found that most men report at least some concern about their bodies, and many struggle to maintain a positive or confident body image.[1,2] Some may struggle with their weight, others may be self conscious about acne, while other men may feel insecure about their hair or height.
Occasionally feeling frustrated or self-conscious is normal, but when these feelings become persistent, affect our mood, or change our behaviour, we need to take action.
Feeling bad about our physical appearance is often framed as an issue that predominantly affects women. Though women report higher overall levels of body dissatisfaction, men are by no means immune to similar concerns.
In fact, while many studies show that unhealthy levels of body dissatisfaction have gradually decreased for women over the past 30 years, levels among men have remained largely unchanged.[3]
Like women, men receive mixed signals about how they’re “supposed” to look. But, unlike women, men are generally expected to not care about their appearance. As a result, we don’t always have access to the same resources, language, or support to counter unhealthy expectations.
Today, fitness, skincare and clothing companies increasingly target men. As a result, many guys feel more pressure than ever to meet the idealised standards that we see in social media and advertising, while also feeling that pressure to appear as though we don’t really care too much about how we look.
Key Terms
When talking about bodies, there are a few terms that doctors, researchers, and health writers use that sound similar, but have different meanings. Tap each box or hover your mouse over for more information:
Body image dissatisfaction is a measure of how negatively we feel about our body.
When we experience body image dissatisfaction, we tend to have negative thoughts and feelings about our body and/or appearance.
Body image disturbance (BD)is a clinical term that is used when describing a very significant level of dissatisfaction, to the point where it causes serious distress.
People experiencing body image disturbance might see themselves as overweight when they’re actually underweight. This is a key symptom of conditions like anorexia and bulimia.
Body dysmorphia or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)is a clinical condition defined by a feeling that your body has some serious (but imagined) flaw.
For example a guy may become convinced that his nose is so oversized that he avoids social situations and is constantly worried about it.
Men’s Body Issues
Because we hear less about men’s body issues, a man struggling with these issues might be under the impression that he’s struggling alone. This mindset can lead to feelings of embarrassment or shame, and make us even less likely to talk to someone about our concerns.
In reality, studies have found that anywhere from 68% to 98% of men in the United States report some form of body dissatisfaction, with similar numbers reported worldwide.[2]
At the same time, jokes about men’s appearance are often deemed socially acceptable and widely normalised by popular media. Many men feel pressure to laugh them off, even when the comments are hurtful.
Many of the issues listed below are rooted in outdated stereotypes that link a man’s worth to his size and strength, and they can contribute to serious mental health and well-being challenges.
These concerns are often compounded by unfair comparisons to idealized (and frequently digitally altered) images of what a “real man” should look like, shaped largely by social media and popular culture.
Body Weight
Weight is the most common cause of dissatisfaction for men, with around 35%-50% of men in most studies reporting that they want to lose weight.[2,4]
This often increases with age, as gradual hormonal changes can lead to increased “visceral fat” around the waist and abdomen.[5]
Issues around weight can range from avoiding activities showing your body (like swimming) to severe eating disorders.
Eating Disorders
While men aren’t clinically diagnosed with eating disorders as often as women, recent research has shown that disordered eating among men is more common than we used to think.[6]
As many as one in seven men are likely to meet the criteria for some form of eating disorder by the age of 40, with the average age of those affected being around 21.
The most common clinical eating disorder among men and boys is bulimia nervosa, which usually involves cycles of binge-eating and purging (often by vomiting).
Anorexia nervosa is not as common, but is extremely serious. It’s characterized by severe calorie restriction that can lead to a dangerously low body weight and can be life-threatening.
Bingeing and purging, extreme food restriction, compulsive exercise, or persistent, distressing thoughts about specific body parts are all signs of a negative body image that would benefit from professional support.
Other subclinical forms of controlled eating can include fasting, calorie counting, eliminating certain foods, or following diets with extreme ratios of carbs, fats, and protein. None of these behaviours is inherently bad or unhealthy, but should still be practiced from a positive, flexible, and health-focused position.
Muscle Mass and Definition
Muscularity is the second most common body image concern among men, and is also strongly influenced by social media. One study of college-aged men in the US found that 83-90% of participants were dissatisfied with the size of their muscles.[7]
Social media algorithms tend to reinforce these insecurities by promoting advertising for fitness programs, supplements, and gym products. Repeated exposure to lean, muscular, and athletic bodies on social media is also associated with higher dissatisfaction.[8]
While physical movement is important for both physical and mental health, maintaining a healthy and realistic perspective of our body is key to forming sustainable long-term habits. Remember that social media and advertising are designed to sway your emotions so that you make impulsive decisions (clicks, sign-ups, and purchases), which often don’t lead to lasting improvement.
At the extreme end, some men suffer from muscle dysmorphia. This is a form of body dysmorphic disorder characterised by an overwhelming preoccupation with muscle size and body shape, to the point that it severely impacts well-being and day-to-day functioning. This is a serious disorder that requires therapeutic intervention.
For example, a man may become obsessed with building muscle and never feel satisfied with his body. He could spend hours in the gym, strictly control his diet, and avoid any social events that interfere with his routine, but even when others reassure him he looks fit, he still feels anxious and obsessively preoccupied with his physique.
Height
Many men feel self-conscious about their height, but it’s also something that society often treats as acceptable to joke about.
It’s important to remember that our height is outside of our control, and is determined by our genetics, childhood nutrition, and environment (mostly at a population-wide scale). Across the world, the average height for an adult man is about 171 cm, or 5 feet 7.1 inches, though it varies by location and genetics.[9]
Comparison often leads to feelings of dissatisfaction. For example, in this ABC News podcast, a man details how he started feeling self-conscious about his height after migrating from Pakistan to Australia, where the average height is taller. He describes how he considered extremely risky, invasive and expensive surgery to alter his height, before ultimately finding a more sustainable path to self-acceptance through talk therapy.
We also tend to underestimate how many actors, musicians, and other public figures are much shorter than they appear on screen. For example, Tom Cruise, one of the world’s most popular action movie stars over the last few decades, is about 5’7”, despite appearing much taller in films. And he’s still taller than many other famous and successful musicians and actors such as Bono, Prince, Flea, Kendrick Lamar, Daniel Radcliffe, Jack Black, and Paul Simon.
Height is by no means a limiting factor when it comes to self-confidence, relationships, happiness, or well-being.
Penis Size
Concerns about penis size are extremely common among men, yet they’re rarely discussed openly. Because of this silence, many men assume their worries are unusual or that they’re somehow inadequate.
In reality, most men fall well within the average range for penis size. Research consistently shows that men tend to overestimate what is “normal”, largely due to pornography, exaggerated media portrayals, and selective online comparisons.[10]
Anxiety around penis size is often less about physical function and more about fears of sexual adequacy, desirability, or masculinity. These concerns can impact confidence, intimacy, and sexual satisfaction.
It’s also important to note that sexual satisfaction for partners is influenced far more by communication, emotional connection, and comfort, rather than by size alone.
If worries about penis size are persistent, distressing, or interfering with your relationships or self-esteem, speaking with a therapist or healthcare provider can be helpful. Support can focus on addressing anxiety, correcting distorted beliefs, and building confidence rather than changing your body.
Read more on our page on sex and relationships:
Signs of Ageing
Although ageing is something we all experience, visible signs such as wrinkles, grey hair, loss of muscle mass and strength, or changes in posture or body shape can still feel unsettling.
Noticing these changes can prompt us to reflect on our past, current, and future position in life, but this doesn’t have to be something negative. It’s worth remembering that signs of ageing also reflect growth and experience.
Ageing is a natural part of life, and something that every one of us goes through.
Balding
Male pattern baldness is due to genetics and is extremely common, with moderate to extensive hair loss affecting the majority of men by the age of 50.[11] About one in four men will start to experience thinning or a receding hairline by the age of 21.
Comparison also has a big impact here. Many high-profile men (actors, athletes, politicians, news presenters, and models) use medications, hair transplants, or cosmetic strategies to maintain youthful hairlines.
Medications and procedures that slow or reduce hair loss have become much more common since the 1990s. If you watch any movie, news presentation or sports match from before then, you’ll notice far more bald and balding men.
While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to slow hair loss, it’s good to be conscious about your motivations. If concerns about hair loss are causing significant distress, preoccupation, or constant worry, it may be worth discussing these feelings with a therapist.
It’s important to accept that the changes that come with ageing are inevitable. While there are ways to slow or adapt to some of these changes, we cannot stop them entirely, and that is okay.
Gender Dysphoria
Identifying as a man comes with a broad set of expectations – some real, some imagined, some fair, and some unfair.
While body dissatisfaction is common among men, gender dysphoria is a distinct experience that involves a deep sense of discomfort or distress when someone’s physical characteristics or assigned gender do not align with their internal sense of self.
Gender dysphoria is not the same as general unhappiness with one’s body. Rather, it is connected specifically to one’s gender identity.
Gender dysphoria can affect both transgender men and non-binary people, including those who were female at birth and those who were male at birth but who do not identify with that designation. For some people, dysphoria centres on secondary sex characteristics (such as facial hair, chest shape, or fat distribution). For others, it may relate to height, voice, muscularity, genitals, or broader expectations around how men are “supposed” to look and act.
People experiencing gender dysphoria may feel:
- Strong discomfort when looking at or thinking about parts of their body.
- A sense of incongruence between how others see them and who they know themselves to be.
- Anxiety, low mood, or irritability connected to appearance or social expectations.
- The urge to withdraw from social situations, intimacy, or activities where showing their body is involved.
People experiencing gender dysphoria may also feel relief when engaging in gender-affirming behaviours (e.g. making their own clothing choices, wearing makeup, or expressing themselves socially as their gender).
The distress of gender dysphoria comes from the mismatch between one’s identity and body or social environment, not from someone’s identity itself.
Many people find significant relief through gender-affirming support, which can include social transition (name, pronouns, style), therapy with a gender-informed clinician, or, for some, medical interventions such as hormone therapy or surgeries.
If you think you might be experiencing gender dysphoria:
- You’re not alone. Many people quietly navigate these feelings before seeking support.
- It’s okay to be unsure. You don’t need total clarity about your identity before reaching out, and you don’t need to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.
- Talking to a therapist or doctor with experience in gender diversity can help. They can offer a safe space to explore your emotions and discuss a range of affirming options.
Whether or not someone chooses to pursue physical changes, simply understanding and articulating one’s identity can greatly reduce distress and improve mental well-being.
Comparing Ourselves To Others
You may have heard the expression “comparison is the thief of joy“. It simply means that constantly measuring ourselves against others risks undermining our own sense of satisfaction, achievement, or self-worth.
As humans, though, we’re naturally sensitive to our social environments. We can’t help but compare ourselves to others, especially when we want to gauge how we’re doing in areas like our looks, health, finances, careers, or relationships.
A large body of research has identified two types of comparisons that matter here:
- Upward comparisons
- When we compare ourselves to people we believe are doing “better” than us in some area, which tend to lower our self-esteem and increase self-doubt.
- Downward comparisons
- When we look at people who appear worse off, which can temporarily boost our confidence, but don’t lead to lasting feelings of self-worth.
Most of us are far more likely to make upward comparisons, which is why comparison so often leaves us feeling drained and inadequate.[12]
Social Media Distorts Our Self-Image
Studies show that men who frequently compare their bodies to leaner or more muscular physiques report higher levels of body dissatisfaction.[2] Unfortunately, social media and advertising constantly expose us to images of “idealised” bodies. This means that we’re almost always making “upward” comparisons, whether consciously or unconsciously, which can negatively skew our perspective about our appearance.
Instead of seeing a realistic cross-section of the population, we’re repeatedly shown the most athletic, wealthy, and conventionally attractive people.
Many of the images are also heavily curated, and rely on digital filters, editing, makeup, professional lighting, staged environments, and borrowed status symbols, like fancy cars, clothes, and houses. As a result, we end up comparing ourselves to fiction rather than reality.
It’s also worth recognising that most social media platforms benefit from manipulating their users to maximise engagement and purchases. Social media platforms profit from our insecurity by digitally profiling us and selling this information to advertisers.
Next Steps:
You can use our self-check tool through the link below to see how significant your body image concerns are. It only takes a couple of minutes and can give you an idea of whether it’s time to take action.
You can check-in periodically to see how your perspective of your body changes over time.
We also have another article with practical steps you can take to start to address common body image concerns:
References
- Cunningham, M. L., Nagata, J. M., Frederick, D., Rodgers, R. F., Lavender, J. M., Szabo, M., & Murray, S. B. (2020). Who’s the ‘bigger’ man? parsing the relationships between masculinity and men’s muscularity dissatisfaction. Body Image, 34, 94-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2020.04.003
- Galioto, R., & Crowther, J. H. (2013). The effects of exposure to slender and muscular images on male body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 10(4), 566–573.
- Karazsia, B. T., Murnen, S. K., & Tylka, T. L. (2017). Is body dissatisfaction changing across time? A cross-temporal meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 143(3), 293-320. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000081
- Cash, T. F., Phillips, K. A., Santos, M. T., & Hrabosky, J. I. (2004). Measuring “negative body image”: Validation of the body image disturbance questionnaire in a nonclinical population. Body Image, 1(4), 363-372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.10.001
- Su, M., Wei, H., Chen, L., Guan, Y., Dong, W., & Zhao, M. (2023). The impact of visceral adiposity on testosterone levels in American adult men: A cross-sectional analysis. Medical Science Monitor, 29. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.941394
- Ganson, K. T., Mitchison, D., Rodgers, R. F., Murray, S. B., Testa, A., & Nagata, J. M. (2025). Eating disorders among an online sample of Canadian and American boys and men. Eating Behaviors : An International Journal, 57, 101980. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2025.101980
- Ridgeway, R. T., & Tylka, T. L. (2005). College men’s perceptions of ideal body composition and shape. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 6(3), 209-220. https://doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.6.3.209
- Ganson, K. T., Testa, A., Rodgers, R. F., & Nagata, J. M. (2025). Associations between muscularity-oriented social media content and muscle dysmorphia among boys and men. Body Image, 53, 101903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2025.101903
- https://ourworldindata.org/human-height
- Sharp, G., & Oates, J. (2019). Sociocultural Influences on Men’s Penis Size Perceptions and Decisions to Undergo Penile Augmentation: A Qualitative Study. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 39(11), 1253–1259. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjz154
- Rhodes, T., Girman, C. J., Savin, R. C., Kaufman, K. D., Guo, S., Lilly, F. R., Siervogel, R. M., & Chumlea, W. C. (1998). Prevalence of male pattern hair loss in 18-49 year old men. Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.], 24(12), 1330–1332. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-4725.1998.tb00009.x
- Wood, J. V. (1989). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 106(2), 231-248. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.106.2.231
