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Are men feeling more pressure to look good?

03/08/2010

Are men feeling more pressure to look good?There's been a lot written in recent months about male vanity and how there is now more pressure on men to look good. As well as articles deploring the introduction of mannequins with 28 inch waists, surveys have revealed that men now take even longer than women to get ready.

In fact, a study by Superdrug earlier this year found that the average man now dedicates 83 minutes of the day to personal grooming, including cleansing, toning and moisturising, shaving, styling hair and choosing clothes. In contrast, women spend four minutes less each day.

Similarly, research from Man MOT, an online health surgery for blokes, found that 32 per cent of men said that feeling unattractive gives them less confidence to initiate sex with their partner, while 26 per cent are considering losing weight in order to boost their bedroom performance.

Peter Baker, chief executive of Men's Health Forum, suggested that men are beginning to experience the cultural pressures that women have been battling with for the last 100 years or so.

"Men are feeling pressure to think about their appearance and I think that this is nothing new. This has been a phenomenon that has been gathering pace for the last 20 years," he said.

He also warned that this pressure could be affecting men's mental health, adding that the male models in magazines rarely help.

"[The muscular models] increase men's anxiety about what they should look like.

"There is also evidence [to suggest] that more men are affected by eating disorders and that a growing number of men suffer from body dysmorphia - where they aren't really aware of the size and shape of their body and feel distressed, feel that they are not masculine enough and often end up exercising almost obsessively to try and gain an ideal body shape," he noted.  

Posted by Jez WaltersADNFCR-2295-ID-800011718-ADNFCR

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