The perfect body image for men is becoming a dangerous standard

Sometimes men defer harder conversations to women and publicly, uncomfortable discourse often follows the same trajectory. Body image, unrealistic standards, the pressure to look a certain way and the decimation of self-worth that comes has typically been associated with women. However, a man staring at the mirror is not unusual.

They also measure themselves against an ideal where the goalposts move, sometimes a lot. Psychologist Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys said the increase in male body dissatisfaction has not happened in isolation. It has grown in the background largely unnoticed, while attention remained focused elsewhere.

“In previous years, the evolution of the supermodel into the ’90s and all of the glossy fashion magazines that portrayed women’s beauty as being a certain way, I think really gained a lot of traction,” he said. “But it largely ignored men.” The exposure that women, body dissatisfaction and the portrayal of their physiques received led to important conversations around body positivity for women, he said. The image of a perfect man, the Adonis of the 21st century, has become increasingly defined.

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It is lean, muscular, symmetrical, controlled, almost stoic in physical sculpture and it comes with a particular presence and attitude, often described online as dominant, disciplined and emotionally contained. It is not simply about appearance. Research has shown that it is also about male identity.

The result is a constant comparison loop, where men measure themselves not only against each other, but against an algorithmically amplified version of masculinity. Redelinghuys called it the emergence of theGiga Chadarchetype, a hyper-masculine ideal that blends physical perfection with a very specific personality type.

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