Most of us are no strangers to diet culture in the media. A quick scroll through social sites brings advertisements for miracle green juices, exercise equipment, protein powders and monthly programs all with one goal: to make you smaller. Media and companies work in tandem to sell you the idea that you need to be thinner, fitter and better, but to do that you need their products or their unrealistic workout regimens. Women have been talking about it for decades, even as the cycle continues, but what about men?
The body positivity movement of the last decade has been distinctly lacking in male representation. Women who feel the pressure of unrealistic standards are beginning to break free, with more size-inclusive brands and models, the fashion industry has begun to change the harmful idea that there is one way to exist as a woman, but men remain in a cycle of being encouraged to conform and denial that the same problems exist for them. While women do tend to be statistically more affected by body image disorders, men absolutely experience them too—and it’s important to acknowledge the role of popular media in that problem.
Actor Zach Efron recently came forward detailing his struggles with body image as a child star turned action movie actor. After he starred in “Baywatch” as a shredded lifeguard, the world fixated on his body. He described a grueling and unhealthy regimen of overtraining, restrictive eating and harsh diuretics to get that lean look. Society’s false idol of a “healthy body.” Recently, Efron made his documentary debut with a Netflix series titled “Down to Earth with Zach Efron.” Despite the heavy subjects surrounding climate change presented in the show, the media once again fixated on his body, referring to it as a “dad bod.” Efron is still very fit, but now that he is not starving and dehydrated the media does not see him that way. For everyday men, that kind of public criticism takes a toll.
The kind of extreme training and dieting Efron used to get his unrealistic body in “Baywatch” is fairly commonplace for men in action movies. For instance, Chris Evans followed a strict routine for years to continue playing Captain America in the Marvel franchise. He ate strictly lean protein, vegetables and many protein shakes during his prep, with little flexibility for the enjoyment of food, as well as a celebrity personal trainer. Not only is it unhealthy to maintain his physique, but it is financially impossible for most men. That does not stop many male-targeted media outlets from releasing detailed explanations of these routines. People could follow them word for word and still fall short without a movie star paycheck and extreme dehydration.
Mark Wahlberg is also famous for his extreme 4 a.m. workout lifestyle, partially due to a video with comedian James Corden. The actor sports a full-scale gym in his home for his almost two-hour morning workout. His schedule allows for breakfast at 3 a.m., a post-workout meal, golf, two snacks and recovery in a cryogenic chamber all before his family even wakes up.
Additionally, he adds another workout in the evening and goes to sleep at 7:30 p.m. The amount of food alone required to support that lifestyle is unattainable for most men, let alone the time and equipment necessary to replicate it exactly.
Fitness YouTuber Keltie O’Conner attempted his diet and exercise routine to demonstrate just how unattainable it is. She showed the reality of trying to work out against your bodies’ natural clock with exhaustion and lack of energy. O’Conner also pointed out the difficulty of matching this routine exactly when you don’t have access to a private gym, golf courses or a live-in chef.
The problem with men’s bodies in action movies is not that the real actors are ripped, it is that their bodies are presented as attainable for the everyday person. In reality, the resources it takes to support them would be completely unrealistic for the average American. Men’s magazines even present these routines with titles like “How to get a superhero body in 90 days or less!” making them seem possible to men who feel that is how they “should” look.
The media preys on the insecurities of people selling an impossible body with impossible methods to create a cycle of insecurity. As men like Efron continue to step up and talk about the misery brought by these routines, there is hope that we as a society can change the expectations set for men’s bodies.
