The myth of the 'ugly' male body (lighten, supply, light)

[soletaire]

I agree that mens bodies are viewed as not only undesirable, but dispensable. It seems that women are taught that their bodies are to be cherished, adored for what it is, and protected and taken care of. They, particularly in todays america, are told that any and all women are beautiful in any form, and should think of themselves as such...they are taught that their body parts are all aesthetically AND clinically valuable...and that anything that may not perfect is perfect because there is a clinical function to it, and not only an aesthetic one.

contrast this with men, who from VERY early ages learn (from both men AND women) that the bodies of the average male are a thing to be mangled in war, aesthetically repulsive , kicked and ridiculed in comedy under the guise of humoring the masses, and infinitely inadequate in function unless it meets each INDIVIDUAL womans subjective criteria for being capable and/or attractive. (Tall, muscular, well endowed, strong, or whatever else.)

U can count the difference in the number of people who laugh at even the INSINUATION of the rape of a female, or the violation of her genitals in any way vs. The uncontainable laughter most reflexively have at the sight of a stern crotch shot to a man, or a story about the male who has had his genitals severed, or the dismissal of the idea that a man has been raped, or hell even just the visual a normal, healthy, natural but naked man in society, standing as he has been created generally garners ridicule and double entendres.

From early on young boys learn to internalize this devaluation of their bodies and channel it into bodily self destruction, and servitude/deference to the female figure as being more intrinsically valuable than their own.

A man who publicly revealed his decision to have himself castrated because theres a likelihood that he might develop penile or testicular would get laughed off the airwaves, which is in total contrast to the way angelina jolie has been heralded and has inspired many women to take the same measures for their own health's sake...and he almost CERTAINLY wouldnt still be married, I dont think...lol

[Larkspur123]

Originally Posted by soletaire

I agree that mens bodies are viewed as not only undesirable, but dispensable. It seems that women are taught that their bodies are to be cherished, adored for what it is, and protected and taken care of. They, particularly in todays america, are told that any and all women are beautiful in any form, and should think of themselves as such...they are taught that their body parts are all aesthetically AND clinically valuable...and that anything that may not perfect is perfect because there is a clinical function to it, and not only an aesthetic one.

contrast this with men, who from VERY early ages learn (from both men AND women) that the bodies of the average male are a thing to be mangled in war, aesthetically repulsive , kicked and ridiculed in comedy under the guise of humoring the masses, and infinitely inadequate in function unless it meets each INDIVIDUAL womans subjective criteria for being capable and/or attractive. (Tall, muscular, well endowed, strong, or whatever else.)

U can count the difference in the number of people who laugh at even the INSINUATION of the rape of a female, or the violation of her genitals in any way vs. The uncontainable laughter most reflexively have at the sight of a stern crotch shot to a man, or a story about the male who has had his genitals severed, or the dismissal of the idea that a man has been raped, or hell even just the visual a normal, healthy, natural but naked man in society, standing as he has been created generally garners ridicule and double entendres.

From early on young boys learn to internalize this devaluation of their bodies and channel it into bodily self destruction, and servitude/deference to the female figure as being more intrinsically valuable than their own.

A man who publicly revealed his decision to have himself castrated because theres a likelihood that he might develop penile or testicular would get laughed off the airwaves, which is in total contrast to the way angelina jolie has been heralded and has inspired many women to take the same measures for their own health's sake...and he almost CERTAINLY wouldnt still be married, I dont think...lol

Women's bodies are cherished and don't get mangled? We aren't that far away from a point in history where a woman was expected to keep saying yes to sex even if pregnancy was harmful to her body. Then if the physical cost of these pregnancies made her unhealthy and unattractive, people had no problem saying so.

I'm not a man but I don't agree with all of your points here. Women who don't strictly fit into the mold of being conventionally attractive don't see see themselves as more intriniscially valuable than a man.

Removal of both testicles would seem to be a much heavier decision than removing both breasts. We really have no idea how such a decision would play out...you are only talking about hypotheticals.

[tickyul]

Most Humans are average in looks or below...........maybe 10% are truly beautiful.

Women get away with gobbing tons of crud on their faces, fake hair, fake eyelashes, fake eyebrows. Most of those pretty women you see....are actually just like most....average in looks or worse.

[pacific2]

Fixed something:

Originally Posted by LS Jaun

This topic again

Well, in Greek and Roman times it can be argued that their appreciation of the male form by male artists and their male financial backers was as high and possible higher than that of the female form. Look at any of the statues at that era and you would agree.

Fixed that, but I agree that the male form can be very attractive.

[const_iterator]

Originally Posted by SoHoVe

I really have never noticed women finding ATTRACTIVE male bodies unsightly...I think that is more the issue these days in America, its a considerably smaller percentage of males that work to stay in shape ect.

Do you have any evidence to support the claim that fewer males work to stay in shape these days? It seems like almost every guy I know belongs to a gym and works out regularly.

The problem is that having a Calvin Klein body does little to affect a guy's overall attractiveness. Male attractiveness is 90% face and height.

[const_iterator]

Originally Posted by stan4

Yeah...hot male models are hot.
Most men are not.
But LOTS of women are very good-looking.

You know what really gets my goat about this? It's because the women generally try harder.

Women try harder because they have more things they can do to improve. A woman who is well below average in looks can become "hot" by getting in shape, applying expensive makeup and wearing high heels. A guy who is well below average in looks cannot become above average, no matter how much he tries to compensate for his naturally ugly features.

Here is Mila Kunis with and without makeup:

[soletaire]

Mila kunis is a bad example to me...shes barely anything special WITH makeup...her body and face are about as basic as you can get...and yet shes consistently ranked as a top beauty holder in men's polls...which tells me alot about just how forgiving mens standards truly are in real life...in terms of sheer looks/physical attractiveness, her male equivalent wouldnt even be a blip on the radar for most women.

[skiffrace]

The OP and the few other men complaining that male body is not "appreciated" like female body have poor understanding nature in general, and Homo Sapiens in particular.
At a biological level, a man is little more than a sperm donor and an ATM machine.

The entire layer of romance and love + the social institutions (like marriage) built on top of that are societal inventions to ensure our species continues on.

Females are to attract males, and have offspring. Males are to "win" females, and then provide for them and their offspring. That, my friends, is basic biology. If you are unhappy with those roles, then perhaps start complaining how "unjust" the gravity is because you hurt yourself in the fall last Friday.

Many men don't understand that women view "attractiveness" of the opposite sex in a very different way.
An "average looking" man which, accidentally, is ~80% of the population, will be attractive in the eyes of "average woman" if he projects the image of a "provider" and a "protector".
Most women are highly attracted by intelligence for a reason. Today (as opposed to the Neolithic Age) intelligent men are far more likely to be good providers than unintelligent ones.
Energy, optimism, sense of humor and confidence without cockiness are other key criteria used by women. Good looks usually help, but they are secondary to outward manifestations of intelligence, attractive character and the ability to "bring home the bacon".

mens bodies are viewed as not only undesirable, but dispensable

Male bodies (and above all, their brains) are tools to achieve goals.
You don't worship tools, but you take a good care of them so they will work well for a long time.

[pythonis]

We wonder how the females of the species feel about the males and think that theres a deep down attraction until we note that the current term for a man's genitalia is "junk". Seems to me that would make a man feel worthless and unwanted by anyone.

[Adi from the Brunswicks]

I don't want to brag, but my soft underarm skin make women jealous, sometimes very jealous. According to doctors I visited its a weird genetic trait I was blessed (or cursed) with.