Friday, October 15, 2010

This One is For the Manly Men!

When people think about eating disorders, most automatically think about females... but what about the men? Out of the population who has anorexia and bulimia, 15% are male! (Mirasol Health) For the past decade, it has been the trend for male models to be super thin with little to no muscle tone in their body. Quite frankly, many of these "Men" have the bodies of prepubescent boys... After looking up the measurements for the average male model, I was shocked to find the average dimensions for a male model are a height of 5 ft 11 in to 6 ft 3 in, a waist of 26–33 in and a chest measurement of 32–40 in.

Here are some example images of the skinny male body type that have dominated the fashion industry for the past decade.... (Photos from DNA Model Management)

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Maybe this look is "edgy" or "editorial"....but it definitely does not look like these men are healthy. I could probably beat all of them in arm wrestling...Just sayin'!


However, times are changing! After the Spring/Summer 2011 shows it is clear that designers are starting to choose more muscular, "manly men" to walk the runway.
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Aww male models are growing up!


Here is an awesome collage I found on the NY times website showing some of the on the full-grown, muscular men on the runways and covers of this season!

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Also, take a look at this cover of VMAN magazine featuring Josh Brolin on the cover. Personally, I would much rather see his face on the cover of a magazine than the other boyish men that have been on covers in the past. This cover projects an image of security and confidence!

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Hopefully the average male model measurements will be going up in the future so that men do not get a false sense of how they should look! However, as male models get more muscular, let's hope this doesn't have the reverse effect on men causing them to worry too much about being jacked.... For the wellness of men everywhere, let's hope there can be a happy medium!


Xx Katie-Lu

12 comments:

studentfab.blogspot.com said...

Thats good... They look a lot better than the skinny models

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daisychain said...

I have a lot of love for this post. There isn't enough awareness of eating disorders in males x

ching said...

whew..times are a changing.

Abi said...

I love that you've chosen to write about this. Something I wasn't fully aware of before. 15%? That's quite a significant number.
I would hate to see that while female models are slowly moving away from the too skinny types, male models are doing the opposite.
I much prefer the unskinny models!

Izzy said...

Glad to see the times are changing, kudos for bringing this to light, males with eating disorders tend to go unnoticed :/

Unknown said...

Great subject to wirte about.

glee said...

Muscles, abs and good built are essential for a man. :)

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Cafe Fashionista said...

J'adore that collage!! :)

MY REPUBLIC OF FASHION said...

Those last few men look so healthy and buff, definitely prefer that over the ''edgy'' and skinny look. :) Great post!! :)SarahD

crystal said...

Great post! I totally agree. :)

Tiffany Kadani said...

I was JUST thinking about this a few days ago while watching a Macy's commercial. I was like, those men are way too skinny and I bet it gives other men a complex. I mean, even in a shirt and jeans I could tell they were too skinny. Let's all be who we are and let it be.

ilsteviewonder said...

thats good! yeah I've noticed that im glad its getting better :D