The Body Positivity Movement, largely driven by mainstream social media, spreads the message to love and accept your body for the way it is. Naturally, this movement is for everyone- regardless of their body type or gender, but more often than not, with the way it is portrayed, it seems like this movement is greatly biased towards women in general. The words Plus-size Model often comes to mind when we think about body positivity, and it is very common for people to think about female Plus-size models when the topic is brought up. The women’s fashion industry has seen, and continues to see, several Plus-size models, while the men’s fashion industry clearly lacks them. If body positivity is for all, then why is there a lack of male Plus-size models in the fashion industry? Why are men still forced to stick to the “Perfect” body type?
This lack of representation of different body types for men in the fashion industry has an adverse effect on men of size, who have a tough time being normalised by society. Body image issues are very commonly associated with women, but exist in men as well. Muscle dysphoria is similar to anorexia and is a condition that severely affects the person’s mental condition, causing a distorted self-image, obsessive behaviour and an intrinsic lack of happiness. This is only one of the many conditions that are faced by men owing to the societal pressures for having the perfect body.
All hope is not lost, though. Zach Miko, the face of the first Plus-size male modelling agency, has talked about men also requiring proper representation in the fashion industry, saying, “Men have the exact same insecurities that women have about appearance, body image — they just grow up thinking they can’t talk about it”. The ideals formed by society- by us – have distorted the self-image of several individuals. It is thus important, not only for us, but also for the future generations to learn to love and accept themselves and their body as it is. There may be people that will quickly denounce the Plus-size industry saying it promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and normalises obesity, but that does not mean that these people do not deserve representation. The “Perfect” body type does not exist, and it’s high time people realise that.
- By Jaitshree
Any views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the newspaper.
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