Elsevier

Body Image

Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2007, Pages 278-287
Body Image

The effects of exposure to muscular male models among men: Exploring the moderating role of gym use and exercise motivation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.04.006Get rights and content

Abstract

This study examines the effects of exposure to the muscular male body ideal on body-focused negative affect among male gym users and non-exercisers. As hypothesized, the impact of media exposure depended on men's exercise status. Non-exercisers (n = 58) reported greater body-focused negative affect after exposure to images of muscular male models than after neutral images (no model controls), whereas gym users (n = 58) showed a tendency for less body-focused negative affect after the model images than after the control images. Furthermore, the extent to which gym users were motivated to increase strength and muscularity moderated these exposure effects; men who reported stronger strength and muscularity exercise motivation reported a greater degree of self-enhancement after exposure to the muscular ideal. The findings are interpreted with respect to likely differences in motives for social comparisons.

Introduction

There is longstanding concern, and consistent empirical evidence, that exposure to ideal media models is an important cause of body dissatisfaction in many girls and women (Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002). Now, there are good reasons to expect similar effects for men's body dissatisfaction. Recently, there has been increasing emphasis on ideal male bodies both in the media and among men themselves (Leit, Pope, & Gray, 2001; Pope, Olivardia, Borowiecki, & Cohane, 2001). Therefore, there is a need to study the impact of ideal male models on the body image of young men. Only a few previous such studies exist, and only one study has been successful at identifying vulnerability factors, or moderators, of media exposure effects. In this respect, they lag behind the numerous exposure experiments on girls and women that have identified a diverse array of moderators (cf. Dittmar, 2005). The research presented here examines the impact of experimental exposure to idealized muscular media models on young men's body-focused affect, and is the first study to examine body shaping efforts as a potential moderator of exposure effects among men. It does so in two ways. First, it compares men who are actively engaged in shaping their bodies (regular gym users) with men who are not (non-exercisers). Second, among gym users, it examines the moderating role of exercising in order to increase strength and muscularity.

Content analysis of popular magazines has identified an increasing prevalence of advertising featuring semi-naked men (Pope et al., 2001). Before the 1980s undressed male models were used relatively infrequently and mainly in ‘appropriate’ settings, for example in swimsuits on the beach. By the late 1980s undressed male models were widely used and were advertising products unrelated to the male body, such as telephones or electronics. Rohlinger's (2002) analysis of the portrayal of masculinity in advertising from 1987 and 1997 found that the dominant depiction during both periods was ’the erotic male’, where men are positioned in a sexual manner and the appearance of their bodies is the main focus of the image. The increased objectification of the male body generally has been coupled with an increased focus on muscularity. For example, action toys produced between 1964 and 1998 have become consistently more muscular, to the extent that modern figures display bodies at the very extremes, or even beyond the limits, of actual human attainment (Pope, Olivardia, Gruber, & Borowiecki, 1999). Similarly, centrefolds featured in Playgirl between 1973 and 1997 have become increasingly muscular, and some models featured in the more recent editions displayed bodies that were judged as unattainable without the use of anabolic steroids (Leit et al., 2001). The current ideal male body presented in the media, which young men aspire to (Stanford & McCabe, 2002), is tall and well-toned, with a V-shaped, muscular upper torso, and narrow waist and hips.

It is widely acknowledged that the mass media are a pervasive force in shaping individual's body-image ideals and that exposure to unrealistic ideals in the media can fuel body dissatisfaction (Dittmar, 2007; Levine & Harrison, 2004; Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999). Therefore, it is likely that changes in the pressures concerning men's appearance and in the dimensions of male body ideals will be reflected in men's body image. Indeed, there is some evidence that levels of body dissatisfaction among men are increasing (Furnham & Calman, 1998; Raudenbush & Zellner, 1997), as well as the prevalence of eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) among men, including the identification of a specific type of BDD known as muscle dysmorphia where an individual is pathologically concerned that they are not sufficiently muscular (Pope, Gruber, Choi, Olivardia, & Phillips, 1997). There is growing concern about the prevalence of steroid use, and other heath-threatening behaviors, among men. Moreover, research directly links body dissatisfaction to factors such as deleterious dieting strategies, excessive exercising, and drug abuse among men, indicating that men's body dissatisfaction presents a significant health concern (Cafri et al., 2005).

Despite this, there has been relatively little experimental work assessing the impact of exposure to idealized male bodies on men. Two of the earliest exposure studies to address men's exposure to media images sampled both women and men. They found that exposure to male models had a negative impact on men's overall body satisfaction (Grogan, 1999; Ogden & Mundray, 1996). More recently, research has focused on muscularity, in addition to general body evaluation, as an aspect of particular appearance concern to men. Agliata and Tantleff-Dunn (2004) found that male students reported feeling more depressed and more dissatisfied with their muscularity after exposure to TV advertisements featuring ideal male bodies than after TV advertising featuring men who did not reflect the male ideal. Although it is most likely that the results reflect increased body dissatisfaction after exposure to the muscular images, it is also possible that exposure to men who did not reflect the male ideal boosted body satisfaction. Therefore, it is desirable to include a neutral exposure condition. In all three of these studies the models were chosen to reflect stereotypically attractive bodies, but, although it is likely that the male models were quite muscular, this was not a specific selection criterion.

Lorenzen, Grieve, and Thomas (2004) and Baird and Grieve (2006) specifically selected models that reflected the muscular ideal, and found that exposure to these models in advertising was associated with greater body dissatisfaction among student men compared to exposure to control advertisements either featuring products only or featuring non-muscular men. Similarly, Leit, Gray, and Pope (2002) found that men reported a greater discrepancy between their actual bodies and their ideal level of muscularity after viewing muscular male models than after viewing control images.

Arbour and Ginis (2006) also focused specifically on muscularity and compared exposure to images of men who varied in their level of muscularity on young men's body satisfaction. Men's pre-existing muscularity dissatisfaction moderated exposure effects. Men who initially reported high muscularity dissatisfaction reported greater general body dissatisfaction after exposure to muscular models than after exposure to hyper-muscular models. A follow-up study demonstrated that the muscular models were viewed as more attractive than the hyper-muscular images, suggesting that this may explain why the muscular models had a stronger impact on men's body image. However, this highlights a confound in the study between the body size and attractiveness of models that was evident also in the early exposure research with women (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004) and reinforces the importance of pilot studies assessing the appeal of the images before they are used in exposure experiments.

In summary, there is previous evidence that exposure to the male body ideal can have a negative impact on young men's body image. As social comparisons with a superior target are associated with increased negative affect and decreased self-esteem (Major, Testa, & Bylsma, 1991), these findings can be understood as the negative effects of using upward appearance-related social comparisons with more attractive targets for self-evaluation. As discussed, the only study to identify a vulnerability factor among men found level of muscularity dissatisfaction, but not generalized body dissatisfaction, influenced susceptibility to negative exposure effects (Arbour & Ginis, 2006). Previously, Agliata and Tantleff-Dunn (2004) found that a consistent powerful moderator of media exposure among women, ideal-body internalization (e.g., Dittmar & Howard, 2004; Halliwell & Dittmar, 2004; Heinberg & Thompson, 1995), did not influence exposure effects among men.

However, in the parallel, but further developed, body of research examining women's responses to idealized media models it is becoming clear that women are not universally negatively affected by these comparisons, and that self-enhancement effects can occur. In other words, upward social comparisons with ideal models can have immediate positive effects on self-evaluation. For the present study, we drew on research demonstrating that some women, in some circumstances, appear to use media models as inspirational comparison targets (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2005; Joshi, Herman, & Polivy, 2004; Mills, Polivy, Herman, & Tiggemann, 2002). Specifically, when women are primed to make social comparisons motivated by self-improvement, exposure to models is not associated with increased body-focused anxiety (Halliwell & Dittmar, 2005). Additionally, among women who are actively trying to lose weight, comparisons with thin models are associated with more positive mood (Mills et al., 2002), more positive self-image and more positive social self-esteem (Joshi et al., 2004) compared to controls. Myers and Biocca (1992) caution that any positive exposure effects are likely to be only temporary. As the thin ideal displayed in the media is unrealistic, attempts to match this ideal are unlikely to be successful in the long run, and the more permanent exposure effects are therefore likely to be negative. Still, it appears that dieters can use models as inspirational comparison targets, so they may temporarily buy into the idea that they can achieve the thinness depicted in advertising, which boosts momentary mood and self-image (Joshi et al., 2004, Mills et al., 2002; Myers & Biocca, 1992).

Therefore, it is probable that the effects of exposure to idealized muscular models will also depend on a man's motive for social comparison. We are only aware of two studies that failed to find a negative exposure effect among a male sample, but neither is directly comparable with the studies previously discussed. The first focused on thin and average-sized male models, rather than on muscular models (Kalodner, 1997), and the second used adolescent boys as respondents whose bodies are still developing (Humphreys & Paxton, 2004). We propose that men may also show self-enhancement effects after exposure to muscular male models, if they are able to view these models as self-improvement ideals that they are actively working toward. To date, no research has investigated exposure effects among men who are actively trying to change their appearance.

As previously mentioned, restrained eating has been identified as a key moderator of media exposure among women and the suggestion is that, as women who are high on restraint are actively trying to change the appearance of their bodies toward the sociocultural ideal, these women use media models as inspirational comparison targets. In this study we chose to focus on gym use, as this represents a strategy commonly used by men to shape their bodies towards the muscular ideal. Therefore, we compared the effects of media exposure among men who were gym users with non-exercisers. Furthermore, as men may vary in their motivation for gym use, we investigated whether exercising specifically to increase strength and muscularity moderates the impact of exposure to idealized images among gym users. We believe that non-exercising men are likely to engage in appearance-related social comparison with male models to satisfy self-evaluation motives and we therefore hypothesized that they would report greater body-image concern after exposure to idealized male models than in the control condition. In contrast, men who use the gym regularly are likely to engage in appearance-related social comparisons with male models to satisfy self-improvement motives, particularly if their exercise motivations focus on increasing their body's strength and muscularity. We therefore hypothesized that exposure to idealized male models will be associated with more positive body image compared to exposure to control images among gym users.

Section snippets

Participants

One-hundred-and-sixteen men were recruited to the study. Participants were recruited from a local gym and train station by the third author. They were invited to take part in a research project allegedly investigating advertising effectiveness among exercisers and non-exercisers, and no incentives were offered for participation. Men were recruited from the local gym if they reported that they exercised at the gym at least once a week. Men were recruited at the train station if they did not

The effect of exposure to media models among non-exercisers and gym users

Body-focused negative affect was examined by a 2 (exposure condition) × 2 (gym user versus non-exerciser) ANCOVA, controlling for BMI. The mean levels of body-focused affect reported by men in each condition are displayed in Fig. 1.

Unsurprisingly, BMI had a significant impact on body-focused affect, F(1, 111) = 12.53, p = .01, partial η2 = .10, such that heavier men reported greater negative affect. There was no significant main effect for condition, F(1, 111) = .02, ns, partial η2 = .00, but there was a

Discussion

The present study examined whether the impact of exposure to idealized male models depended on whether men were actively trying to change the strength and muscularity of their own bodies. As predicted, the impact of media exposure on gym users and non-exercising men differed in terms of their body-focused anxiety. The findings in the non-exercising group were consistent with the results from the majority of previous research examining the media impact on men's body image: body-focused negative

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