Now I consider myself very lucky to be a part of a fantastic community where body positivity and body acceptance are widely promoted and we are all encouraged to love our bodies regardless of size, but is this the same for men?
I asked my husband for his thoughts on this matter and he felt that as a man there is less acceptance and still a lot of judgement. I should explain that my husband has his hang ups the main one being his height or as he sees it lack off. He is the same height as me (5'4") and in our society whether we like it not we expect men to be tall or taller than us women. He told me that throughout all of his adult life he has been treated differently because of his height, experiencing problems ranging from being ignored at bars when trying to buy a drink to people not taking his opinions or listening to him properly and treating him like a child. There is also the idea that shorter men are angry (often referred to as small man syndrome) now I find that offensive, as to me that is the same as saying all fat people are jolly! My husband is the most placid person you could ever hope to meet I have only seen him lose his temper a handful of times in the 11 years I have know him! He also struggles with clothes as many t-shirts and shirts are too long and jackets that are broad enough to fit him are too long the nightmare of finding a suit for our wedding last year still haunts me!
His height doesn't bother me in the slightest if it had we wouldn't be married I don't see it when I look at him I just see my husband. He does worry about his weight more than I think about mine these days as he feels that whilst us ladies have a wonderful plus size community as a man there is no body acceptance or positivity for all shapes and sizes. He works out with weights and walks but honestly I prefer him with a few extra pounds on him and I don't want him to punish himself or feel bad about his body in the same way I don't want to feel bad about mine. He feels pressure to remain at a certain weight and look a certain way just as much as us ladies do, but how many other men out there feel this way but never say?
Open any magazine and not only are we bombarded with images of how the media think women should look there is also the male models with their six pack toned stomachs. Celebrity magazines are now as quick to point out when male stars have gained and lost weight as they are about female celebrities yet do we make a point of saying this is wrong?
As women are we guilty of double standards is it OK for us to be plus size and celebrate our bodies whilst still only wanting men of a certain height or build or are attitudes changing with sites such as Chubstr which is aimed at men allowing them to celebrate their bodies no matter what shape or size they are?
Let me know your thoughts xx
