What Teen Boys Think About Body Image

Might any of these quotes from teens sound like something your teen son might be thinking?

“I think growing up there are definitely standards to be athletic and to be strong and muscular. And certain physical attributes that in some ways were attainable through working hard, but not necessarily things that everyone could achieve or wanted to achieve. But I think that was kind of the expectation set and what people expected boys and young men to look like.”

“There’s definitely pressure to be tall. You don’t want to be shorter than girls, especially if you want to date them or are going to marry them. There is always a social expectation that you’ll be taller than your spouse as a guy.”

“I’d say the pressure mostly comes from the people around you and social media, but then movies and sports certainly feed into social media, feed into what people are thinking around you, which then in turn feeds into what you’re thinking about yourself. Definitely through advertisements, you’ll see male models posing in underwear or other things and they are very muscular. And what they have, it makes it seem very commonplace, but it’s obviously very difficult to achieve.”

“I wish my parents and previous generations knew that the pressure society puts on people because of beauty standards is tough and that beauty standards are real.”

Watch this video to hear more about what these teens have to say about body image issues and learn how to get the conversation started with your own children.