Scott, my 16 year old brother is obsessed with becoming "buff." I took this picture of him right after he got done working out, and was making his protein shake. I chose this picture because he is looking at the measuring cup to make sure that he has the right amount of powder to make his shake correctly. I think that this marks gender in society because the more muscles that you have, means the more masculine that you are. I also chose this picture because his shirt is off to show that he is already muscular. Also I think that this picture goes to show that teenage boys, just like teenage girls are obsessed with their body image, and will do whatever it takes to make their body's the standards that our society puts on them. When asked why he was making a protein shake right after working out he replies, "I am getting in shape for football season." Which goes to prove that society pushes athletes all year. I think that High School athletes shouldn't feel this pressure to stay fit, and "buff" all the time. If he can already feel the pressure of being muscular at 16 imagine the pressure that he will feel when he is 20.
13 comments:
I think this picture is a great way of showing that the pressure for the perfect body is not synonymous with girls in our society. Boys are held to high standards just as women are. I know that the number of people with eating disorders is higher for women then for men, but the steroid numbers for men in our society is on the rise. Just take a look at how many professional baseball players are being accused of using steroids. The image of a man having to have huge muscles and a six pack is seen everywhere. Take boys action figures and super hero’s all have the so-called perfect muscular bodies. Young boys pick up on these characteristics and they strive to achieve them. Sometimes even if the obtainable is impossible. This picture not only shows his dedication to working out, but it also shows how important it is to get the right amount of protein into his drink. Like his life depends on how much protein he gets. I’ve never seen a man in the kitchen take measuring of food that seriously. I think it was also clever to take a picture of an average size guy. If the guy was huge it would take away from his determination to obtain the perfect body.
This boy in this picture is making a protein shake. This protein shake makes people gain weight. This is needed to make themselves bigger, when they work out. Why do young boys want to get stronger when they aren’t even old enough to even drive? I see this all the time. These boys want to be men already. They want to be confident and masculine. These boys think being “Macho Men” make them more confident. That isn’t the case. Some of these boys are using steroids to get the perfect body. The use of steroids can be harmful. They just don’t know it yet. Men are just like women in the sense of the perfect body image. Women sometimes go too far, with trying to obtain this perfect image. Society doesn’t help with this situation. It just makes everything worse. Young boys watch television shows, which show men as masculine and strong. It just makes them want to be just like the men on TV. This young boy in this picture wants to fit that image as seen on TV.
I really like this picture because I totally agree with the fact that there isn’t just pressure on girls to be fit, thin and pretty. There is just as much pressure on men for the same reasons, if not different reasons as well. Obesity is increasing in the U.S. and it puzzles me to hear that because of everything else I hear from teenagers and young men and women about how important it is to be beautiful and thin. If that’s so important, then why are there so many obese people? I have a 20 year old brother who is getting ready to leave for the Air Force and he has been working out, running and playing sports to keep him fit and in shape for boot camp. He is a very tall but very skinny person and I have never seen someone so in shape than he is. But to himself, he feels he is definitely not ready and that he needs to be even more fit. There is so much pressure on females and males. People wonder why there is a problem with anorexia and bulimia!
This picture reminds me of my brother. He is in his early 20's now and started working out in the early stages of college. He drinks those protein shakes as well to help him have a more successful work out. He is easily double the size, if not more, of what he was before he started working out and he still says he is too small. He's crazy. (I'm just glad he hasn't resorted to any steriods). It is interesting how boys constantly strive to get bigger while girls strive to get smaller. This picture is a good reminder that boys worry about their bodies just as much as girls do and I think alot of people over look that. People usually think of boys as happy or content with themselves and they think of girls as being the only ones who are insecure with themselves. The average boy probably gets just as intimidated when he sees a muscular boy walk into a room as the average girl does when she sees a very skinny girl walk in.
It has always been a pressure for the male to look manlier, and to be manlier they need more muscles. In the society, it is like an obligation that the male has to look masculine, and show sign of strength from their developed manly muscles or else they fear that they might be called fag and jerk for not having manly enough body. In this picture, how the boy is making protein shake is not a strange think because there are thousands of other boys like him who will be making their protein drinks as I write. But the point is, these boys in such a small age are already obsessed about their body image. Most of them are influenced by the media, and as we all know media is very good at exaggerating things and showing it off. But this picture also reflects that boys are much conscious about their body image as much as girls are. Not only protein shakes, sometimes these youngsters even go little bit further to obtain their ideal body image for which they could get in some legal troubles. That's why rather than being called a fag and weaklings for not having a masculine body, boys like this in the picture are ready to face the consequences of so called proteins and sometimes even go beyond the line.
I think this picture is a great way to show that there is an impossible model that boys try to achieve just as there is with girls. About every male in my life has taken kerotine or muscle milk or things along. This picture really intrigued me because i had an ex-boyfriend that i knew used steroids and I think it's crazy the lengths some of the guys i know do to get bigger muscles. I like how this picture shows his tattoo because that is also a icon that symbolizes him as being strong. I also like how it is an average size guy showing that he feels the pressure to get bigger muscles. This picture shows boys feel as much pressure to fit a certain image as girls do. Like everyone can be better and no one is ever good enough. It's depressing to live in this society and always feel that someone about your body can always be better.
This picture is basically a mirror image of myself I would have to say. It may seem that he is working so hard on the precision of the measurement of the whey protein supplement. But I have taken this same product and it comes with a scooper that is pre-measured, so all you have to do is fill the scooper thing to the top three times and pour it in the cup with some milk and shake. This picture to me shows a kid who wants to be healthy and physically fit, in my mind I see nothing wrong with that. This kind of protein is also a cheaper more inexpensive brand as well, so that shows me if he was really serious about it he would have muscle-tech product or steroids or something a little more potent. Now the other side is that he also has a tattoo, so that tells me he wants people to look at that part of his body and the tattoo is located on his chest so his shirt would have to be off for people to see. I mean most people who workout are probably going for the image of a supermodel but I just wanted people to hear my opinion.
I like this picture a lot because it shows how much pressure boys have on them to look "tough" as well as girls have the pressure to look "pretty". This picture shows the extent that boys will take to get bigger and more muscular. Scott taking the protein shake is like a girl taking a diet pill. When he is measuring the amount of protein it's also like measuring the muscle he thinks he is missing. I noticed he has a tattoo on his chest, which is another symbol for guys being tough, the tattoo adds "coolness". A lot of children his age think it's so cool to have a tattoo because you always see them on the tough action fighting men on television. Another think i noticed was he has his shirt off. It makes me think that he is trying to show off his athletic build to fit in and look tough and cool, or he could even just have his shirt off to examine what he may want to improve on his body. This was a great idea because it shows that the media affects boys as well as girls to try and be "perfect". Girls must be skinny and beautiful like boys should be tough and strong to be able to protect their girls.
Young boys and girls are under pressure to look perfact in this society.Looking is every thing for these young people.They want to be Macho Man same as they see on the TV screen.Young boys do any thing to look masculine like young girls try to look thin models. They use all different kind of drugs and shakes to make them mascular and to look strong.
This is interesting because when most people think of weight obsession they immediately think women. But shown through this picture and some others posted, it goes both ways. There are boys/men who want the pefect muscular body, they will even use steriods to get it. Just as women, will also go to extremes to be thin. I was never attracted to the buff type, but just as females have a distorted image, so do some males.
This picture is an exact depiction of most boys in todays world. They, like girls, also feel the pressure to make their body look a certain way. It's not saying that being healthy is a bad thing. But honestly we all know that these boys don't drink protein shakes to be healthy. They do it to fit in with the other guys, they do it so that they can look good for the girls they are trying to impress. Very rarely do guys try an obtain a personal appearance for their own satisfaction.
I though this was an excellent idea. We talk about girls worried about staying thin and looking pretty, but here is a teenage guy worried about how he looks. Football players are supposed to be toned, good looking and muscular so he is trying to fit in with that description. Most people will say that stuff does not even taste good, but he doesn’t just for the looks, so this shows a very good/interesting point.
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