Abstract
This study qualitatively explored the body image experiences of men attending university (N = 20). Participants were interviewed about comfortable and uncomfortable body-related situations. Participants also completed a measure of drive for muscularity. A thematic analysis was conducted. The results showed that the most commonly identified comfortable situation was the gym and was characterized by opportunities for positive social comparison and to wear physique-salient clothing to emphasize those positive comparisons and feelings of achievement. The gym and the beach were identified as the most common uncomfortable body-related situations characterized by a negative social comparison and associated negative thoughts and feelings related to the self and body, as well as situations involving the presence of women. Coping strategies included exercise and diet to change one’s appearance, avoidance, self-talk, and social support. Findings add to the growing understanding of the complexity of both negative and positive body image in men.
There has been much research examining how body image concerns change depending on certain contextual factors. This body of research has found that manipulations such as watching media images representing the “ideal” body, the presence of a group, the gender make-up of the group, and body exposure (i.e., clothing type) among other manipulations can exacerbate body image concerns (Bailey, Lamarche, & Gammage, 2014; Cloudt, Lamarche, & Gammage, 2014; Gammage, Martin Ginis, & Hall, 2004; Hausenblas, Janelle, Gardner, & Hagan, 2003; Lamarche, Gammage, Kerr, Faulkner, & Klentrou, 2014, 2016; Martin Ginis, Strong, Arent, & Bray, 2012; Quinn, Kallen, & Cathey, 2006). Traditionally, this area of research comprises of samples of White, young adult women.
There has been an effort to expand this literature to include other samples including, but not limited to, adolescent boys, young men, older adults, and special populations. For example, Agliata and Tantleff-Dunn (2004) showed that exposing male university students to media images that represent the ideal male physique compared with neutral images increases muscle dissatisfaction. Other manipulations have also been shown to increase body image concerns among men although findings have been mixed (Moradi & Huang, 2008). For example, studies framed in self-objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), using the sweater-swimsuit paradigm to maximize body exposure (and self-objectification), have resulted in mixed results. Specifically, some research has shown such exposure to exacerbate body image concerns (i.e., body shame, appearance anxiety), whereas others have shown no change in some body image outcomes (Fredrickson, Roberts, Noll, Quinn, & Twenge, 1998). In addition, findings testing the tenets of self-objectification in women have been both similar and different to findings in men. Moradi and Huang (2008) highlighted that it cannot be assumed that situations related to body image concerns in women are the same for men. In a study of university students highlighting this point, Morry and Staska (2001) found that exposing women to magazines featuring the female ideal (e.g., beauty magazines) was associated with the internalization of the thin ideal, which in turn was linked to self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptoms (Moradi & Huang, 2008). However, for men, exposure to fitness, rather than beauty magazines, was linked to internalization of cultural standards of attractiveness, which in turn was associated with body dissatisfaction (Moradi & Huang, 2008).
Although the above findings are informative regarding contextual factors that elicit body-related concerns, one key shortcoming to this area of research is that the majority of these experimental manipulations have been determined by researchers, thus, findings are not participant-driven. Allowing participants to freely identify situations of heightened body-related concerns and describe the contextual factors of these situations in their own words can provide unique information missed through a quantitative research design in which the researchers determine which contextual factors to manipulate and how these factors will be manipulated. This limitation in the literature was also noted by Smith-Jackson, Reel, and Thackeray (2011) and Lamarche, Kerr, Faulkner, Gammage, and Klentrou (2012) who explored body image experiences of women qualitatively.
In a study on young adult men, Adams, Turner, and Bucks (2005) used semistructured interviews to explore the phenomenon of body dissatisfaction. Findings supported the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of body dissatisfaction (Cash, 2002), with the perception and awareness of a discrepancy between themselves and the ideal paramount to the experience of body dissatisfaction. Adams et al. (2005) provided support for taking a qualitative approach to bring out the complexity of body image in men. However, Adams et al. focused on one type of negative body image experience—body dissatisfaction. Broadening the understanding of negative body image to include other types of experiences, beyond body dissatisfaction, can further illustrate the complexity of body image. The present study allowed men to identify and describe uncomfortable body-related situations aimed to capture a comprehensive picture of negative body image experiences in the words of men.
The primary focus of Adams et al. (2005) was the experience of body dissatisfaction—a negative body image experience, which is consistent with body image research historically. That is, traditionally research has focused on negative body image (Smolak & Cash, 2011). However, within the past 10 years, there has been a shift to explore positive body image (i.e., Menzel & Levine, 2011; Piran & Teall, 2012; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015). Tylka (2011, 2012) noted that studying body image should include an exploration of both positive and negative aspects to allow researchers to gain a full understanding of body image as a construct. The examination of positive body image in men has generally taken a quantitative approach, assessing gender differences in body appreciation (Swami, Hadji-Michael, & Furnham, 2008; Tylka, 2013; Tylka & Kroon van Diest, 2013) or relationships between psychosocial variables, such as self-esteem and positive body image outcomes (Swami et al., 2008; Swami, Stieger, Haubner, & Voracek, 2008; Tylka, 2013; Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2013), with much focus on psychometric evaluation of surveys. Webb, Wood-Barcalow, and Tylka (2015) stated that qualitative research (see McHugh, Coppola, & Sabiston, 2014) has contributed greatly to the area of positive body image. Qualitative approaches have also been instrumental in theory and measurement development (Tylka, 2011; Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015; Wood-Barcalow, Tylka, & Augustus-Horvath, 2010).
Mixed-methods approaches have also been useful to further our understanding of components of positive body image. Castonguay, Gilchrist, Mack, and Sabiston (2013) examined triggers, contexts, cognitive attributions, and affective, cognitive, and behavior outcomes of body pride in young adult men and women. The authors used a relived emotion task protocol that required participants to write a detailed narrative of an experience of body-related pride. Their findings highlighted important theoretical and empirical differences between hubristic and authentic body-related pride. Hubristic pride situations were sport or exercise contexts, involved evaluating one’s appearance as superior compared with others, and feelings of superiority. Authentic pride situations were sport or exercise contexts, involved meeting or exceeding a physical performance or fitness goal, and associated with feelings of positivity of one’s self and accomplishment. The present study will not only qualitatively explore negative body image experiences, beyond body dissatisfaction (Adams et al., 2005), but, consistent with the positive body image movement, it will also explore situations of male body comfort or confidence (beyond body-related pride; Castonguay et al., 2013) and the context of those experiences. This was particularly important, given that in studies with female samples participants report experiencing both positive and negative body image (Smith-Jackson et al., 2011).
In addition to allowing men to identify and describe specific situations of body confidence/comfort and discomfort in their own words, the present study sought to understand coping responses to deal with the heightened body image concerns. Past research has provided limited understanding regarding coping with situations that influence body image concerns. Although still limited in scope, findings from past research have identified both adaptive and maladaptive coping responses to situations of heightened body image concerns. In both men and women, maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., avoidant coping) are associated with greater body dissatisfaction, body dyphoria, less positive body image quality of life, and a greater belief that physical appearance influences personal self-worth (Cash, Santos, & Williams, 2005). Research on coping with body image concerns has primarily explored associations between coping strategies as measured by the Body Image Coping Strategies Inventory (Cash et al., 2005) and psychological variables in women or adolescents (Bailey, Lamarche, Gammage, & Sullivan, 2016; Choma, Shove, Busseri, Sadava, & Hosker, 2009; Hrabosky et al., 2009; Hughes & Gullone, 2011). Two qualitative studies have explored coping strategies to two situations differing in level of body evaluation in women (Bailey et al., 2014) and in a participant-identified situation of high social physique anxiety in adolescent girls and boys (Kowalski, Mack, Crocker, Niefer, & Fleming, 2006). One key finding across these qualitative studies is that people use a wider range of coping strategies, beyond those identified quantitatively, and that the nature of the situation may lead to different coping strategies. Due to the relatively limited research on body image coping in various situations and specific to young men, a second purpose of this study was to more fully explore and describe body-related coping strategies among men.
Method
Study Design
A qualitative research design was used to allow for participant-driven information regarding body image experiences in which men felt body-related comfort or confidence and in situations where men felt uncomfortable about their body. This approach was used to gain a rich understanding of the context of such body image situations and the coping responses of men when faced with uncomfortable body situations. As suggested by Lamarche et al. (2012), taking a qualitative approach provided the opportunity to get more in-depth data often missed through the use of quantitative designs. Similar to Lamarche et al. (2012), an inductive thematic analysis approach was used to identify, code, and report themes in the data as outlined by Braun and Clarke (2006). Coding focused on the contextual factors of uncomfortable body situations, responses to these situations, and coping strategies used to deal with the situations, as well as the contextual factors of situations of body comfort or confidence and responses to these positive body situations. This specific approach has been suggested to explore positive body image as it can advance theory and as it advocates for consensus of multiple coders that enhances credibility and replicability (Webb et al., 2015). Based on Moustakas’s (1994) recommendation for in-depth interviews, two broad, general questions were used as a guide: (a) “What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon?” and (b) “What situational factors or contexts have influenced the experience of the phenomenon?” Such questions provide the textual and structural description necessary for understanding experiences.
Participants
The sample consisted of 20 men who were attending a southwestern university in Ontario, Canada. We interviewed men attending university because colleges have been described as “breeding grounds” for body image issues (Striegel-Moore & Franko, 2002, p. 189), and university is an important time in which physical appearance is critical to the impressions formed by others, therefore providing the potential for many opportunities of high body image concerns. Exclusion criteria included self-reported diagnosis of, or treatment for, an eating disorder. Participant demographic characteristics are found in Table 1. No new information (positive or negative situations, responses, coping strategies) was emerging after the 20th interview, which indicated saturation was achieved and data collection ended (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Guest, Bunce, & Johnson, 2006).
Demographic Characteristics for Each Participant.
Note. DMS ranges from 1 to 6; High = DMS ≥ 3.00, Low = DMS < 2.99. BMI = body mass index; length of interview = minutes:seconds; DMS = Drive for Muscularity Scale.
Measures
Demographic information (age, height, weight, university major) was completed. Participants also provided information regarding their strength training history and completed the Godin Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire (GLTPAQ; Godin & Shephard, 1985). Specifically, participants indicated the number of times they participated in mild, moderate, and vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 15 min over a 7-day period. For scoring, mild, moderate, and vigorous intensity activity is multiplied by known metabolic equivalents (3, 5, and 9, respectively) and then summed to yield a total score.
We sought to have a sample of men with different levels of drive for muscularity to explore potential differences in responses based on this construct. Thus, the Drive for Muscularity Scale (DMS; McCreary & Sasse, 2000) was used to measure drive for muscularity. Fifteen questions assess an individual’s perception of one’s musculature and feeling that bulk should be added to one’s frame in the form of muscle mass. Participants rate how each statement applies to them from 1 to 6 (always to never). Participants were classified into high (DMS score ≥ 3.00; n = 12) or low (DMS score < 3; n = 8) DMS groups to explore potential differences in their responses to interview questions.
Interview
Interviews were used for data collection. Moustakas’s (1994) recommendations were followed as noted above to gain textual and structural descriptions of participants’ body-related experiences. Using Lamarche et al.’s (2012) interview guide questions, participants were asked to list uncomfortable and comfortable body-related situations. Other open-ended questions were asked to gain information about the contextual factors of these situations and how men cope with uncomfortable body situations. Participants were asked about their personal lived experiences, as well as what they thought other men at university experience in terms of uncomfortable and comfortable/confidence body situations. This approach is suggested to allow for greater discussion of potentially sensitive information (Lamarche et al., 2012). See the appendix for the interview guide, which was adapted from Lamarche et al. (2012).
Procedures
University ethics clearance was first obtained. Participant recruitment was done through poster advertisements on the university campus and classroom announcements. Men were invited to participate in a one-on-one interview to describe their negative and positive body experiences. Interested participants contacted the first author to schedule an interview. At the interview, informed consent as well as demographic information was completed. Participants then took part in a one-on-one interview. All interviews were audiotaped and took place in the same private office on campus. Upon completing the interview, participants completed the GLTPAQ and the DMS. Participants received C$10.00 or research participation course credit as compensation. Fake names (pseudonyms) were assigned to participants to maintain confidentiality.
Data Analysis
The first author transcribed verbatim the audio recordings. A frequency count determined the most commonly identified positive and negative body-related situations. Following Braun and Clarke (2006), themes were identified within the data through a thematic analysis. For this, the transcripts were read several times, followed by a categorization of first-level themes. The first-level categorization was done by identifying recurring ideas relevant to the study’s purpose. Subthemes were identified next, which involved reflecting on the meaning of a group of texts that help to describe a concept in similar manner. Challenging the first-level themes and subthemes was completed by asking whether the data related to one of the research questions. The process was kept flexible so that the themes or subthemes could be refined. The end result of this process would be the thematic structure that has reconstructed the data most reasonably. Finally, transcripts were reread to ensure that all transcripts applied to the final thematic map, with a focus on exploring potential differences in experiences between men categorized as having high versus low drive for muscularity. Quotations that illustrate themes are included. Data analysis followed Lamarche et al. (2012).
To foster credibility of the findings as recommended by Lincoln and Guba (1985), two coders were using during the data analysis process as well as member checking. Specifically, the first author coded 100% of the transcripts and the third author (as second coder) coded 50% of the transcripts. This acted as a process of peer debriefing (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) such that the reconstruction of the data done by the first author could be challenged by the second author. No disagreements in coding or interpretation were found as a result of this peer debriefing process. Member checking (Creswell, 2007) was also used 1 week following the interview. Participants reviewed a summary report sent by lead author via email and articulated any part that did not represent their interview by clarifying any misrepresentations. This process allowed for verification on the accuracy of the interviewer’s interpretations. All member checks indicated that the summaries were representative of what participants intended to convey during the interview. These steps have also been recommended to advance positive body image research using qualitative designs (Webb et al., 2015).
Results
This section is divided into the results pertaining to those body situations characterized by comfort or confidence and those which were identified as uncomfortable body situations. Each section includes the identification of specific situations, the contextual factors, and/or responses to these situations (see Table 2 for the thematic map). Results regarding the frequency with which these situations occur and the coping mechanisms to deal with uncomfortable situations are also described. It should be noted that no meaningful differences were found between men with high and low drive for muscularity.
Thematic Map Outlining Themes for Comfortable and Uncomfortable Situations.
Note. Themes are underlined; information under themes relates to specific examples that emerged from participants’ responses.
Body Situations of Comfort and Confidence
The most commonly identified comfortable body-related situation was the gym (n = 20), as determined by a frequency count, followed by playing sports (n = 16). Other situations identified included going to the bar (n = 5), being at the beach or pool (n = 5), having sex (n = 3), and being with friends or girlfriends (n = 3). It should be noted that the situations participants thought other men at university found comfortable were the same as their self-identified situations. Furthermore, it was stated by several participants that “lots of guys don’t care” (Matt) and guys are confident everywhere and are comfortable all the time. These statements were made by men with high and with low drive for muscularity.
Context of comfortable situations
Situations in which participants felt comfortable or confident involved two key elements—the opportunity for social comparison and wearing physique-salient clothing. The gym or working out and playing sports were described as situations that offer opportunities to compare one’s appearance and skill with others. Chris stated, “the gym is a place you can show off your work.” Dylan described the gym as a setting in which he could compare himself with others and see physical results, “you see you have more muscle, more in shape, and look better than others.” Larry summarizes the gym setting as “a place guys can show off their bodies, show off their goods.” Traits of comparison involved the body’s appearance in addition to the body’s function (i.e., strength, skill). The gym and playing sports allowed participants to show how they can lift weights or that they were skilled at a specific sport. In describing the context of playing hockey, Derek stated that he felt comfortable and confident because he was making moves no one else could make and that the commentator for the event remarked in his ability to skate. It should be noted that all the described comparisons were downward, that is, participants perceived themselves to be stronger, fitter, more in shape, or more skilled than their comparison target. Martin stated that being able to keep up with the pack skill-wise (playing intramural sports) meant that he was not being judged by others or negatively evaluated.
The second contextual element of situations of body comfort or confidence was wearing clothing that emphasized their bodies. This contextual element was particularly noted in the gym and beach situations. Being shirtless, wearing tight-fitted muscle shirts, sleeveless shirts, or specifically “wearing Underarmour” (Josh) were all noted. This type of clothing allowed participants to show off their bodies. Wearing clothing that allowed men to show off their bodies was related to the above theme in that it allowed for body comparisons.
One noteworthy finding regarding comfortable situations was that the gym was described as a place of body confidence because of its perceived culture of body achievement. Peter described the gym as, “almost like a clique” and there is a sense that everyone is striving for a shared goal, to achieve a good body. In participants’ description of the gym, there was a sense of the shared pursuit of body achievement toward the ideal or self-improvement toward a body goal that makes this situation comfortable. Matt said that “guys aren’t concerned about what other people are thinking at the gym because everyone else is working toward the same goal.”
Responses to comfortable situations
The responses identified and described by participants with respect to comfortable situations can be grouped into four categories: general, comparison related, achievement related, and physiological. General responses included “feeling good,” “getting a confidence boost,” and “feeling healthy.” It was noted by a few participants that the feeling of confidence went beyond the gym or sporting setting. Dylan stated that “you feel confidence about other things. Being in shape gives you confidence toward communicating with people and everyday situations.” He went on to say that it is “confidence to the point of cocky sometimes.” Alex described the confident feeling as “being high on yourself.”
Comparison-related thoughts were also described by the majority of participants. Lucas described comparing himself with others and feeling good about that comparison. Tyson simply stated his feeling in his comfortable situation (the gym), “well, I’m fitter than them, I’m taller.” He noted that he was clearly in better shape than others and could lift more weight at the gym and noted feeling a bit cocky.
Achievement-related thoughts included focus on the progression toward a goal, a sense of satisfaction with achieving goals, and feeling motivated to keeping working and improving on one’s appearance and function (i.e., skill or strength). Henry noted that he did not care about the ideal appearance image or what other people thought about him physically; it was more about “hitting [lifting] a certain weight.” In fact some participants stated that the feelings and thoughts were not body-specific or about making impressions on other people, but about feeling as though their body is capable of achievement of their goals. Nick stated feeling as though his body was not a barrier [to performance]. Steve stated, “I wasn’t thinking about what I was looking like, I was thinking about what I was doing.” Matt said he was feeling “a sense of hope that the goal is achievable” and “a sense of pride with appearance.” Similar to the general confidence-related remarks, Peter stated that achievement in these settings can transfer to other contexts in life; he explained, “if I can do this [lift a certain weight], I can push for other things like better marks [in school].”
Participants also described physiological sensations in situations of body comfort or confidence. Such responses included “a body buzz” (Peter), “the pump” (Steve) or “a half hour inflated feeling” (Alex), “feeling the endorphins” (Matt), and “a runner’s high” (Larry). All participants who described physiological sensations appeared to describe these sensations in a positive sense as they indicated achievement of a goal. It should be noted that such descriptions also appear in response to performing exercise itself as well as in response to the body-related situation per se.
Uncomfortable Body Situations
There was a greater range of situations identified that made men feel uncomfortable or not confident about their bodies. The most commonly identified uncomfortable body situation was the gym (n = 10) followed by the beach or pool (n = 9). Other situations identified included any situation that involved being shirtless (n = 6) or involved a comparison (n = 5). Being in the change room or shower (n = 5), playing sports (n = 4), going to the bar (n = 3), and sexual encounters (n = 2) were also mentioned.
There was a range of responses when asked how often these types of situations occur for men. For some, there are weekly occurrences of uncomfortable situations and for other participants these situations occur daily or multiple times per day. Matt stressed that uncomfortable situations occur more frequently than comfortable situations because “there is always someone better than you.” Chris said that even for attractive guys, uncomfortable situations occur. John stated that unlike what some people believe, “most guys are generally not confident all the time and have a low level of being uncomfortable.” Tyson stressed that it occurs more often at university because it is a place you are trying to establish yourself and meet a life partner. Interestingly, Mike stated, “3 out of 10 guys experience [uncomfortable] situations frequently, but if guys could talk about it, then 6 or 7 out of 10 guys would experience them frequently.” There were no meaningful differences in the situations identified by men with high versus low drive for muscularity.
Context of uncomfortable situations
Two themes emerged with regard to the context of uncomfortable situations. First, the majority of participants mentioned that uncomfortable situations were characterized by those that highlighted they were not the best looking or “buffest” of the group, that is, an “ideal” male target was present, or at least someone who was closer to the ideal than they were. Dylan highlighted that it essentially “depends on being in shape or not being in shape.” Larry said that everything is compared, “comparing muscles, comparing haircuts.” Both Lucas and Mike mentioned that even “comparing penis sizes is possible” and occurs. When describing this contextual factor, it was obvious that the true comparison was against the male ideal—a V-shaped torso, tall, muscular, and sculpted representing masculinity. Words such as bigger, taller, stronger, more attractive, and fitter were used to articulate this contextual factor of uncomfortable situations. Situations in which participants did not measure up to this standard, or fell short of it, were described as uncomfortable.
The second contextual factor was the gender makeup of the group, that is, if women were present, then situation was deemed uncomfortable. This factor was oftentimes mentioned in combination with the above contextual factor, that is, the presence of a more ideal man. Derek said that “being surrounded by girls made the comparison worse.” Matt said his body image was worse “even if women are talking about hot guys [around him].” Nick said that “men are always trying to impress women whether they know it or not.” Larry explained that the presence of women was particularly salient at the bar, which he also described as a competition setting. Rejection by women was an added layer of this contextual factor; not only was the presence of women described as characterizing uncomfortable situations, but also being rejected by women was particularly detrimental. Tyson did not want to describe the context of his last uncomfortable body-related situation—being turned down by a woman at a bar.
Responses to uncomfortable situations
The responses identified and described by participants with respect to uncomfortable situations can be grouped into three categories: body-related, self-related, and comparison-related thoughts and feelings. Body-related responses included feeling dissatisfied with body and muscle size, wanting to be attractive, feeling fat, and having dissatisfaction with specific body aspects such as abdominals or height. Lucas said, “Well, I know I don’t have height, I don’t have definition, and I don’t have mass.” Some participants described a desire to change those aspects and wishing they would change faster.
Described thoughts and feelings about the body were linked to thoughts and feelings about oneself as a person. For example, Tyson said that when encountering his last uncomfortable situation, he thought to himself, “Is there something wrong with me? Is it how I look?” Dylan explained that
if a guy has a bad body image then they think “I guess I won’t be able to hook up with girls” but if a guy has a better body image then they think “oh yeah come to university and try to hook up with a lot of girls.”
Dylan went on to describe his thoughts and feelings in his most recent uncomfortable body-related situation, being in a hot tub with a mixed-gender group of friends. He said, “Ok I’ll keep me head just out of the water so they can only see my head . . . I wouldn’t want to be the last one out of the hot tub, I would feel low on the man scale.” Other general feelings, such as feeling ashamed of oneself, disappointed with oneself, or embarrassed were also described. Nick described being unhappy with himself and ability in his most uncomfortable situation (being around girls). John described his body as a uniform and if his uniform was not up to his standards, this would lead him to evaluate other aspects of himself negatively. One important aspect of his “uniform” was his hair; it was “the only part of [his] appearance [he was] nitpicky about” and required daily grooming. He explained that if his uniform, particularly his hair, was not up to his standards, he would feel not only unappealing, but also a below standard person.
The last category of responses to uncomfortable body situations were those associated with a comparison target. Several participants were aware of comparison-related thoughts and feelings. In reference to being in the gym surrounded by fitter males, Zac said that he thought, “Oh that could be me if I worked harder or done things differently” and specifically said he was aware of these comparisons with other guys. Rick also described such comparison-related thoughts and noted that his comparisons were “unreasonable” and would compare himself with “huge guys” to the point of “being curious about how they got that big.” Martin felt that he was being judged by other people and felt a sense of inferiority. Nick noted “intimidation” to some of these comparison targets.
Coping with uncomfortable situations
In describing how men deal with uncomfortable situations, four categories emerged: avoidance, positive self-talk, behaviors, and social support. A few different types of avoidance coping responses were described, including ignoring the situation, trying to not pay attention to it, leaving the situation, blending into the background, avoiding the situation altogether, or changing the conversation or putting one’s mind elsewhere. Using humor was noted as a common coping mechanism including making fun of oneself or others to deflect attention from one’s body. Nick went to the extreme of quitting hockey when describing how he dealt with his uncomfortable body-related situation of not being as skilled and strong as other male hockey players. Drinking alcohol was also a described coping mechanism, particularly in situations at the bar or surrounded by girls to gain confidence. Mike said, “if you’re drinking alcohol you’re not thinking about your body.”
Positive self-talk was also described by the majority of participants. For example, in uncomfortable body-related situations, Alex said he tells himself, “I’m doing what I can, I feel good about my body, it doesn’t really matter what other people think.” Martin explained about turning his “bad internal feelings into motivation to change.” Steve also described using negative feelings as motivation to change one’s appearance. Statements reflecting body acceptance were also expressed. For example, Dylan specifically stated “body acceptance” as a way of dealing with uncomfortable body-related situations and “realiz[ing] that’s the way you look, everyone is unique and different.”
Behaviors were also described as coping responses. Behaviors such as exercise and diet were described by the majority of participants as coping responses that were deemed healthy ways to change one’s appearance. Furthermore, some participants described changing one’s posture, either slouching to become smaller (to hide) or sucking in one’s stomach or standing up straighter to appear taller and take up more space. Taking supplements to gain muscle was mentioned by several participants. Matt even admitted being open to having plastic surgery on his face as a way to deal with uncomfortable body situations.
Using social support was noted as a coping strategy. This category was characterized by surrounding oneself with supportive others who are nonjudgmental. Social support was also characterized by surrounding oneself with people who will help goal achievement. For example, Matt said, “I’m a big fan of observational learning. I want to learn from a role model and befriend people who I see a quality I want because obviously they’re doing something right.” This may be the reason why Matt said “[he] surrounds [him]self with guys who are fit.” Interestingly, social support was described as an effective coping strategy but one that was lacking or not appropriate for men to use. Peter stated, “females assume they have it worse, but men also feel uncomfortable in their own body.” He explained, “people think ‘oh we’re men and we have to leave it to ourselves’ but it’s important to talk to someone. We need someone to talk to.” Matt alluded to the pressure of being masculine and that talking about body image issues goes against that image; he said, “no guy wants to talk about how their appearance compares to others, that’s considered gay, that’s why there is so much emphasis on how much you can lift.” He continued and said that men worry just as much as women, but that men need to hide those issues and not talk about it. Mike said, “I don’t really see guys talking about this stuff [body image issues], just in a joking sense.” He said that “guys don’t want to show people they have emotions and if they get emotional, other than angry, then he’s a baby or being a girl.” Larry simply stated that “guys won’t talk about body problems because that’s not what guys do.”
Discussion
The present study qualitatively explored body image experiences in men at university. Specifically, situations where men feel comfortable about their body as well as uncomfortable about their body were identified and contextual factors of those situations were described. Coping responses to uncomfortable situations were also articulated by participants. The findings related to uncomfortable body image situations are consistent with those of Adams et al. (2005) who explored men’s experience with body dissatisfaction specifically. Themes and subthemes of sexual affirmation/rejection and comparison within the interpersonal domain (Adams et al., 2005) are closely related to contextual factors of uncomfortable situations of the present study (e.g., gender makeup and ideal comparison target, respectively). Findings are also consistent with quantitative research in men showing body image is negatively affected by seeing media images of the Western male ideal (Agliata & Tantleff-Dunn, 2004).
Although the present study sought to broaden understanding of the experience of negative body image to capture more than body dissatisfaction by specifically asking about “uncomfortable situations,” findings were still similar to the experience of body dissatisfaction specifically (Adams et al., 2005) and there is little evidence within this study of experiences outside body dissatisfaction. Perhaps when asked about uncomfortable body situations, participants automatically thought of situations characterized by body dissatisfaction as this is a common experience, especially in university, and is consistent with normative discontent within North America (Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1985). It could also be related to the finding that the majority of men in the current study mentioned that it is difficult for men to talk about their body concerns. This was particularly evident in (hesitantly) describing the use of social support as a means of coping with uncomfortable body image situations. It is possible that by talking about less extreme feelings of negative body image versus extreme situations characterized by intense shame, which participants may have experienced, they were able to fit the stereotype that men do not talk about “this stuff” seriously as Mike puts it. Placing parameters within the questions to target certain types, and perhaps more extreme feelings, of negative body image experiences may be necessary (i.e., body shame, embarrassment, guilt, weight stigma, body-related teasing). Using the relived emotion task (Ekman, Levenson, & Freiesen, 1983) in a similar manner as Castonguay et al. (2013) to understand body-related pride situations may be useful.
Findings with respect to comfortable body image situations closely resemble situations that have the potential to lead to downward comparisons as outlined by social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954). That is, comfortable situations are those characterized by comparisons with a target whereby the individual perceives himself to be better off than the comparison target and, in the context of body image, the attribute of interest was the body’s appearance or function. It would appear too that the second contextual factor of comfortable body image situations, physique-salient clothing, somehow allows for a more direct comparison or emphasizes the downward direction of the comparison. Contextual factors found in the present study do not necessarily always reflect theoretical or empirical underpinnings of positive body image as we had hoped with our broad question to understand situations in which men feel comfortable or confident about their bodies (Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015). Concepts such as body appreciation, body acceptance, and love, a broad conceptualization of beauty, adaptive investment in appearance, and inner positivity (Tylka & Wood-Barcalow, 2015) were rarely explicitly mentioned.
In fact, contrasting comparison-related and achievement-related themes with respect to responses to comfortable body-related situations that were described, there was a clear link to the different types of body pride—authentic and hubristic (Tracy & Robins, 2004, 2007). Castonguay et al. (2013) found differences in triggers and contexts of hubristic versus authentic pride experiences described by men and women. Specifically, authentic pride experiences were most commonly those of personal achievement or maintenance of appearance or meeting/exceeding a physical performance/fitness goal with associated feelings of accomplishment, motivation, and confidence. By contrast, hubristic pride experiences were most commonly those rooted in social comparison on appearance or physical performance/fitness with associated feelings of superiority (Castonguay et al., 2013). The present findings complement those of Castonguay et al. (2013), highlighting that body-related situations in which men feel comfortable or confident may represent those of authentic as well as hubristic pride.
Coping strategies described in the present study are consistent with Adams et al.’s (2005) themes centered on reducing the discrepancy between the individual and the ideal or tolerating this discrepancy. Coping strategies were also consistent with items within all three broad categories of coping (positive rational acceptance, avoidance, and appearance fixing) of the Body Image Coping Strategies Inventory (Cash et al., 2005).
One interesting observation in the findings was that “the gym” was identified as the most commonly identified uncomfortable body image situation as well as the most commonly identified situation of body comfort or confidence. This finding is consistent with Marquez and McAuley (2001) who found that working out or playing a sport was reported by 21% of men to be a situation high in physical evaluation/threat, and by 54% of men to be low in physical evaluation/threat. Furthermore, in our study, the contextual factor related to social comparison that made comfortable situations comfortable was the same contextual factor that made uncomfortable situations, uncomfortable; that is, the gym may offer opportunities for a social comparison, and if that comparison led the person to believe he was “fitter,” “stronger,” or “better” than someone, it was described as a positive situation; however, the gym also meant those same opportunities for comparisons could lead to dissatisfaction whereby a perceived discrepancy between the individual and a nearby male ideal target existed. Together, these findings highlight the need to go beyond simply identifying situations and instead stress the importance of examining the contextual factors of situations as well as psychological responses one may have within varying situations. It also highlights the need to distinguish between the types of pride empirically and theoretically in research to understand the varying triggers, contexts, and responses of authentic and hubristic pride (Castonguay et al., 2013).
Limitations and Future Directions
Despite its contributions to the literature, limitations to the present study should be noted. It should be noted that this was a convenience sample of men attending a southwestern Ontario, Canada university with limited variability in terms of age and education; however, it does allow for comparison of the present findings with past research conducted in similar samples of men (i.e., Castonguay et al., 2013). Furthermore, although not specifically documented, it is likely that responses may vary among men of different ethnic and racial backgrounds as well as sexual orientations. Second, although we attempted to find meaningful differences between men with high versus low drive for muscularity, other constructs may be better able to group men based on certain attributes (i.e., self-esteem, internalization of the masculine ideal, gender role stereotypes). This may be particularly true for positive body image variables such as body appreciation. The use of a truly mixed-methods approach to gain deeper understanding of positive body image has been recommended (Webb et al., 2015). Although gaining a deeper understanding of positive body image specifically was not necessarily the purpose of the present study, we did want to understand situations of positive body image broadly. Perhaps meaningful differences would have emerged if we purposely sampled men with high compared with low body appreciation. We have no doubt that given the exponential rise in positive body image research over the past decade, future studies will attempt to further understand the context of body image situations that are associated with body appreciation and other positive body image indicators in men. It may also be important to test the hypotheses regarding the differences between authentic and hubristic pride that have emerged. The present study as well as others (Castonguay et al., 2013) may offer a methodological insight for designing such situations for experimental research in men—designing a positive situation that can be used to empirically measure responses as well as assess potential moderators that may influence the direction or magnitude of such responses may be possible in a laboratory setting. Findings from this study and others support the complexity of body image, both negative and positive.
Footnotes
Appendix
It should be noted that this interview guide was adapted from Lamarche, Kerr, Faulkner, Gammage, and Klentrou (2012).
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this research was provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.