I know for a fact that Fat Men have issues over their bodies. It is a statement that I have found that I have to repeat over and over in Fat Acceptance ironically.

I dismiss people that use the experiences of chubby and stout men as a argument Fat Men are much more accepted. Currently in the media Fat Men are experiencing far more attacks than Fat Women. If you Google “Fat Men” you will see hundreds articles attacking their sperm, hormones, intelligence, their “unmanly” appearance, their need for plastic surgery and so on.

If you want to know what Fat Men experience ask a Fat Man.

William

“And for the women out there, if your partner happens to be male, is he insecure? More so or less so than you are? “

I dated a former athlete who displaced his insecurity about his weight — I always thought he looked fine; but I wasn’t comparing him to the former superbuff lowbodyfat ideal in his head — by constantly harping on my weight and projecting that someday I’d be as large as some in my family (although following that up with saying “But you probably won’t, since you know so much about fitness and nutrition and stuff.”)

Needless to say, he had to go.

I think slimmer and more muscular men — you know, the types that have trouble keeping weight on — have more anxiety about being smaller, since the correspondent hysteria in our society to how women can never be small enough is that men can never be big enough.

(Which is also the reason, I think, behind a lot of the endless hours in the gym, the steroid abuse, etc.)

That said, when men are both “overweight” and “overfat” I think they have to weigh much much more before a personal body anxiety and disapproval kicks in, because our society is much more lenient on men about that (heavy women are “slovenly” or “threatening”; heavy men are “successful” and “big guys”).
Because our society is sexist.

But the men who claim they are “overweight” or “overfat” and moan about it but bleat that they themselves are only attracted to tiny size zero blondes and that they “can’t help what they’re attracted to”?? (Both gay and straight, although the dysmorphia gets lots more levels when you throw in the gay men as well)

Facepalm. In a huuuuge way.

There is a lot being said on this thread that really does resonate as far as this fat male is concerned. In the vanity driven culture that is western society (and, increasingly, others as well) Guys really DO have it better as far as fat and a lot of other things are concerned. However this question revolves around male body insecurity and how it may be different from female, so. . .

Do guys have insecurities about our bodies? Of course we do. Put any, fairly in-shape, in a room with Michael Phelps or Plaxico Burress and I can almost guarantee that the he’ll make the comparison at least once. If only in his own head. And provided, of course, that he’s not a complete fan too awed by being ‘in the presence of’ to even think about it. However, that’s not the ONLY time this kind of thing can happen. Others have mentioned shirt clad swimming and there’s also the utter refusal to wear any kind of Tank Tee. In the presence of the opposite sex, unless you’ve got the body if a young Carl Lewis and/or an ego to match or are completely comfortable with the company your in, many guys would much rather sweat right through a shirt than just take the damn thing off.

Greater weight is a definite factor for guys as well. Again, vanity rules todays America, so it’s not all that surprising that the more a guy weighs the more self confidence issues he’s likely to experience in his life. Of course the most caustic acid test for that is how hard it is for some (even those who are technically just ‘overweight’) to go shirtless in public. Still, there are more men who have less ‘publicly fat and semi nude’ issues then women. At 350 Lbs. and with a BMI in the high 40′s, I’ll go shirtless at a friends pool OR at the public beach without hesitation. Doesn’t mean I’m not aware of the stares, the comments from children or, the teens who might suddenly stop laughing when I happen to look in their direction. Mainly what it means is that I HATE wearing wet cloths more than I’m worried about someone being disgusted by how I look. I guess I’m just defiantly fat like that. Defiantly fat but not above hypocrisy. I’m also one of those who will marinate in his own juices before subjecting people on the field at a pick-up football game to the sight of my naked torso in action. And maybe that has more to do with being on the traumatic side of several shirts vs. skins episodes in grade school. So, yes, men do have body issues. More and more it seems with each generation, but far less so than women. However, I’m hoping that this fat serves to ADD to the dynamic of Fat Acceptance rather than it becoming a reason to divide and weaken it.

That’s where perhaps it’s different for me, as a man: it’s mostly the debt and lack of romantic fulfillment that hurt my perception of my appeal to women — not my body — yet my disgust is nevertheless overwhelmingly with my face, waist, arms, etc. I’m in debt and alone, therefore I MUST be thin.

Maybe if they said it was the problem, then you could ask “Is your concern really my husband’s health, or your seeking to keep women in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant?”

Soft five-pound objects, though.