Advertising Images of Men: Body Size and Muscularity of Men Depicted in Magazine

Despite an increasing incidence of body image and eating disturbances in men, research on men and the ways in which they are affected by the media remain greatly under-documented. Given the fact that men are not immune to media images and are increasingly objectified in the media (Rohlinger, 2002), some men may be under as much pressure as women to achieve cultural ideals of physical appearance depicted by the media. The media not only reflects cultural environments but it can also actively shape social norms as being recognized as an important socialization agent. In Western cultures, the male appearance ideal is leanness with defined musculature. Emphasis on muscularity for male body ideals has also been noted with children’s action toys (Baghurst, Carlston, Wood, & Wyatt, 2007). Although men are not targeted as obviously as fitness magazines target bodybuilders, men are increasingly targeted by advertisements in health and lifestyle magazines concerning how to improve their shape, tone their muscles, and change their exercise and diets (Law & Labre, 2002). Men may internalize this information from the advertisements when developing their ideas about masculine body ideals and try to approximate those body ideals. Among health and lifestyle magazines, Men’s Health - the best-selling men’s magazine on U.S. newsstands - is the world’s largest men’s magazine with a readership of more than 22 million men around the world (Men’s Health). The purpose of this study was to examine images of men depicted through magazine advertisements featured in the U.S. version of Men’s Health over an 11-year period to document two components that contribute to male body ideals in the U.S. This study had two specific objectives: 1) To examine body size and the level of muscularity depicted in advertisements of selected issues of Men’s Health from 1999 to 2009 and 2) to compare body size and the level of muscularity depicted in advertisements of all issues of Men’s Health published in 1999 with those published in 2009. To examine changes in body size and musculature of men’s body ideals from 1999 to 2009, male images depicted each year in the March and October issues of Men’s Health were compared using a content analysis method. To determine differences in body size and musculature of men’s images in advertising between two specific years, images of men featured in all issues of 1999 to those featured in all issues of 2009 were compared using the same content analysis method. The body size and muscularity of the models were determined using the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (Thompson & Gray, 1995) and the Muscle-Based Silhouette Measure (Frederick, Fessler, & Haselton, 2005), respectively. The same coding categories were used to assess changes in body size and muscularity of the models between all the issues of 1999 and those of 2009. Two research assistants who were trained with a set of test images independently rated male models in magazine advertisements with the two instruments. The two coders recorded their ratings using a Microsoft Excel coding sheet and they met with the researcher to compare their results and to discuss any disagreements until they reached consensus. The unit of analysis was restricted to advertisements of one or more full pages containing a single male model. Advertisements featuring men whose bodies were obscured by heavy clothes were excluded. A total of 552 advertisements were selected for analysis from the two selected monthly issues published in 1999 through 2009 (a total of 22 issues). A total of 403 advertisements were selected for analysis from all issues published in 1999 and in 2009 (a total of 21 issues). Results based on analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant main effect for body size, F(1, 550)=10.54, p<.001, partial eta-squared=.163 and for muscularity level, F(1, 550)=31.73, p<.001, partial eta-squared=.370. While muscularity level showed a significant gain after 2007, increase in body size was not to the same extent as increase in muscularity level. An independent-samples t-test revealed significant results for both body size (t=3.07, df=401, p<.05) and muscularity (t=2.67, df=401, p<.05). Body size of male models in advertisements from all issues of 2009 was smaller (M=4.03, SD=1.27) than that from all issues of 1999 (M=5.33, SD=1.46). Muscularity level was greater in 2009 (M=5.96, SD=1.96) than in 1999 (M=4.48, SD=1.54). Although the results need to be interpreted with great caution due to the use of a single health and lifestyle magazine brand, overall findings of this research suggest that contemporary cultural appearance ideals of men focus on having a high degree of muscle definition while maintaining relatively smaller body sizes. A drastic increase in body image concerns among men in recent years has been mainly attributed to men trying to be more muscular. Most existing research in male body image has focused on the assessment of body size (body fat) that has no clear distinction from muscularity. The findings of this study suggest that being fit and having a slender body might be just as important as being muscular and having a toned body for men in contemporary society. Because the data suggest that changes in both (body size and muscularity) were evident over time, researchers may want to assess both of these components when examining male body image to assess their joint and independent effects on male body satisfaction. The findings also suggest that idealization of muscular bodies among men in the U.S. may be as harmful to their health as the desire to be thin among women. As a much greater level of muscularity was identified in male body ideals in 2009 than in 1999, some men, particularly those who internalize these cultural ideals, may seek harmful behaviors such as substance abuse in order to meet the cultural standards. Further research on media images should address possible influencers for change in body size and muscularity. Also recommended for further research is cross-cultural comparisons of images of men in advertising for the understanding of worldwide male body ideals in contemporary society.