Why Do So Many Hot Gay Guys Have Dysmorphia?

It's hard to say, but it's possibly because they're worried about what others may thing. Good looks are hard to keep up with, you've got a ripped body? Gotta keep working out. Put on make up since the beginning? They may feel less beautiful with make up on. Fashion, hair cuts and all that stuff are a part of the look as well. We all have something we worry about as far as our looks are concerned.

 

Because gay "culture" is inherently hyper-superficial. People could look like Adonis and won't be happy. I feel gay men suffer the same issues that women do, to a degree, in terms of society telling them there is a certain way they must look to have value as a person, which is quite sad.

In addition, I think humans have the sad predisposition to be discontented. We always want what we don't have and more of what we do. We are never satisfied.

 

I kind of assume everyone is like that. I'm not fat or anything, but there has never been a point in my life where I was happy about my body. It may be a personal issue, but I think everyone feels this way and people who actually do have body types recognized negatively by society just assume it's because their bodies are actually bad, when really everybody just naturally hates their body.

 

Well, I'm a gay guy and I do feel that way, but I do think that most people have some level of dysmorphia. We are never completely satisfied with our physical appearances.

And for those that are, kudos. I hope to one day experience that kind of satisfaction.

 

I think this is more-or-less the truth of the matter. As gay men we find ourselves in the same position as heterosexual women. They are constantly judged, ranked, and valued based on their physical appearance. For straight women, they are trying to appeal to heterosexual men. For gay men, we are raised to think like heterosexual males, and we basically just apply that same thinking and logic to each other, which is highly judgmental and critical.

I remember a study from several years back that studied this phenomenon. They found that heterosexual women were the least secure in their appearance, followed by gay men, and that lesbians were by far the most secure in their physical appearance. So, it seems that the common trend in our culture when it comes to insecurity about physical appearance is men.

However, I don't think it is something innate in being male. I think it is a cultural issue, and it is based on how we are raised to think and behave as boys and men.

 

The same reason straight people have dysmorphic disorder: they've bought into the lie of the culture that slimmer is better and that you'll never be loved if you're anything other than a skinny white twinky dude that is so often depicted in porn and in the media.

 

I think there are several causes: men being visual, physical, and having the urge to "spread their seeds". Similar to straight women who suffer from eating disorders and bodily dissatisfaction, except you get a cult of masculinity, and privilege that goes along with it. Not only are you judged for looking (or not looking) a certain way, but who you're attracted to, how you interact with them sexually, the number of partners, etc.

Things won't change until a couple of men decide they won't play the game, and from then, ideas spread.

 

(okay this took me A LOT longer to type out than I expected! It is also kind of all over the place, sorry!)

I agree. Although I don't consider myself a "hot" guy.

Personally I am extremely hard on myself through all aspects of my life. Nothing I do is ever good enough for myself. That includes the looks.

Dysmorphia as we know is classified as a mental disorder. We also know how rampant depression is. Doesn't matter what level those two can so easily tie in together.

Battling with Dysmorphia can happen to anybody. Like someone above said, you can be the most gorgeous specimen alive.. but as with depression... if you got it, it is going to hit you and you will be hard on yourself no matter what.

To play the devils advocate, some of that COULD POSSIBLY be for attention. There is always that percentage of people who need to feel validated to be able to go on.

A lot of people with "hardcore" Dysmorphia will resort to drastic measures like Plastic Surgery. I want to stress that not everyone is alike when I mention this next part. People with Dysmorphia will TEND to shut themselves in because of it. Me as another example: I am a big name in our town and sometimes they would like me to appear on T.V. I went to the station once and they recorded the left side of my face (where my teeth are crooked and I just don't feel right). When I watched it I was absolutely mortified now you will not catch me dead on that camera/station. I take pictures of my face everyday and analyze. Now I am getting ready for braces and possibly double jaw surgery for correction.

Reid Ewings Battle - 'Modern Family' actor Reid Ewing reveals body dysmorphia, plastic surgery battle - TODAY.com

I am NOT a doctor, but I assume there can be different levels of Dysmorphia. I honestly think (sorry don't hate me) that some of it is put on. If you look at social media it seems like depression and anxiety are the new "in" ...and to people that actually have it and feel it, well I feel like it can be a slap in the face. Don't get me wrong, it is amazing that awareness is being brought to the illness but are some people doing it for the right reasons?

Now, say they are not claiming Dysmorphia because I am not sure who all you are talking about. A lot of people may not even know about Dysmorphia. Say they are just really hard on themselves - that is so universal! It really is and sometimes it is hard not to be "WTF" on people who you think are impeccably gorgeous! The media is so widespread (and FAKE) that it isn't even funny. Some of these expectations are impossible to fill. It is so easy to be hard on your looks. I think that is most of what people feel.

I'm just rambling - I hope I didn't offend.

 

I think it's definitely getting worse and my feeling is that it affects gay men more than straight men (although straight men are not excluded).

Go back 25 years and most guys were content to be slim; a little bit of muscle definition was a nice bonus, but few guys really expected or demanded it. More recently, I've noticed men going in for bulking and developing mass and we haven't just arrived at this point. There seems to have been a kind of 'muscle creep' going on over a period of time and we are now at this fairly dangerous point where more and more guys have body dysmorphia and eating disorders of various kinds. While women are pushing themselves to slim down, many guys seem to be pushing themselves to the other extreme. I have to say that I am very concerned about what's happening - we all should be. It's not healthy at all.

 

At least in part, I think it is due to advertising and the media combined with the commercialization of fitness.

We now have people who are basically paid to either look like a comic book superhero (sometimes literally in the case of many action movies like Man of Steel and the Marvel franchise) or train them to look like that. Similarly, we have people (models) who are paid to look a certain way and others who are paid to make them look that way.

What gets left out of all that presentation of super fit beefcake is that it is literally their job to look like that and that often (in the case of actors) it is a look they are only training to achieve temporarily before reverting back to something a bit more normal.

In much the way that people (hopefully) don't try to drive like the characters in an action movie, they should realize that the bodies achieved in film or ads are not 'real' in the everyday sense of the word.

If someone wants that kind of job or just enjoys the work that goes into looking like that, fine. But treating it as the 'standard' and the 'norm' is neither practical, nor healthy.

Note that I also say this as someone who has long had body image issues. But I generally aim to keep those under control or channel them into living a reasonably healthy lifestyle that still allows me to have a slice of cake or a candy bar now and again.

Todd