Sunday, November 10, 2019

Beauty Standards For All

Over the past few years, there has been a rise in the creation of beauty standards for men. Looking at this change, it could be argued that it could be a step towards equality; but, is this really a step towards equality if nothing changes for women? Newly implemented standards for men on par with those which have been in place for women for decades does not show progress.

The following ad link is for an advertisement that showed up on my male partner’s Facebook sponsored posts. The accompanying text for the ad reads: 

“These Slimming Shorts are EXACTLY what you were looking for:

✅ INSTANTLY slims, supports & reshapes waist, hips, thighs, and legs.
✅Take full control of your waistline and drop 1 size IMMEDIATELY.
✅Well-chosen comfortable airy fabric that feels great on your skin.
✅Built-in back support.”

Male Girdle Ad

This ad shows a male girdle/spanx of sorts which is to make men look skinnier. This product is a great example of how a standard of a skinny, toned body for women is also now being marketed to men to the point of creating a new product to create this illusion of a skinny body. While the exact same product already exists for women and men could easily choose to use that product if they wanted to look skinnier, this product is created and marketed directly to men; this creates insecurity and a need for the product for men as opposed to not showing the product and therefore not creating a problem that men need to “fix” about their bodies.

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