#520: The Surprising Origins and Prevalence of Bigorexia and Male Body Image Issues

#520: The Surprising Origins and Prevalence of Bigorexia and Male Body Image Issues

We typically associate body image issues with women. But my guest today says that a quarter of people with eating disorders are male and that there are millions of men in America silently struggling with and obsessing over how they look -- even to the detriment of their health, careers, and relationships. His name is Dr. Roberto Olivardia. He's a professor of clinical psychology at Harvard and the co-author of the book The Adonis Complex: How to Identify, Treat, and Prevent Body Obsession in Men and Boys. We begin our conversation discussing how the "Adonis Complex" manifests itself in men and why male body image disorders are a fairly recent phenomenon. Roberto and I then dig into how the ideal male body has changed over the past few decades and how we've seen these inflated standards of male attractiveness show up in advertising, movies, and even action figures. Roberto then shares possible causes of male body image issues, which include, interestingly enough, increasing gender egalitarianism in the West.

We then dig into specific ways body image issues appear in men, including "bigorexia" or muscle dysmorphia, in which super jacked dudes think they're still too scrawny. Roberto then explains how eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia manifest themselves differently in men compared to women.

We end our conversation discussing the line between caring about how you look in a healthy way, and having a disorder, what to do if you're having problems with body image issues, and what parents can do to inoculate their sons from the Adonis Complex.

Get the show notes at aom.is/adoniscomplex.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(1159)

Building Tribe — How to Create and Sustain Communities of Men

Building Tribe — How to Create and Sustain Communities of Men

Community is one of life's most valuable but increasingly scarce resources. While we hear about a supposed epidemic of male loneliness, many men still resist joining groups or struggle to maintain inv...

13 Touko 202546min

20 Secrets of Adulthood

20 Secrets of Adulthood

Figuring out the pitfalls and best practices of adulthood can be tricky. It's helpful to have some pearls of wisdom to guide you along the way.My guest today has spent decades collecting these kinds o...

6 Touko 202550min

Auto-Exploitation, Positive Violence, and the Palliative Society: A Modern Philosopher’s Ideas for Making Sense of the Present Age

Auto-Exploitation, Positive Violence, and the Palliative Society: A Modern Philosopher’s Ideas for Making Sense of the Present Age

Feelings of burnout and boredom have become prevalent in modern life. To understand the roots of and solutions to these issues, we can turn to both ancient philosophers and contemporary thinkers. Amon...

29 Huhti 202558min

The Power of NEAT — Move a Little to Lose a Lot

The Power of NEAT — Move a Little to Lose a Lot

Do you have a goal to lose weight? If so, you're probably thinking about how you need to exercise more. And that can certainly help. But what about the 23 hours a day you're not at the gym? How much y...

22 Huhti 202548min

Co-Intelligence — Using AI to Think Better, Create More, and Live Smarter

Co-Intelligence — Using AI to Think Better, Create More, and Live Smarter

The era of artificially intelligent large language models is upon us and isn't going away. Rather, AI tools like ChatGPT are only going to get better and better and affect more and more areas of human...

15 Huhti 202557min

From Public Citizens to Therapeutic Selves — The Hidden History of Modern Identity

From Public Citizens to Therapeutic Selves — The Hidden History of Modern Identity

When you scroll through social media feeds today, you’ll find countless posts about “living your truth” and “being authentic.” These ideas feel so natural to us now that we rarely stop to ask where th...

8 Huhti 202548min

Beyond Resilience — How to Become Shatterproof

Beyond Resilience — How to Become Shatterproof

Resilience is often touted as the end all, be all of coping with life's challenges and setbacks. But my guest knows from her studies, executive coaching, and her own life that sometimes resilience jus...

1 Huhti 202549min

The Art of Exploration — Why We Seek New Challenges and Search Out the Unknown

The Art of Exploration — Why We Seek New Challenges and Search Out the Unknown

The human urge to explore has taken us to every corner of the planet. From the highest peaks to far-flung islands to even the deepest dimensions of an idea, our species has an innate drive to venture ...

25 Maalis 202554min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-narsisti
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-niinku-asia-on
kesken
psykologia
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rss-valo-minussa-2
leikitaanko-laakaria
puhutaan-koiraa
rss-duodecim-lehti
rahapuhetta
rss-psykalab
rss-hereilla
rss-kohti-tasapainoista-ja-lempeaa-elamaa
rss-rahataito-podcast