Beauty standards are extremely prevalent and well spoken regarding women. Women have to keep up with the standards and look a certain way. When it comes to men, there is a slight difference in standards and how they are held.
Through history, the beauty standards of men have evolved immensely. This idea of beauty for men has only recently become more of a standard. In history, men have had standards in regard to education, status, behaviors, etc. These standards are still in place today, but in history, the standards did not necessarily involve beauty.
The beauty standard of men ties in directly to a man’s masculinity. When a man who is conscious of these standards wants to meet them, but is unable to, this can wear on their self-esteem in horrible ways.
A major beauty standard for men today that is completely uncontrollable is a man’s height. There is a standard that a man needs to be tall. This standard has recently become prevalent, although it was desirable before. In society, when a man doesn’t meet this social height standard, they can face criticism.
This pressure of needing to be a certain height, which is not something someone can choose, is immensely difficult for a lot of men. Not meeting these standards can lead to increased depression, anxiety, self-harm, and other mental issues.
Another completely uncontrollable beauty standard for men is their hair. There is a standard for men to have a full head of hair. Around 70% of men will face noticeable hair loss throughout their life. One in five men will experience male pattern baldness in their 20s. This struggle of having to meet these beauty hair standards for men, when baldness is extremely common, is incredibly difficult.
The beauty standards for men are different from that of women. They are also significantly less than that of women. Men have beauty standards that are primarily uncontrollable factors about themselves. This is also true with women but is more prevalent in men. Things such as height and hair are genetic, making them uncontrollable.
Beauty standards, as a whole, are unfortunate and frustrating. Men’s beauty standards are creating a very negative impact on men as social media spreads, and people are all interconnected. Men are struggling more with mental illnesses as these standards evolve and become unachievable.
