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Are men nowadays subjected to the same image issues that women have had for far longer?
It is quite striking nowadays how men - ranging from sportsmen to actors to reality TV stars - are increasingly expected to have perfectly sculpted physiques and good grooming, much more than was the case in the past. If you take James Bond, for example, most of the actors who played him in the past were comparatively flabby and hairy, but were nevertheless valued as they were seen as gentlemanly and debonair. By contrast, Daniel Craig appears quasi-nude in the current Bond films more than most of the so-called Bond girls do, and it is quite clear his appeal is as much to do with his body as his classiness and acting skills. Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington is another flagrant example of someone who is there as much for his body as his acting skills. Then, of course, we have the likes of Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman... Even rugby players nowadays look nothing like their predecessors from a few decades ago (except possibly the props). Most of the great Welsh rugby players of the 1970's were also quite hairy and unkempt, and were often either skinny or flabby, whereas nowadays most of them (at professional level, that is) look like this:
So, what explains this general societal change? Is it men themselves? Or is it the feminist notion that "you have your eye candy so we can have ours"? Let us discuss.
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Originally Posted by Raine
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