[Jazzine]

I see a lot of men with very large stomachs. Sometimes, I see them without shirts. Men often have opinions about women's bodies. How do men with big guts feel about their own bodies? How do other men feel about their large-bellied counterparts?

User Detail :  

Name : Jazzine, Gender : F, Age : 35, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ann L. Lowenstein]

Speaking from the perspective of having been involved with a number of variously overweight blobs, a lot of them are in total denial about their own appearance. It's sort of a 'reverse anorexia.' Where an anorexic looks in the mirror and thinks 'God, I'm fat, I hate myself' no matter how scrawny she/he gets, the reverse anorexic looks in the mirror and sees himself as he looked when he was at his physical prime, no matter how obese a swine he has become. Other overweight men are aware of their condition, and dislike their appearance, but are too lazy to do anything about it except whine and snivel about 'how fat they're getting' while sitting on their asses in front of the telly shoving Cheetohs in their faces. Still others have battled their weight all their lives and have just sort of given up. Bear in mind also that since men aren't judged by society almost solely on their appearance, the way women are, heavy men feel a lot less pressure to 'shape up'; and don't believe they can't show themselves in public if they are heavier than some 'ideal' represented by a 90 lb 14-year-old made up to look like a skanky adult.

User Detail :  

Name : Ann L. Lowenstein, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : K.C., State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Cathy]

It's pretty simple -- men do not have the same kind of pressure on them, appearance-wise, that women do. Look at most popular 'family' sitcoms or commercials featuring a husband and wife. The husband is a rather overweight man, who is lazy and less than intelligent. The wife is skinny, perpetually beautiful, smart, sarcastic, and funny. Society tends to follow television trends. It has become OK for men to be/act dumb, lazy, and let themselves become overweight. It is portrayed as the norm on television, and so it has become in society, slowly but surely. I think that for most of these men, they honestly do not see a problem with the way they look. I'm sure they know they are unhealthy, but I don't think they see themselves as physically unattractive, or care.

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Name : Cathy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 22, City : Jacksonville, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : financial service representative, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Brad19794]

As a large man myself, I must respond. First of all, I am fully aware that I need to lose weight. Unlike some women (and some men, I might add) I've actually been losing weight for health reasons, not for the washboard abs. Aside from going to the beach or pool, I think everybody should put on a shirt in public, but there's no way in hell I'm wearing nothing but sweatshirts just because I'm less than perfect. Besides, my wife (herself a Big Black Woman) thinks I'm sexy, shirt or no shirt!

User Detail :  

Name : Brad19794, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 32, City : Winchester, State : VA Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Andy-W]

As a young man with a respectable potbelly, I can't speak for the stereotype of balding couch-potato men with beer bellies, but it has definitely had an impact on my own self-image. For a lot of my teenage years I felt as if, while I could still make friends, my weight limited me from having any romantic relationships. Lately my self esteem has grown, and these days I'm of the opinion that no one, man or woman, should feel obligated to hide their bodies because they don't fit the promoted cultural 'ideal'.

User Detail :  

Name : Andy-W, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 19, City : Santa Cruz, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student (aspiring electrician), Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[FreedaBee]

I heard once that it's like the glass half full/glass half empty thing. When women look in the mirror we focus on the negative. That is, we can have a flat belly, nice breasts, a shapely butt and a pretty face, but if there's one speck of cellulite on our thighs, that's all we see. It doesn't matter that the rest of the packageg is great, all we can see is the flaw. Men, on the other hand, apparently ignore the flaws and focus on the positive. If they've got nice biceps, all they see is their buff arms. Or they might be proud that they can still wear the same size pants they did in college - even though the pants now ride way down low on their hips because they won't stretch around their stomachs anymore.

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Name : FreedaBee, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 42, City : Orange County, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Analyst, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Steel28741]

I can't speak for all men, but I can speak for myself. I grew up as a big guy and have serious trouble losing weight. I won't fall into the gimmicky schemes or dangerous diet practices that seem to abound nowadays. Rather, I try to eat healthy and work out every day. At my largest I was 315 pounds (I'm 6'1) and I hated myself. But honestly, I've hated myself my entire life. I got down to 209 lbs and still saw myself as grotesque. Even though societal pressure IS higher on women, it does exist for men. Look at any show on television, who is glorified? Rock hard bodied men with perfect complexions and award winning smiles. I hate these 'boxes' that the media puts people in and I hate how women are portrayed in the media. I don't buy into those stereotypes and I never have. I'll take a woman with curves and a great sense of humor anyday over a rail-thin, pre-pubescent B**** that's so shallow she doesn't realize theres a world outside of her own body. So I guess my response to your original question would be yes, I'm very sensitive about my body and yes, I do care how I look and try daily to change it. BUT, I do it for me and not because I feel that I have to be that way to be acceptable.

User Detail :  

Name : Steel28741, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 30, City : Anytown, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Insurance, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[AnneB.]

Why is it acceptable for men of any size to run around without shirts in public, period? It isn't acceptable for women to be topless in public (although that would be alright with a lot of guys). When I see guys of any age shirtless, with their armpit hair hanging out, their nipples exposed, lint in their bellybuttons... it makes me cringe. It just isn't right! Put on a shirt, guys! Were you raised by wolves?

User Detail :  

Name : AnneB., Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : American Indian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 50, City : Jacksonville Beach, State : FL Country : United States, 

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