Video Transcription
RESET: A Conversation of Boy’s Body Image
Yes, I care about how I look. It’s not a massive thing to me, but, yeah, I do care because people can judge you. Society tends to value one type of body, and it’s broad shoulders, muscular chest, big biceps, and a six-pack. Yeah, I’d say that was an ideal way of looking. Yeah, in my eye at least.
Yeah, I think most guys want a six-pack, abs, pecs, and just big biceps. The world we live in today, there’s so much going on, it definitely affects how we see our appearance. There’s just this sort of like person in everyone’s head that’s like, you know, that perfect person.
It can make us think, “Look, if I don’t have the perfect body, if I’m not muscular enough, or tall enough, or I’m not skinny enough, that I’m not worthy.” It feels like most people judge people nowadays, so it sort of gets into your head.
The way that I was thinking was quite consistent with the pressures that society puts on everyone. Now there’s so much social media; you want to look the best you can. Like, every second guy you see now just has this good body.
“Go to the gym, go to the gym, go to the gym, go to the gym, and you’ll achieve.” It was just this constant, “You don’t look good enough, you don’t fit in, you’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re worthless, you’re disgusting.”
It was very difficult to make the connection that what I was doing was wrong. Because of the hundreds of boys that I’ve seen who’ve had appearance problems for all different sorts of reasons, the number one thing they all have to say is, “I wish I’d spoken to someone sooner.”
You know, what can start as such a small little thing can turn into something really big.
Video by Reach Out
