By: Austin Deng

Over the last decade, male beauty standards have diversified from the blue-eyed movie and TV stars of the past. Recent social changes have allowed for more representation and changes to the idea of the “perfect” man.

Around the world, the idealized man’s body rarely reflects the average man’s body shape. However, the diversification of male body sizes in celebrities has recently been catching up to that of female counterparts.

Social media apps help change beauty standards by showing men who previously would not have been given a platform. TikTok star Ben James is a British model and body-positivity activist. Recently, he participated in an advertising campaign for Simply Be, a clothing store known for inclusive sizing, with other diverse models. He has also been in advertising campaigns for Ted Baker and Asos.

Ben James regularly advocates for more diverse models for males. “I’d like to see the industry improved by having different body shapes used in never-before-seen ways. Why can’t we have a ‘dad bod’ in a fragrance campaign or a lead role in a film? The focus needs to shift from these unnaturally-attained physiques that even the actors themselves can’t sustain”.

Men aren’t only seeing more diversity in body shape. There’s also been an increase in racial diversity in models. Professor of anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, Alexander Edmonds, told BBC culture “Due to the legacy of slavery and colonialism [Western] images of the beautiful man have always been very white, and in the past, there were fewer barriers for this to change but this may be happening now”

The diversification of men’s fashion follows societal changes and movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement. Black supermodels like Tyson Beckford and Alton Mason regularly appear on the covers of fashion magazines. Slowly, the fashion world is becoming a more diverse place for all races.

Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210707-what-does-the-perfect-man-look-like-now