An Introduction

I hope this web-source will be utilized to chronicle the male body experience.
Men are not often given the opportunity to share openly (and anonymously) their body issues or the feelings that may be stirred around weight, muscularity, hair loss, penis anxiety, food, exercise, and general appearance. Society has indoctrinated men to believe that overt body concerns mask feminine like sentiments. An overall fear of being stigmatized has kept many men silent about disclosing the various body issues they experience.

Research suggests that men in fact do have body image issues and concerns. It is therefore important and relevant to provide this venue for men to share their thoughts and feelings about their bodies. I want this to be a channel that men from all creeds (gay and straight) would use to relate to one another on one vitally important and poorly understood subject - the male body experience. We have all come to relate to our bodies in different ways based on what we have been taught by our families, peers, lovers, the media, and different facets of greater society. Each body has come to reflect not only its corporeal composition, but also the lessons – both good and bad – that have been experienced and internalized along the way. I believe sharing our “body” thoughts will make an important impact on each contributor’s life and would further enrich society’s understanding of the male body experience

Throughout this blogging process, I will aspire to contribute my own feelings and experiences as I continue to muddle through body image issues. I will also add articles and excerpts on body topics that I believe to be relevant to our discussions.

Let me start with a bit of an introduction. I am a thirty something year old gay man and know the body image topic quite well. Not only am I developing an expertise in it because of my academic and professional endeavors, but I have struggled in various points of my life with weight gain, weight loss, muscle size, hair loss, anorexia, exercise bulimia, chewing and spitting, and general attractiveness. I know. . . the list is long – but I hope not intimidating. Some of the issues continue to persist – but thankfully to a lesser degree then in the past.

Can you relate to any of the above? I would really like to "hear" from you.

Stay well, MBI