If you want to make every man in the world understand how women feel, send them an email asking them to pose naked for a magazine. In theory it was easy to say yes, but as soon as I did, I was hyper-aware of everything someone could possibly judge me for. Walking down the street, I’d think, “Every man on the street is more attractive than me.” You have to take a deep breath, reassess yourself and say, “Nope, I’m amazing.”
I’m the luckiest guy in the whole world in terms of body issues. As an average white male, I’m the least likely to be profiled based on my race, objectified based on my gender or sexuality, and discriminated against. So if I can’t love me, then what chance does anyone else have? I’ve got the fewest social pressures.
I’m 33 years old and grew up in a time when people just didn’t realize what they were eating. I don’t think there were ever more processed and questionable foods in North America than in the 80s and 90s. Also, my family was not wealthy. Milk was more expensive than apple juice apple juice was more expensive than pop. I ended up drinking a lot of pop as a kid and will always have a little bit of fat around my midsection I’ll never be able to get rid of because of that.
I think the dialogue around food right now is incredible. People have never been more aware of what they’re eating and more passionately engaged in discussions about food.
Bodies are supposed to be lived in and enjoyed. I have too many vices to count: coffee, good food, bourbon, a bit of extra honey in my baked goods. I’ll never be a gym person. You’ll never find me sitting in a warehouse at 3 pm seeing how much weight I can lift or how big I can make my arms. I prefer to do things like swim for four hours when the weather’s right, jog or take a yoga class because it’s fun. I do it for the pleasure of the activity- never for the end goal of how you can make a body look. If you do things for the pleasure in them and not for some outcome, you end up with a much healthier relationship with yourself.
My favourite part of my body is my upper torso. I absolutely adore my big, wide shoulders. The one great thing about being a guy is the premise that these shoulders are meant for carrying the weight of the world. I look at my shoulders and I think, “I can do it, I can carry more, I can bring that weight with me.” It brings me a lot of joy.
