A study released this month reveals that 48% of gay men would sacrifice one year of their life in exchange for getting their ideal body now. This actually isn’t that surprising to me when you consider the often unrealistic expectations we put on ourselves in terms of what we should look like. The study also revealed that nine in ten gay men admit they enforce “unrealistic” images of lean and muscular men in conversation. In comparison to straight men, only one third said they’d take a year off their life for the perfect body. The study was done on 394 men in November and December of 2011.
The research was part of a study commissioned by Central YMCA, the Succeed Foundation and the Centre for Appearance Research at UWE Bristol into how men talk about their bodies. These body image issues in gay men have been around for a long time and I’ve even been close to someone with body dysmorphia and a few people with other eating disorders.
Personally, I’ve also noticed that it also seems that the quest to have the perfect body is reaching new heights among with so many more gays doing steroids. Seriously, I can’t believe how common it is. Rosi Prescott, CEO of Central YMCA, told PinkNews.co.uk: “This is of concern when we know that record numbers of men are taking steroids or having unnecessary cosmetic surgery to achieve what is often an unattainable or unrealistic body image ideal. Central YMCA is campaigning to promote greater body diversity in the media, and for young people to be given an opportunity to learn more about body image in schools.”
Would you die a year early for the perfect body? Do you do steroids or know someone that does? Share your thoughts on the topic below.
This post was originally published on homorazzi.com.