Nicole Deras
Professor Aaron Decker
ENGL 100
June 22, 2016
Never To Buff
Though the majority of people think body traumas are only for girls, this
happens to men as well. It isn’t talked about as much but the question is why. Why
wouldn’t we talk about it as much if this could happen to our sons too? The answer to
that question is that no man (nor women) thinks that this type of subject applies to
men; men shouldn’t be worried about how they look because that’s just for girls to
worry about. Well that isn’t entirely true, this condition, if you like to call it, happens
to men too especially at young ages and it is a subject worth talking about. As said
before, is not as usual as with women, men also suffer from body image traumas that
can lead them to several psychological disorders and/or muscle dysmorphias. Parents
should be more aware of the influence they have on their children and in what
direction they´re going.
Throughout this article, John Cloud with the help of statistics, facts and quotes
from professionals, argues that this is a real problem that men have. It’s fair to notice
that “About 40% of Americans who go on compulsive-eating sprees are men. Thirty-
eight percent of men want bigger pecs, while only 34% of women want bigger
breasts. And more boys have fretted about zits than girls, going all the way back to a
1972 study” (Cloud), to understand the big size and gravity of the issue. It is
important too to notice how far back this topic goes, its nothing new that men are
becoming more and more obsessed with their bodies, its just important to focus what
they do to buff their bodies to the point of looking like a cartoonish superhero.
Parents are the biggest influencers on their children´s life; they build their self-
esteem, whatever they teach them is what they’ll grow up to believe and they hope to
improve and learn as they age so they fell adequate and enough for their parents and
society in general. Words and actions speak louder than words, and a kid only feels
what their parents show to them. If a parent comes to a store and asks for something
to buff his 10 year-old son, he will believe he is too skinny and not good enough for
dad. This kind of situation shouldn’t even happen, why would a dad want to change
his son´s body when he isn’t even fully developed. When you are a child the only
opinion that matters is the one from our parents, specially when you are a little boy,
because you see your father like everything you want to become. They see dad like
this superhero and everything they do is to impress them. This is one reason why
