Men, they're just like us!

It turns out those genetic mutants we call "underwear models" make men feel just as self-conscious about their bodies as us ladies. Jennifer Aubrey, a assistant professor of communication at the University of Missouri's College of Art and Sciences found that men get down on themselves when looking at spreads of Gisele-like creatures in a magazines like Maxim, FHM, and Stuff. However, looking at images of male perfection did nothing to their psyche.

Well, you don't say!

The subjects were divided up into three groups. One viewed laddy magazines full of half-naked female models and write-ups objectifying their bodies, another read male fashion magazines with pages of Markus Schenkenberg look alikes, and the last group was given informational text about film trivia and technology. 

Then the men were asked to answer questions like, "During the day I think about how I look" and other statements meant to measure "appearance anxiety." The ones who had flipped through the pictures of impossibly good looking women, ironically, started to feel a little worse about their mushy tummies. And even more surprisingly, the ones who looked at male models all day felt the best about themselves.

At first blush this may make little sense. Why do men feel bad about themselves after looking at beautiful women but not handsome men? Seems a bit backwards.

Aubrey theorized that men don't get caught up in the same sex compare and contrast like women. A hot man is only relevant to other men if he can get hot women. Therefore, if the lady model in question is a "10" and they're only a "6" they're likely to get down and out about their paltry chances of ever bedding her. Whether or not another man can fill out a pair of Armani jeans better is of little interest.

This was proven correct when she showed one group pictures of gorgeous women with average boyfriends, and another just a line up of a hot ladies. As it turns out, the beer guts and mediocre frames next to a women of Naomi Campbell proportions put the men's insecurities at ease and caused that group to feel significantly less insecure.

Awwwwww. Men. So much more fragile than we thought.