What The Ideal Male Body Looks Like Around The World
Whoa — talk about a world of differences in taste.
Superdrug Doctor Online What physical traits, features, and characteristics does the "perfect" man possess?
For some, the ideal man's body may have stereotypical firm muscles, a six-pack, and flawless hair, or perhaps you envision a man on the lankier side with no facial hair and a little bit of a stomach.
In your mind's eye, the perfect man might look like Ryan Gosling, while, for others, his appearance would be more in the vein of Brad Pitt. And of course, you might prefer a cuddlier kind of guy, along the lines of sweet-faced Ed Sheeran or James Corden.
However he looks, your image of the ideal man is certainly different than the one others would conjure, especially when those others were born and raised in cultures and countries around the world that hold different beauty standards than your own.
So what is considered the "perfect" or "ideal" male body type around the world?
After the viral success achieved with their study of female beauty standards in 18 different countries, Superdrug Online Doctor decided to follow up with Perceptions of Perfection Part II: Men — a second study using the same methodology to gather information about global perspectives on what is considered perfect or ideal male body types.
In the original study, female graphic designers from all over the world were asked to Photoshop an image of a woman in order to make her more attractive to other citizens of their native countries.
The stated goal was to "better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world."
This time around, they commissioned 11 women and eight men in 19 countries to take an image of a New York-based photographer and use Photoshop "to produce their own version of an attractive man for their country."
In doing so, they learned that women aren't the only gender to battle with society's unrealistic beauty standards.
"[As] this new project proves," they say, "the quest for a perfect body transcends gender: Fueled in part by the media and popular culture, men around the world may feel even more body image–related pressure than women do — pressure to be stronger or slimmer or more muscular."
Their hope is that viewing these images will help people of all genders reevaluate their perceptions of what it means to have a "perfect" body.
"Our goal with this project is to fuel a revolution: to spark real change about body image," they explain, "to empower people to prioritize health above appearance, and to promote body confidence around the world."
Here is the original image:
Interestingly, a majority of the edited submissions feature men with dark hair and stubble, and none were depicted as having dark skin.
Additionally, they found that three general themes or categories of ideal male body types emerged: powerful, slim and defined abs.
Powerful: represented by Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, the United States, and Venezuela
Slim: represented by China, Croatia, Macedonia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom
Defined abs: represented by Egypt, Macedonia, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, the United States, and Venezuela
Here are the resulting images showing 19 "perfect" male body types around the world, listed by country.
1. Australia
2. Bangladesh
3. China
4. Colombia
5. Croatia
6. Egypt
7. Indonesia
8. Macedonia
9. Nigeria
10. Pakistan
11. Philippines
12. Portugal
13. Russia
14. Serbia
15. South Africa
16. Spain
17. United Kingdom
18. United States of America
19. Venezuela
All photos: Superdrug Online Doctor
Hopefully, the study will bring light to the issues women and men have with impossible beauty standards.
Caithlin Pena is a writer and editor who enjoys books, movies and writing fictional short stories as a hobby.