"I may be fat, but I beat my eating disorder"

[Regina]

I think most of the pressure on men comes from other men rather than women. We live in a society where men are in a constant pissing contest to be the most masculine, the most respected etc etc. That's an attitude that breeds shame around being fat. It's "biggest dick syndrome", represented in body shape.

It's the same reason there appears to be so much pressure on short men, skinny men, the list goes on. Women will have their preferences sure, I've heard women say they won't date a guy under 5'9 or a bald guy, but I still think most of the "pressure" men face is to match up to other men, not so much to impress women. Therefore it's less of a sexism issue and more our own issue, it's the hypermasculine culture that needs addressing.

I think your right, it's an alpha dog mentality, it's more of a pressure to be masculine than it is to look good. In fact I would say most guys who are considered good looking are often picked on as being pretty boys.

It is that alpha dog mentality. Men put far more pressure on eachother than the pressure women put on us.

But with what women find attractive, I think it depends. I've heard women give all kinds of descripitions of what "attractive" is ranging from Harry Styles to Barack Obama. You can (within reason anyway) look like anything as a straight guy and not find it hard to get a date.

But that said, I really don't think general society is that shallow anyway. I used to get so hung-up about my appearance when I was a teenager, then I went to uni... "Average" people who looked like me having dates and getting laid everywhere. It's the media that's shallow, general society isn't.