Some days, the voice says the classic, “You’re overweight.” On other days, it says, “You’re not muscular enough,” “You don’t deserve to eat that” or “Cancel those plans. You need to work out instead.” The one constant is that the voice never truly goes away.
The voice in question? My body dysmorphic disorder. Historically, the focus of the body imaging crisis has been on girls and women. It’s warranted — the standards that women have been held to are lengthy and a far greater issue for women than for men.
However, I can’t help but notice how pervasive the male body-imaging crisis has become. It’s important that we start to understand it.
I attribute a great deal of the male-imaging problem to a common scapegoat in the modern age: social media.
Today, there is a cesspool of toxic fitness “influencers” all over social media. Often these influencers insult the viewers — calling them fat or lazy — and let them know they are superior to them. Think along the lines of an Andrew Tate.
This is not insignificant. A 2023 piece published by Harvard Medical School stressed how body dysmorphic disorder in young men can lead to the use of dangerous supplements that risk being contaminated with stimulants. Some young men are choosing to undergo unsafe periods of gaining and cutting weight. Others even become depressed or suicidal.
Striving to be healthy is not bad, but obsessing about your body to these extremes is.
We need to encourage more men to talk about body-imaging issues. It cannot remain a taboo subject or an indication that a man is “weak.” If enough people start to have those conversations, we can begin to solve the problem.
In that same vein, we need to promote positive-minded fitness influencers. One of my favorite examples is Noel Deyzel. He’s consistently encouraging in the content he produces. Most importantly, he underscores the importance of being confident in yourself, regardless of your level of fitness.
We can use more Noel Deyzels, and fewer Andrew Tates.
The male body-imaging epidemic is a real issue that needs to be taken more seriously. If we can start the necessary conversations and flip the script on what it means to be “healthy,” we can easily solve it.
Carter Sherwin, Vernon Hills
Dehumanizing anyone harms all
The Chicago area is under tremendous pressure. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests are increasing, and calls for the National Guard are amplifying people’s sense of fear and uncertainty.
Enveloping these actions is a familiar story: They’re not like us. They’re less than us. They’re dangerous.
I know this story personally. My grandparents fled Russia and Germany as refugees. Propaganda dehumanized them and turned their neighbors against them.
I know it as a historian. Today’s raids echo America’s anti-immigration legislation and mass deportations targeting Asians, Mexicans and reformers.
I know it as a mother, wondering what kind of country my children will inherit as descendants of immigrants.
And I know it as a humanist. There are many other stories we can, and must, tell, stories that center people’s lives, histories, cultures and contributions. The stories we tell shape us. They can divide us or connect us.
Immigrants built Illinois. After the Great Fire in 1871, 80% of Chicago’s residents were immigrants or their children. These people rebuilt our beloved parks, boulevards, schools and libraries; they wove the civic fabric that holds us together. Today, fear-focused narratives are working to shred that fabric.
Economic analyses make it clear that militarizing immigration undermines Illinois’ construction, agriculture, health care and hospitality industries. But economics can’t help us understand why the story we’re being told harms us all. Great American literature, like Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” or Countee Cullen’s poem “Incident,” shows us that dehumanizing anyone harms everyone. Meanwhile, organizations like the Chicago Cultural Alliance, Lumpen Radio, Shorefront Legacy Center, South Side Weekly and Cicero Independiente feature migration stories that remind us we are interconnected.
At Illinois Humanities’ 50th anniversary event, a high school poet was scheduled to read her award-winning piece, “If They Take Her.” ICE activity prevented her from attending. Instead, a staff member read her poem as a transcript was projected onscreen. The moment epitomized that empathy is the counterbalance to fear.
It can feel radical to meet others with curiosity, or to be willing to cede any ground to find the threads that connect us. The humanities remind us that seeing each other as human beings may be the most radical — yet necessary — act of all.
We are being told we are the simplest, most reduced version of ourselves. We can counter the story that they (whoever “they” are) aren’t like us. Illinois knows better. We are all, together, so much more.
Gabrielle H. Lyon, executive director, Illinois Humanities
History repeating itself
Hitler didn’t start with camps. He started with:
- Making Germany great again
- Banning books
- Targeting the press
- Blaming immigration
- Creating enemies from neighbors
- Defunding the arts
- Stoking fears of outsiders
- Demonizing educators
If we don’t learn from history, we’re bound to repeat it.
Allan F. Benson, Aurora