I’ve written a lot about what body positivity movements there are out there for women, girls and those suffering from eating disorders (which is mostly women). However, I haven’t talked about any movements that are specifically for men. The body positivity movement is seriously lacking some male influence, and hasn’t necessarily had any large male advocates. Male voices have risen in the past year, most of the articles I’ve found about this subject are dated February or March of 2017.

In my first blog talking about everyBODY with Iskra, I mentioned briefly that the brand, Aerie, is coming out with #aeriemen. I looked into this movement more to talk about its goals and the models that are on board so far. This campaign has four different models, all of different stature and ethnicity. The #aeriemen campaign has the same motto as its female counterpart, #aeriereal, “the real you is sexy.”

*actually while researching this I stumbled upon a crucial problem*

Aerie released this campaign on April 1 2016 and the video released was indeed a joke. However, I really think that what the models were either scripted to say or genuinely say was important progress for men in the body positivity movement. Also, the fake ad does show men in their underwear modelling American Eagle products, and these men are of different shapes and sizes.

I did some research and found an interesting man, Ryan Dziadul, who felt insecure about his size, weight, and inability to find fashion-forward clothes in his size. Dziadul created a clothing line titled @extraextrastyle in order to celebrate physical diversity amongst men, as he was inspired by what the body-positivity movement has done for women.

Body positivity model and activist, Troy Solomon, works hard to change this dynamic so that men are included in the movement as well. He posts Youtube videos that follow his daily life, and he has a segment titled “Boys Doing Girl Things.” With this series, he talks about doing nails, makeup and rates various products deemed “female.” He encourages boys to step outside their comfort zone and try makeup if they want and to try to normalize men/boys using these products. On his Instagram account, Troy poses pictures in all sorts of outfits, casual, professional, goofy, or half nude. Troy posts his pictures with inspiring captions that promote his goal of being a body positivity activist.

Patrick Starr is another youtuber and social media figure that I enjoy that sheds light on body positivity for men. Patrick Starr is a professional makeup artist. He breaks the barrier between boys and makeup/beauty products. Also, on his instagram, Patrick posts about his body and models in various clothing styles showing off his plus size physique. On his instagram, the first thing you’ll see is “MAKEUP IS A ONE SIZE FITS ALL.”

These male-oriented campaigns, although one had bad intentions at first, are making significant headway in the body positivity movement for men. I hope to see more inclusive movements appearing throughout the media in the future, because the body-positivity concern is not female only.