A Look At Male Beauty Standards Around The World

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The attributes that make a man ”beautiful” vary from region to region, as this Buzzfeed video reveals.

An international cast of gorgeous male models shows just how drastically the physical attributes of the “ideal man” vary across 12 different countries.

Women aren’t the only ones subjected to rigid beauty standards. Men absolutely face pressure to fit certain physical molds—and lately, the issue is finally getting some attention. Recent research has shown that men face body image insecurities and covet “idealized” bodies, in the same way women do.

This week, Buzzfeed released a video highlighting “Men’s Standards Of Beauty Around The World,” and we are still processing our (kinda, sorta, maybe a lil bit weird?) feelings about it. The video features various male models, representative of different countries’ standards of beauty, along with facts about each ethnicity’s ideal man and some interesting tidbits on male objectification in general.

The pressure for men to subscribe to “conventional” beauty standards has been on the rise in recent years, and the video points out some pretty convincing evidence based on research gathered from “professional publications, entertainment, and social media.” In the beginning, it states that “men’s beauty products have increased by more than 70% worldwide between 2012 and 2014,” and from there, it goes into the specifics.

In Brazil, for example Germanic features with a deep tan is considered the “ideal” look. In South Korea, meanwhile, plastic surgery is increasingly popular among men—with eye-widening the most common procedure. (Though guys in the Pacific Rim seem to be the biggest consumers of skincare products.)

Facial hair and muscle definition have universal appeal, though the “perfect” amount of both differs by country.

Whiteness, unsurprisingly, is also a mark of enhanced beauty—no matter where you are: In South Africa, where 79.6% of the population considers itself Black African, caucasian men appeared on more than three-quarters of all fashion magazines.

Watch Men’s Standards Of Beauty Around The World

MODELS

Rustin Cole Sailors (USA) IG @Rustin Sailors / Twitter @RustinColeMusic
Evan Gomez (Mexico) IG @evanfgomez / Twitter @Mr_Gomezz
Rafael Melo (Brazil) IG @Rafam1313
Tyler Lough (South Africa) @TylerLough / TylerLough.com
Danté Marshall (Nigeria) @dmars624
Joseph Almani (Turkey) @Josephalmani
Ajdin Sefer (Italy) @ajdinsefer
Ryan O’Leary (UK) @ryandoleary
Sahil Shroff (India) IG @sahilshroff1 / Twitter @sahilshroff
Joseph Song (South Korea) IG @s0ng-seong / Twitter @joesong1015
Jonathan Stanton (Philippines) IG @Jonathan_stantonla /Twitter @jonstantonla / thejonathanstanton.com
Steven Dehler (Australia) IG @TheOnlySteven / Twitter @StevenDehler
Keenan Allen (The Future) @keenan_allen

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