Clothing and Embodiment: Men Managing Body Image and Appearance.

Abstract

Research suggests that cultural shifts in the ways men's bodies are represented lead men to feel increasingly dissatisfied with their appearance. Clothing is an ideal but underresearched mecha- nism for appearance management; however, little is known about men's presentation of their bodies through clothed displays. This article explores the ways in which men's subjective feelings about their bodies influence their clothing practices. Thematic analysis revealed 4 key themes: practicality of clothing choices, lack of concern about appearance, use of clothing to conceal or reveal the body, and use of clothing to fit cultural ideals. This article demonstrates the pervasive and mundane role of clothing in men's self-surveillance and self-presentation and the range and complexity of the processes involved in clothing the body. Although not typically addressed by psychologists, we argue that men's embodied clothing practices is an interesting and important topic for several reasons. First, research suggests that changing representations of the male body make men increasingly aware of and dissatisfied with bodies that do not meet this cultural ideal. Although psychologists have looked to extreme forms of body modification (e.g., plastic sur- gery, excessive exercise, bodybuilding) as evidence of men's attempts to mold their bodies to fit the ideal, more mundane self-presentation strategies have been overlooked. We propose that men's clothing prac- tices are an important and pervasive form of appear- ance management that reflects the continued moni- toring of their visual selves. Second, it is often assumed that men are uninter- ested in fashion and clothing, and most research fo- cuses exclusively on women. However, analyses in sociology and cultural studies suggest that changes in the advertising of men's clothing lead them to de- velop new, more narcissistic relationships to their clothed selves. Little empirical research exploring the possible impact of these trends on men's clothing practices exists. We aim to contribute to the existing literature in these two disparate areas (clothing prac- tices and body image) and to develop an analysis of clothing as an embodied and situated practice (cf. Entwistle, 2001).