5 male stars who have opened up about their body image struggles
As part of , Radio 1 have been deep-diving into all things mental health. From effectively coping with stress to battling body image demons, Katie and Dr Radha are discussing everything on and last week's chat with blogger Grace Victory unpacked the latter.
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Katie & Radha talk body image with blogger Grace Victory.
While last week's chat covered body image across the board, this week will see Katie and Dr Radha chatting specifically about male body image, which can be even harder to talk about.
Your body image is the way you see yourself and your body. Most of us care about how we look, which is totally normal, but some of us develop a very negative self image for various reasons - which can be damaging.
"In the past body image issues have traditionally been associated with females," says Dr Radha. "But males have also been and are increasingly under a lot of pressure and it's really important to open up the discussion about this so males can feel safe to chat about it."
Celebrities are as vulnerable as anyone to negative body confidence. We round up some inspirational and relatable advice from stars who have been through struggles with their body image and come out positive on the other side.
Sam Smith
Sam Smith famously lost a lot of weight, but he has been refreshingly honest about the effect of the media and working in the music industry on his body image.
"I still feel pressured to look a certain way,” he told the NME in 2015. “For women, the pressure in this industry is horrendous and it’s got to stop. But it’s the same for guys, even though they won’t speak about it."
Above all, Sam recognises that learning to feel good about yourself is an ongoing dialogue. "Just because I’ve lost weight doesn’t mean that I’m happy and content with my body. Because of the media, and because of what I feel I should look like, it’s always going to be a battle in my head.”
Craig David
After taking a long hiatus from music, Craig David burst back on the scene in 2013 more bulked-up than ever, working out six times a day and chronicling his ever-growing muscles on Instagram. But although his fitness quest started with good intentions, Craig soon discovered that there was such a thing as overdoing it.
"I was ripped," the Fill Me In singer told Marie Claire. "But no one gave me the memo that having a body like that can also make you look 40 years older. You look so gaunt and drained."
Speaking to The Sun, Craig attributed being overweight as a child as the reason behind his extreme gym regiment. "The overweight kid will always find a way of being that fat kid inside.”
But, thankfully, he's since discovered that everything in moderation is the best approach: “I realised a six-pack is not going to change my life. It’s always going to be there, maybe under a few more layers of fat than before. I like the feeling exercise gives me, but when I do training sessions it’s now about how I can bring my performance up.”
Olly Alexander
Years & Years frontman, Olly Alexander, has been and often uses his platform to shine a light on important issues, ranging from HIV-screening to depression. Another topic Olly's spoken candidly about is his decade-long battle with body image.
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Olly joins young people on their journeys battling issues that parallel his own - from homophobic bullying to eating and anxiety disorders - and along the way he asks what can be done to address them.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, the singer shared how his body issues began: "It was the first time I was starting to have an awareness of my body and strength and [thought], ‘Older boys, they’re really muscly and they could do things that I couldn’t do' and that’s the point, from then onwards... I started to have body issues and not eating, like I wouldn’t eat.
Your body shape & composition tends to be the right one for you. However hard you try to get that 'perfect' six pack or huge biceps, it just doesn't happen because it's not how your body is made. And that's ok!Dr Radha
I was stuck between this place of being really, really, really skinny and hating it – because I wanted to be muscly like other boys – but at the same time didn’t want to put on weight because that was bad as well. I struggled with it for a really long time actually."
His advice on overcoming similar struggles? "It’s really a life-long process that I think anyone that’s experienced any mental distress or mental illness knows it’s something you manage – it’s not something that just goes away. So it’s an ongoing thing."
As well as low self-esteem, body image issues can lead to eating disorders, body dysmorphia and depression. "Your body shape & composition tends to be the right one for you," says Dr Radha. "However hard you try to get that 'perfect' six pack or huge biceps, it just doesn't happen because it's not how your body is made. And that's okay!"
Chris Pratt
From Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation to Peter Quill (A.K.A. Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt underwent an extreme body transformation when he bagged the role of a Marvel Comics superhero.
But while Chris might've scored a dream role, the fluctuation in his size ever since means that the star is constantly on the receiving end of body criticism, with fans slamming him for being 'skeletal' post-Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sharing his thoughts on Instagram, Chris succinctly shut down the hate: “Just because I am a male doesn’t mean I’m impervious to your whispers. Body shaming hurts.”
"I do know what it feels like to eat emotionally, and…to be sad and make yourself happy with food," the star said during a Guardians of the Galaxy press conference. "And then to be almost immediately sad again and now ashamed and then to try to hide those feelings with more food. I know what that’s like. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s a very real thing. I know what it’s like to have body image issues, but I also know that if you just work hard and enlist the help of good coaches and be coachable, that you can actually change that."
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran may seem confident and comfortable in his own skin, but that hasn't always been the case.
“I was a weird little ginger kid, with a stutter, big NHS specs and no ear drum," Ed told the Daily Record, saying that he thought these traits were the secret behind his success.
"...We attract the outsiders, they relate to us the most. I get kids turning up to my shows on their own. I was never a lone wolf, I’m a sociable guy, but I’ve always done my own thing. We’re all outsiders who found solace in music."
But even one of the world's biggest stars - a man with, seemingly, everything - isn't impervious to body image demons. "I was never really happy with my image," the Shape Of You singer shared on a radio show. "And then I realised it was because I was eating fried food and drinking beer every day. You don’t have to kill yourself by getting into shape. Just eat right and don’t drink every day."
Listen to The Surgery on Radio 1 at 9pm on Wednesday