So, a bunch of skinny geeks get photoshopped in Buzzfeed's video for "Body Positive" week. Do you agree with the video's message?

kick6 · 2016-05-23T15:01:02+00:00

It is convenient for women who need to filter the real alphas from the guys playing alpha for men to believe things like "no one would want to be friends with "that guy" with big muscles.' Think about it: this is men filtering themselves out of mate selection. Consequentially, tropes like this will always exist.

bibibabibu · 2016-05-23T17:16:34+00:00

TBH OP I think it would be better if you actually summarized the argument you are making, and then we can address it and have some good discussion. The video is 11 minutes long, most of it cringey TBH (I did watch it by FF'ed to the last parts). I mean, it's buzzfeed.

Anyway my 3 main thoughts:

I do believe body positivity IS important. There is nothing good about being miserable because you are short/flabby/not X-colored skin or race.
On the other hand, their complacency is quite a turn off and a lot of their thoughts are fairly self-masturbatory e.g. "I am PERFECT the way I am, nothing is wrong with my lifestyle". This can either mean they acknowledge they are not very fit, but are not upset by it (Korean guy), which is fine and fairly mentally healthy. It could ALSO mean they think every other way of living are beneath them or stupid (the John Krasinki guy who claims muscles are douchey/friendless). That is stupid, judgemental and pretty sour grapes.
Would they get the same response in a serious situation, like on OKcupid?

Honestly yes except for the Justin Beiber wannabe. Rest of the 3 of them are well dressed, well spoken. They have good style (Korean), or are very tall (John Krasinski wannabe), or look pleasant and decent(4th guy). I can't say about hookup type of girls (Korean guy and tall guy maybe?) but at least the LTR types looking for something serious will try them out.

Last point is that when the Korean guy says we should "focus on things that really matter" - he forgot the important last 2 words: "TO OURSELVES". Physical perfection and the pursuit of it are no worse than people who try play guitar, learn new languages, travel, etc. In the end you are seeking to enhance 1 aspect of yourself (physical, musical, spiritual, mental) and the point is that you strive towards being a better person than you were yesterday.

I think the media and most people often mix up being body POSITIVE and being COMPLACENT. These guys go a bit too far to the right, only the 4th guy admits he wants to be stronger to care and carry his child.

shoup88 · 2016-05-23T16:27:53+00:00

The reason they get "these guys are cute/hot" in the comments section is because they've been in numerous videos that showcase their personalities, so viewers are going on more than just straight looks to determine attractiveness. IMO, looks alone are not really enough for women to decide whether or not they'd sleep with someone. Perceived personality matters a lot.

In OKC, all you really have are photos. So no, I don't think the results would be the same.

As an aside, I think these particular men have no problem getting laid. One is married, one is engaged, one is basically known as the hottest guy on the site. It seems disingenuous to call Eugene and Ned "skinny geeks".

If you took unknown, unhappy single scrawny men and did this experiment, you might get different results.

dakru · 2016-05-23T15:26:26+00:00

I sympathize with men who have body image issues on account of being weak and scrawny. I was there once. And I'm happy to see a video that points out that men have body image issues too.

With that said, the elephant in the room in that video was that (unlike height, face, skin colour, etc.), you actually have a lot of control over your level of muscularity. You're not helpless in that regard, and if you think you are then you either don't know very much about fitness, or you don't want to accept it because that requires effort.

Here's what one person said:

"I'm of the opinion that these things are attainable if you have the time and the money and the team to constantly work out and get that 8 pack abs. It's just that no one's that rich or has that much time except for celebrities and actors."

Take a look at progress pics on /r/fitness or /r/progresspics. There are tons of guys who went from weak and scrawny to pretty decently muscular with 3-4 gym sessions (of 1-1.5 hours) each week over about a year. (You could even make do with a more minimal routine that takes less time if you really needed!) You won't look exactly like whatever celebrity you're focusing on, but you can absolutely look noticeably more muscular than you started.

And looking at their goal bodies at 3:55, if we get rid of the special lighting and the photoshop effects and just look at their bodies and their level of muscularity, that's actually pretty attainable.

exit_sandman · 2016-05-23T15:06:28+00:00

At the end of the video one of the guys says that he is being hypercritical of himself. Really dude? You're skinny and out of shape. Another says that no one would want to be friends with "that guy" with big muscles. And many of them say that they can't attain a body like that, and focus on things that "really matter."

Odd. Whenever bloops talk about this phenomenon, they behave as if redpillers were making it up.

alreadyredschool · 2016-05-23T15:07:47+00:00

The main thing I disagree with is "If I wanted to look like this .... not enough hours in the day" outright wrong and "nobody wants to be friends with this guy" swole shaming at it's finest.

They all could nearly reach that goal in 7 weeks. 4 hours per week, that's a bit more than 1 day out of 50 days... they have the time.

On the other hand I somewhat agree with the message, I am not insecure enough to get motivated. The last thing that motivated me was to climb a certain line that I just can't do at the moment.

All of these men are very attractive. They need to know that.

Feel good bullshit, today even BP says that looking muscular is important, buzzfeed must be reaaaaaly BP.

aznphenix · 2016-05-23T15:50:58+00:00

lol these silly skinnyfats talking like a few hours in the gym a week is impossible

all those "ideal" physique take less than a year of work. The asian guy's is like 3 months

[deleted] · 2016-05-23T17:44:20+00:00

[deleted]

Johnny_Lawless_Esq · 2016-05-23T18:54:21+00:00

I agree with the basic premise; that men are presented with as much body-idealism as women, but I still think that it's not that hard or time-consuming to take some basic steps to get yourself into decent shape, and that the process itself yields rewards beyond the merely physical.

AloneOnTheStrange · 2016-05-23T19:39:20+00:00

Despite typically not watching buzzfeed stuff, I did check out this video as it caught my interest. What took me aback was how contrived it was. I love how they all uniformly come to the exact same conclusion (some of them doing a complete 180 in their attitudes in the process) within a couple of minutes. It seemed to me that their mindsets, whether they were before or after, were completely manufactured.

I like how male body image was highlighted as an issue, but the way they did it was so forced and unconvincing imo.

alreadyredschool · 2016-05-23T15:19:32+00:00

... I have worked with these guys. The one's wife is insanely hot and every woman he worked with fawned over him. The other is widely gushed over by women that meet him and just see him in videos. Yes. They are attractive and not just to women in comment sections.

shoup88 · 2016-05-23T15:51:22+00:00

i didn't watch the whole video, just enough to see who they are, but all of them seem at least a little above average to me. no skin issues, not particularly overweight, hair is fine, no unusual features, and so on. even those that i wouldn't personally think are cute, i can see how they're still attractive guys. despite that, i don't think they're immune to having insecurities or anything, though.

At the end of the video one of the guys says that he is being hypercritical of himself. Really dude? You're skinny and out of shape.

even so, he's doing better than a lot of other people.

Another says that no one would want to be friends with "that guy" with big muscles.

none of them seemed particularly obsessed with muscles. it's not surprising that they wouldn't want to be friends with someone who was, or hang around people who are super into that. that's not exactly 'no one' but even i can see what he's saying.

And many of them say that they can't attain a body like that, and focus on things that "really matter."

this just sounds like a matter of priorities more than anything. there is a point at which some things become unattainable for people though, body-wise.

it wouldn't surprise me if these guys got responses on OKcupid from someone looking for more than a one-night encounter. they don't strike me as guys who would be all that interested in partying and hooking up anyway, so they'll probably attract other people looking for more than that.

no, they probably wouldn't be the center of attention at a night club, but not everyone cares about that anyway.

Bluer_than_Red · 2016-05-23T19:32:39+00:00

I mean, as long as these men don't feel entitled to being found attractive by women and as long as we don't try to shame women for not finding them attractive, I see no problems.

Unrealistic body expectations also affect men. For one, the vast majority of men don't have the genetic to be sexually attractive to women. So telling them that if they just pump enough iron they'll be eventually attractive to women is not only a complete lie, it doesn't work like that AND it create a sense of entitlement in those men "WTF I did everything I was supposed to do, why can't I attract women?! Damn them for having standards!".

It's bad for women but it's also bad for men, ultimately.

Wowbaggerrr · 2016-05-23T20:54:49+00:00

Aw, this makes me sad. Korean dude and blonde guy are super cute. Are they hotter with the photoshopping? Yeah, for sure. But I also like them in their natural states. Not gonna lie, I was super into Korean dude's excessive thrusting.

funchy · 2016-05-24T00:24:02+00:00

Not every man wants to look like a weightlifter.

Not every woman finds the muscle bound weightlifter body most attractive.

Some men just aren't built to carry a lot of muscle, even with regular workouts.

What's wrong with a man being happy with the body he's in? I'd rather date a guy who is comfortable in his own body than some insecure gym rat who feels he must exercise daily.

I definitely wouldn't want to date a guy who feels he must rag on any "skinny nerds". Who cares what other men look like? Worry about your own body.

BluePiller1776 · 2016-05-23T15:25:39+00:00

Not every girl is into muscle bound gym nuts. Go figure.

DaphneDK · 2016-05-24T02:28:01+00:00

Stupid. Sounds like the male side of fat acceptance. It's not beneficial for anyone to promote a sedentary unhealthy lifestyle.

Dazzler1886 · 2016-05-25T02:45:52+00:00

Eugene is hot. Ned and Keith are cute. Would bang.

And I agree that men have more pressure to look a certain way now. It's been that way for women for a long time but it has gotten a lot harder for men lately.

tallwheel · 2016-05-23T15:13:59+00:00

Body positivity is about loving yourself despite what you look like on the outside, and these guys will be doing a lot of solo self loving in the future :P

No matter how comfortable you are in your own skin, you can't control what other people are attracted to.

redmachines · 2016-05-23T16:41:39+00:00

Women have the terrible habit of making words meaningless. If those guys are attractive, then the word attractive doesn't mean shit.

despisedlove2 · 2016-05-23T21:20:13+00:00

I would ignore the comments. Women always say that to loser men they don't go out with.

As to living in denial, it is their choice. They were given the reality on a platter. If they want to ignore that and kill their chances with women, let them.

Mentioned_Videos · 2016-05-23T16:40:23+00:00

Videos in this thread:

Watch Playlist ▶

VIDEO	COMMENT
36 Questions Women Have For Men	1 - Feminism is bullshit, feminists are delusional idiots, fat acceptance is bullshit, body positivism is bullshit, buzzfeed is bullshit, etc, etc buzzfeed = cringe never forget
The Try Guys Get Photoshopped With Men's Ideal Body Types	1 - Not like Tantrum but like their Photoshop: The other guys with the way to huge shoulders and triceps are going to have more problems to reach it but I said "nearly" reach it. Also beach photos probably look way worse than photo shops sin...
Exclusive backstage interview with Flex Lewis at the British Grand Prix	1 - also, just for laughs

I'm a bot working hard to help Redditors find related videos to watch.

Info | Chrome Extension

wordjedi · 2016-05-24T06:31:02+00:00

Would they get the same response in a serious situation, like on OKcupid?

Yes! That's exactly it. If they weren't on YouTube all the time so sort of internet-famous, they would get shut down again and again and again.

[deleted] · 2016-05-24T20:40:17+00:00

That video and the reaction to is honestly appalling. So much ignorance. The video is basically the opposite of steroid fueled body-transformation videos. Takes something entirely feasible and makes it seem impractical.

Edit: The reaction on youtube is what I'm referring to as appalling. Worth a clarification.

alreadyredschool · 2016-05-23T16:19:34+00:00

[removed]

Apexk9 · 2016-05-24T00:16:31+00:00

Buzzfeed is a cancer.

AutoModerator · 2016-05-23T14:40:48+00:00

Attention!

You can post off topic/jokes/puns as a comment to this Automoderator message.
For "CMV" and "Question for X" Threads: Parent comments that aren't from the target group will be removed, along with their child replies.
If you want to agree with OP instead of challenging their view or if the question is not targeted at you, post it as an answer to this comment.
OP you can choose your own flair, just press Flair under your post!

Thanks for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

sexydude01 · 2016-05-23T16:06:53+00:00

Photoshopping dudes onto other dudes photoshopped bodies lol

Channing Tatum looks like garbage in real life. Dude doesn't have abs outside of his photoshopped magic mike crap.

Don't see the point in it.

Title	So, a bunch of skinny geeks get photoshopped in Buzzfeed's video for "Body Positive" week. Do you agree with the video's message?
Author	Gittr
Upvotes	19
Comments	313
Date	May 23, 2016 2:40 PM UTC (10 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/4ko8yh/so_a_bunch_of_skinny_geeks_get_photoshopped_in/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/so-a-bunch-of-skinny-geeks-get-photoshopped-in.274566 https://theredarchive.com/post/274566

Comments