The Beauty Myth for Boys

This is a terrific piece, penned by my friend and colleague, Cara Natterson, MD about the importance of talking with boys about body image. Parents are often quick to point out to their daughters the unrealistic beauty ideals that affect girls and women, but boys are just as affected by the images of the "ideal" male body that they see all around them. When I teach boys about body image in my puberty workshops, they are just as thoughtful as the girls in their analysis of how the media, social media, and digitally altered images impact their ideas of what is "normal". Here's permission (and motivation!) to open this line of communication with your sons.