What The Ideal Male Body Looks Like Around The World

Whoa — talk about a world of differences in taste.

What perfect male body types look like around the world Superdrug Doctor Online
Advertisement

What physical traits, features, and characteristics does the "perfect" man possess?

For some, the ideal man's body may have stereotypical firm muscles, a six-pack, and flawless hair, or perhaps you envision a man on the lankier side with no facial hair and a little bit of a stomach.

In your mind's eye, the perfect man might look like Ryan Gosling, while, for others, his appearance would be more in the vein of Brad Pitt. And of course, you might prefer a cuddlier kind of guy, along the lines of sweet-faced Ed Sheeran or James Corden.

Advertisement

However he looks, your image of the ideal man is certainly different than the one others would conjure, especially when those others were born and raised in cultures and countries around the world that hold different beauty standards than your own.

So what is considered the "perfect" or "ideal" male body type around the world?

After the viral success achieved with their study of female beauty standards in 18 different countries, Superdrug Online Doctor decided to follow up with Perceptions of Perfection Part II: Men — a second study using the same methodology to gather information about global perspectives on what is considered perfect or ideal male body types.

Advertisement

RELATED: What The 'Ideal' Woman Looks Like Around The World

In the original study, female graphic designers from all over the world were asked to Photoshop an image of a woman in order to make her more attractive to other citizens of their native countries.

The stated goal was to "better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world."

Advertisement

This time around, they commissioned 11 women and eight men in 19 countries to take an image of a New York-based photographer and use Photoshop "to produce their own version of an attractive man for their country."

In doing so, they learned that women aren't the only gender to battle with society's unrealistic beauty standards.

"[As] this new project proves," they say, "the quest for a perfect body transcends gender: Fueled in part by the media and popular culture, men around the world may feel even more body image–related pressure than women do — pressure to be stronger or slimmer or more muscular."

Their hope is that viewing these images will help people of all genders reevaluate their perceptions of what it means to have a "perfect" body.

"Our goal with this project is to fuel a revolution: to spark real change about body image," they explain, "to empower people to prioritize health above appearance, and to promote body confidence around the world."

Advertisement

Here is the original image:

ideal male body: original image

RELATED: The Male Body Type 72% Of Women Find Most Attractive Vs. What Men Think We Want

Interestingly, a majority of the edited submissions feature men with dark hair and stubble, and none were depicted as having dark skin.

Additionally, they found that three general themes or categories of ideal male body types emerged: powerful, slim and defined abs.

Powerful: represented by Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, the United States, and Venezuela

Advertisement

powerful male body types

Slim: represented by China, Croatia, Macedonia, the Philippines and the United Kingdom

slim male body types

Defined abs: represented by Egypt, Macedonia, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, the United States, and Venezuela

Advertisement

defined abs male body types

RELATED: Why Body Positivity Means Absolutely Nothing If We Still Body-Shame Men

Here are the resulting images showing 19 "perfect" male body types around the world, listed by country.

1. Australia

ideal male body type in Australia

Advertisement

2. Bangladesh

ideal male body type in Bangladesh

3. China

ideal male body type in China

Advertisement

4. Colombia

ideal male body type in Colombia

5. Croatia

ideal male body type in Croatia

Advertisement

6. Egypt

ideal male body type in Egypt

7. Indonesia

ideal male body type in Indonesia

Advertisement

8. Macedonia

ideal male body type in Macedonia

9. Nigeria

ideal male body type in Nigeria

Advertisement

10. Pakistan

ideal male body type in Pakistan

11. Philippines

ideal male body type in Philippines

Advertisement

12. Portugal

ideal male body type in Portugal

13. Russia

ideal male body type in Russia

Advertisement

14. Serbia

ideal male body type in Serbia

15. South Africa

ideal male body type in South Africa

Advertisement

16. Spain

ideal male body type in Spain

17. United Kingdom

ideal male body type in the UK

Advertisement

18. United States of America

ideal male body type in the US

19. Venezuela

ideal male body type in Venezuela

Advertisement

All photos: Superdrug Online Doctor

Hopefully, the study will bring light to the issues women and men have with impossible beauty standards.

RELATED: Which Part Of A Woman's Body Do Men Find Most Attractive (And Vice Versa)?

Caithlin Pena is a writer and editor who enjoys books, movies and writing fictional short stories as a hobby.