Muscle-bound movie superheroes such as Chris Hemsworth’s Thor make Gen Z men feel bad about their looks. study finds

PUMPED-UP movie superheroes make Generation Z men feel bad about their bodies, a study has found. Researchers said under-30s’ self-esteem sinks when they see the bulging muscles of Hollywood leading men like Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Pumped-up movie superheroes like Chris Hemsworth’s Thor make Generation Z men feel bad about their bodies, a study says Credit: Marvel Under-30s’ self-esteem sinks when they see the bulging muscles of Hollywood leading men like Chris Evans’ Captain America Credit: Alamy The study by Edge Hill University in Lancashire showed clips of Chris Evans as muscle-bound Captain America and Tom Holland as nerdy Peter Parker — whose alter-ego is Spider-Man — to 205 men aged 18 to 24 and then asked how they felt about themselves. Study author Matthew Johnston told journal Body Image: “Results indicated that muscular superhero exposure ­significantly increased body dissatisfaction. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! In superhero media, the ideal is one of extreme and unattainable muscularity which may foster body dissatisfaction among young adult men.” The study said men who saw the Captain America clip were more likely to feel unhappy with their physiques afterwards but after the Peter Parker clip participants felt better. Sexy, successful characters with normal bodies made viewers feel more optimistic, the research found. Superheroes have become more muscular over time with hulking A-listers like Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. They have replaced more normal-sized actors like Adam West as Batman and Christopher Reeves’ Superman in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Mr Johnston added: “This finding highlights the need for media producers to diversify superhero portrayals to include more attainable body types.” Most read in The Sun Comment now