From gyms, bathrooms to cyberspaces, new standards of appearance are gradually forming - and creating silent pressures but not everyone is willing to name them.
Just a few weeks after the Canadian hockey TV series "Heated Rivalry" premiered, 24-year-old actor Hudson Williams suddenly became the focus on social media. Not because of a controversial scene, but because of the skin care process he publicly announced on YouTube.
In a nearly 20-minute video, Williams introduces the "5-step Korean beauty procedure": thorough shaving, skin cleansing, narrowing pores, using rose water to "lighten skin", and ending with serums to help "rejuvenate" the face and body. The video has a humorous color, quickly reaching over 650,000 views, nearly 2,000 comments and over 39,000 likes, the numbers are still constantly increasing.
A young man taking care of his skin is not new. It is worth mentioning that he calmly talks about his skin, pores, "decay" or "rejuvenation" in front of the camera. From the private space of the bathroom, stories about appearance are stepping out into public space - and being received more naturally than ever.
Appearance pressure is no longer only for women.
For decades, beauty standards have almost fallen on women. They are encouraged - even forced - to change their appearance to suit both strict and contradictory criteria. But in recent years, that pressure is spreading rapidly to men.
Images of men's bodies appear more and more frequently in advertisements and communication campaigns. Cosmetics for men are no longer a small segment. Skin care, hair styling, and body shaping are no longer considered "not masculine", especially among young people.
According to a 2024 report by market research company Mintel, more than half of men use facial skin care products, of which the Z generation is the fastest growing group, especially with products labeled "high-end" and "clean".
Parallel to skin care is a body race. Firm bodies and distinct muscles have become popular standards on social networks. Many influencers, athletes, actors, and celebrities continuously share high-intensity exercises, strict diets, and advice to "optimize" their figure.
Appearance is gradually no longer a "good thing to have", but has become an important factor, a "pressure" in men that is not inferior to women.
Along with the explosion of personal care content, many extreme beauty methods are also spreading strongly.
One of them is "looksmaxxing" - a concept referring to efforts to maximize male appearance. Trends such as "mewing" (placing the tongue to change the jawline), or even more dangerously, the exercise of "bone-smashing" - impacting the bone with the belief that it can create a harmonious face, a more square jaw.
Medical researchers have warned that these trends reflect a "nightmare" of attractiveness among men, leading to many psychological consequences. More and more men are falling into a state of insecurity about their bodies, even suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorders - always feeling that they are not big enough, not strong enough, although in reality it is not.
In the UK, a report on the sexualization of young people also pointed out that on social networks, boys are increasingly under pressure to show excessive masculinity: Show off muscles, appear strong and have superior positions.
The beauty market and the unnamed
Despite admitting that the pressure of appearance is increasing, many men still avoid calling it a problem of "beauty". In traditional beliefs, beauty is considered feminine and frivolous - something that should not be a concern for men.
But in fact, it must be admitted that appearance is increasingly associated with social advantages, in work, in relationships, in the way a person is perceived. And when those advantages become clear, the market quickly enters.
Men are becoming a potential market for physical-optimized products and services, with increasing spending.
It is estimated that the global market for men's beauty products - including skin and body care - will exceed the 5 billion USD mark by 2027, adding to the industry's scale of about 450 billion USD. Not only cosmetics, more and more men are turning to cosmetic therapies, from non-invasive procedures such as filler injections, Botox, to surgical interventions.
Men taking care of their appearance, in itself, is not a negative thing. The problem is that when appearance becomes a measure of human value, when standards become increasingly narrow and difficult to achieve, that pressure will no longer belong to anyone.
Perhaps it is time for society to recognize beauty - whether male or female - not as an obligation to chase after, but as a personal choice. And it is also necessary to admit that men are under invisible pressure about their appearance, no matter what name they call it.
