Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys

For writing such a well informed book from such a compassionate and relatable point of view. I am so impressed! Mom's point of view, haven't given it to my 12yo son yet. This book does an excellent job of raising awareness of the things we do to ourselves and the things we absorb from society that perpetuate the trouble with body image so many of us have. I really appreciate the fact that the emotional aspects of eating are addressed and validated along with nutrition information. The presentation of facts is very plain, simple without being condescending, and gives you permission to look at yourself with compassion. I am so glad you are making a resource like this for boys!

This book is a gem. I don't know how it manages to walk what has got to be a razor thin line but it does. It is well researched and evidence-based without being unapproachable or dry. It is fun (and even funny in many places) without being patronizing or glib. It covers all of the latest/modern concerns (protein powder! intermittent fasting! sexting!) without being the least bit inappropriate or something I as a parent would wince as I handed to my son. And it is comprehensive/thorough while still being readable and easily digestible. Here are two things you don't find often in books like this: your kid will actually read it AND you will want him to. Truly grateful to these amazing authors.

This is an excellent book. I loved the earlier book written for girls and this one is just as valuable. It manages to be informative and engaging by using a format that makes it easy to pick up and read short passages. But it is just as easy to stay with the book. This was true for me. It was hard for me to put it down. As a teacher and the mother and grandmother of boys, I was thrilled to see so many important issues addressed. This book is not just for boys. It is for all of us.

This is a terrific book for tween and teen boys. Colorful, engaging, brimming with useful information. Two things I especially appreciate: First, the authors don’t talk down to their audience. And, second, the information is conveyed in ways that are appropriate to the topic — sometimes with great compassion, and sometimes in ways that are just plain fun. There’s no way a boy wouldn’t benefit from having this on his bookshelf (however much eye-rolling he might display when he first receives it!). Buy this book!

I purchased the Body Image Book for Girls, as well as the Body Image Book for Boys. Both books should be part of every schools’ health curriculum. I wish I had something like this as a girl. As a mother of 5, with girls and boys, I found these books incredible. They are artistically presented with nonjudgmental, scientific, and palatable topics necessary for all kids as they grow. These topics may be hard for parents and these books help direct those conversations with their kids. 100% recommend.

Body image isn’t just a girl thing, guys need information and support too. Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys is a great opportunity to get the right information about puberty, body changes, and body image into the hands of our boys…and their parents! Kudos to Dr. Charlotte Markey for the hard work put into creating this fabulous resource.

This book has some really great information and advice, and I appreciate the effort to address boy's body image issues, since so many resources about body image struggles only focus on girls and women. This book covers a broad range of topics, such as healthy eating and exercise habits, hygiene, physical changes during puberty, social media use, the impact of eating disorders, and ways that guys can pursue healthy behaviors without being obsessive, restrictive, or focused on gaining muscle in unhealthy ways. This is pretty good overall, and I like that the authors also included testimonials from different boys and young men. However, there were things that rubbed me the wrong way or that I majorly disagreed with, and here are my main three critiques. Firstly, even though the authors emphasize at the beginning that this book is based on SCIENCE, not opinions, they present all kinds of opinions and value judgments as facts. Everyone filters things through their worldview, and everyone has biases, but most authors make an effort to balance out their judgments by also acknowledging other people's opinions. That never happened. For example, in the section about pornography, the authors say that it is potentially harmful because it's "unrealistic" and portrays women in submissive roles, treating women as objects to be used instead of people with feelings, but they don't go any further than this. They share some advice that could mitigate harm, but they normalize and sanction pornography use without engaging with ANY of the science about the psychological and sometimes physical problems that it causes. They're writing to boys as young as twelve, according to the publisher's age rating, but they don't address the harm that pornography causes, explain the problems that result from addiction, provide context for how much more extreme and ever-present pornographic content has become in society over time, or explain how especially damaging it can be for minors' developing brains. This is a controversial issue, and many people have different opinions about pornography, but the very least that the authors could do is address the science available on the issue, since they claim that this book is science-based! There are many research studies that show the harm that pornography causes, and regardless of the authors' personal opinions or habits, they have a responsibility to share this information with their audience if they want to talk about pornography. Secondly, in eighty pages about food and eating habits, the authors never acknowledged anyone with health-related dietary restraints. These chapters are only directed towards healthy people without any allergies or sensitivities, and some of the things they say are actually terrible advice for people with health issues. It is not the authors' responsibility to explain different dietary-related health issues or speak to them specifically, but they could have included some kind of caveat, and some kind of acknowledgment that even if "restriction is bad" from an eating disorder standpoint, it is right and good to avoid foods that make you feel sick and horrible. I also found it disappointing that the authors didn't write about the role of trauma in affecting people's relationships with their bodies. It is extremely common for sexual abuse victims to experience body-hatred, and many dysfunctional behaviors around food flow from bullying, abuse, relationship problems, and other external issues that create emotional disturbances. The authors didn't need to go into detail about any one of these things specifically, but I wish that they had talked about the role of trauma as an instigator for body image issues and shared ideas and resources about that. I also wished that the material about consent had acknowledged boys who have experienced sexual violation, instead of just telling them to not violate others. This book has a lot of great elements, and it can be very helpful for many people, but the issues that I had with this are serious enough that I wanted to unpack them in depth. This is a decent book overall, and I would recommend it to older teens and young adults, but I'd encourage parents to be cautious when deciding whether this is appropriate for a younger child, and people with dietary restrictions or abuse / trauma histories should know that the book wouldn't acknowledge them.

Parents who have been asking for ways to support their sons’ body image have a new resource to share with their adolescents. "Being Yo"u meets boys where they are and offers research, personal stories, and practical guidance for navigating the confusing messages young men receive from our culture. This book also serves as a much-needed conversation-starter for families who may not know how to talk about these issues.

I was hoping to find a book for my son that provided great information about body image for boys. This book does have that information but it is also filled with so much truly damaging and explicit information about masturbation, pornography and sex from a young age and it PROMOTES these things. Definitely not for "12+" and the description should warn parents about this content. Porn is toxic and leads to depression and addiction, but the book failed to include that fact (it does state that porn can be "problematic" but only because it's not "realistic"). None of these things are necessary to promote positive body image. I am thoroughly disappointed and returned it. Rated with 1 star only because "no stars" wasn't an option.