Sport Perhaps surprisingly, given that their physique is closest to the stereotype masculine ideal, male body-builders experience greater dissatisfaction with their appearance than almost any other males. It is interesting to note that another study showed exercise therapy to be as effective as conventional psychotherapy in treating serious body-image disturbance in young women. Generally both men and women who participate in sport have a more positive body-image than those who do not. Most of us are aware of our society's emphasis on the importance of appearance, and we know what the socially sanctioned standards of beauty are. Human infants begin to recognise themselves in mirrors at about two years old.
Female humans begin to dislike what they see only a few years later.