The image of the ideal man- muscular, physical prowess unseen in the majority of the population, and the confidence in the ability of the men to do their tasks- lifting heavy objects, posing, bodybuilding, has changed greatly over time. While the image of health has remained largely a universal truth in what people look for when they look for the ideal man, the specifics of what people see as ideal changes widely across nationality, time, class, and gender. What it is to be ideal has changed now as well- to be the ideal man it is no longer enough to be just the perfect protector, but also sensitive and emotional- a reflection of which is still not widely shared or discussed amongst (as many) men in the population. The ability to present oneself as physically "real" in perfection is probably more important to the men than the womyn, as the quote points out, because they are the ones trying to meet that ideal that they construct for themselves (womyn actually have much less to do with the construction).
Photo Source: Caveat Emptor
Interestingly, the photo here goes along with a short descriptive story, an excert of it is below, so you can see how well it ties in with the idea of masculinity:
"He is a muscular man, sweaty and grimy. He looks exhausted and injured. The tatters of his shirt hang loosely from his shoulders. His tan cargo pants are torn and blood-stained on the front of the leg, revealing a large gash on the muscular thigh underneath. He has numerous cuts, bruises and abrasions on his torso and face, but not so many as to obscure his rugged good looks. He slings the gunbelt that's draped across his shoulder onto the couch and starts to shed clothes as he heads for the bath."- Caveat Emptor
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