Men might not imitate models and singers and much as girls do, but men certainly do feel pressured to be “macho” and “manly” and what not. As an effeminate gay guy, I know how strongly that applies to many people, including myself. Not that I have given into pressure much recently, but I have in the past. Avoidance of appearing “girly” is strong among boys and even men don’t want to appear weak or “feminine”. Hence the whole notion of “boys don’t cry”. I think that this is getting less and less prominent as the years go on, however, which is a good thing as far as I’m concerned.
It’s simply a fact that the notion of physical “beauty” is more strongly associated with women. Men don’t want to look trashy or ugly, but the pressure on men is more to be strong and manly, whereas the pressure on women is more to appear beautiful. I’m not sure why, exactly, I think it’s a combination of society’s pressure and what women have always done. I don’t think a woman’s desire to be very beautiful is something new to the 20th century just because of TV. It goes back much longer than that. The difference is that in the 1800s, girls didn’t have pictures of Photoshopped “perfect” women to look at and desire to be. Education is the key to ensuring people don’t get caught up in that destructive rainbow chase.
That said, I think everyone is essentially pressured to living up to an impossible ideal, but it might just not have to do with looks. Maybe it has to do more with money and success (however you may define that). Maybe chasing impossible ideals (that may come from friends, family, media, religion, or even yourself) is part of the reason why a person who doesn’t see a therapist is considered an anomaly is this day and age.