“The big issues for me in being gay have been coming out and then what you look like. How am I gonna fit in? You get these messages that you have to be like that or you don’t count” (Todd, 1999). [1]

Most of us have thought about setting New Years Resolutions as year end encroaches. I try to set goals in several life areas, including the physical. Would I like bigger muscles in 2008? You bet I would, and I am not alone in desiring the perfect male physique. While I continue what at times feels like a frantic attempt at the gym to develop this, I am aware that many more women than men are ashamed of the story told when they look in an undistorted mirror. I wrote in Queer Quest (July 2006 issue) about body image and its effect on eating disorders. This month, I want to look closer at the pursuit of muscle and body sculpting in general for men, women, and adolescents.

Who wants more muscle? It turns out that both men and women want greater musculature [2] – however, the ideal body is different for men and women in North American cultures. The ideal male body is thin, muscular, and hard. [3, 4] In one study, about 90 percent of the college men wanted a more muscular frame and none wanted to be less muscular. [5]

The female heterosexual ideal has been changing over the years and the thin and soft look of yesteryear has been replaced with a look that is lean and toned. [6] Although muscularity is desired by women, most do not pursue maximum bulk. Even in female bodybuilding, the International Federation of Bodybuilders recently asserted that maximum muscularity – which is an ideal for male bodybuilders – does not apply to women. [7]

Men’s bodies are increasingly being objectified and sexualized, largely through the use of “young, bare-chested, lean, and muscled male bodies in fashion magazines and advertising.” [8]

The print media does portray men’s bodies as vehicles for selling everything from fitness memberships to cars. Movies and television also include far more lean muscular characters in less clothing than in past years. The men in pornographic films also need to be buff (a sharp contrast to the porn stars of the 1970s) and well endowed. Even action figures have become increasingly muscular. In 1964, if the GI Joe dolls were morphed to become a 5-foot, 10-inch tall man, he would have 12-inch biceps and a 44-inch chest. In 1998, the GI Joe doll then being marketed would have a 27-inch bicep and a 55-inch chest when morphed as a man (no wonder I wanted these dolls more than my son)! [9]

Research has shown that the chests, biceps, and abs of many contemporary action figures actually exceed the muscularity attained by world-ranking bodybuilders. Furthermore, even comic book heroes now make me pant as they are drawn in amazing detail with razor-defined chests and nipples (they never used to draw nipples in comic books) and ripped abdominals. Male strippers are also a new phenomenon, and their look is generally everything you could ask for in an ideal. Lastly, have you noticed that the male mannequins are more muscular compared to the 1990s? [10] God, I can’t even walk past the gay store, Priape, without wanting to rip the clothes off their very realistic mannequins and devour them in every way (I’m sure there is a name for this mental disorder).

The media is often blamed for the changes that are occurring in our perceptions of what we find attractive, but the media is as much a reflection of the times as it is a creator of them. I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show back in the 1960s and thinking that they caused guys to start wearing their hair longer. The fact is, longer hair became symbolic of a rebellion that was already long underway in the US, Canada, and Britain. Other factors occurring besides the influence of media helped shape the current physique craze and sexualization of men – for example, the growth of the men’s movement and the gay liberation movement. [11] Women had already long been sexualized both in media and in general by a male-dominated culture, but the emergence of viewing men as sex objects was clearly a new phenomenon developing in the latter part of the 20th century.

Does the objectification of men and women have a negative effect on our mental health? Although the research is correlational, meaning it cannot tell us anything about the causal relationship, there is evidence that men, women, and adolescents are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their bodies, and some developing a condition called muscle dysphoria, meaning they are never happy with their bodies, regardless of how much muscle they have already developed. [12] A large-scale 1997 Psychology Today survey found that 43% of the men were dissatisfied with their overall appearance and more than half wanted a better abdomen. [13] One study found that 17 percent of the men reported that they would give up three years of life to look like the ideal, and 11 percent would even sacrifice five years! [14]

Although both gay and heterosexual men want bodies that are thinner and more muscular, body dissatisfaction is greater with gay men. [15] Compared to straight men, gay men are more critical of their appearance and they feel shame when they believe themselves to be physically lacking. [16]

Adolescent boys are not immune to desiring a better body either, and underweight boys experience the most appearance-related pressure and teasing from their peers. [17] Recent studies have shown that about a third of teenage boys want bigger muscles and another third want to become thinner. [18] Interestingly, gay and bisexual boys reported less interest in having bigger muscles compared to their heterosexual counterparts. [19]

The pursuit of increased muscularity and fitness is a healthy well-intentioned quest for most teens and adults. The problem occurs for those who suffer emotionally or abuse themselves physically because of it. The number of boys who have used anabolic steroids is estimated at between 1 percent and 12 percent. Furthermore, between 0.2 percent and 9 percent of teenage girls have used steroids as well. [20] Severe enough, body dissatisfaction can also lead to the development of eating disorders (see Queer Quest, July, 2006).

Steroid use is common in competitive bodybuilding. Interestingly, too much steroid use in men results in an overproduction of testosterone, and the excess actually converts into estrogen. In turn, this results in excessive pectoral development that looks feminized. The result is known in bodybuilding circles as “bitch tits.” [21] The female bodybuilding scene is about having the right combination of steroids to produce muscular development, but their success is also contingent on having the right combination of “breasts, makeup, and hairstyle.” [22] Steroid use in women results in breast shrinkage, and breast implants are taken for granted in female bodybuilders. [23]

Serious bodybuilding can lead to numerous health problems. The high protein diets combined with dehydration can lead to kidney problems. The actual lifting of heavy weights is associated with increased injury to muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Steroid use in both sexes is associated with acne, heart problems, hypertension, tumours, irritability, aggressiveness, and poor judgment. [24]

If developing a better physique is part of your New Year’s resolution, plan a strategy for yourself that is healthy and well-intentioned. The ideal male body is unattainable for most men [25] and it will simply ruin your mental and physical well-being if you push yourself too hard. If you are new to body sculpting, consider paying for at least a consultation with a personal trainer (most gyms have them) to get instruction on how to begin at an appropriate pace for you. I will forever want the ripped abs, but I also am not going to deny a glass of beer with a friend to achieve it. “All things in moderation” still strikes me as a good motto to follow in life.

Dr. Alderson is an associate professor of counselling psychology at the University of Calgary who specializes in gay and lesbian studies. He also maintains a private practice. He can be contacted by confidential email at alderson@ucalgary.ca, or by confidential voice mail at 605-5234.

References:

1) Padva, G. (2002). Heavenly monsters: The politics of the male body in the naked issue of Attitude magazine. International Journal of Sexuality & Gender Studies, 7(4), 281 292 [quote from p. 289].

2) Gray, J. J., & Ginsberg, R. L. (2007). Muscle dissatisfaction: An overview of psychological and cultural research. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 15-39). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

3) Tiggemann, M., Martins, Y., & Kirkbride, A. (2007). Oh to be lean and muscular: Body image ideals in gay and heterosexual men. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 8(1), 15 24.

4) Martins, Y., Tiggemann, M., & Kirkbride, A. (2007). Those speedos become them: The role of self objectification in gay and heterosexual men’s body image. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(5), 634 647.

5) Gray & Ginsberg (2007).

6) Gruber, A. J. (2007). A more muscular female body ideal. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 217-234). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

7) Ibid.

8) Tiggemann, Martins, & Kirkbride (2007). [quote from p. 15].

9) Gray & Ginsberg (2007).

10) Luciano, L. (2007). Muscularity and masculinity in the United States: A historical overview. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 41-65). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

11) Martins, Tiggemann, & Kirkbride (2007).

12) Gray & Ginsberg (2007).

13) Martins, Tiggemann, & Kirkbride (2007).

14) Gray & Ginsberg (2007).

15) Tiggemann, Martins, & Kirkbride (2007).

16) Martins, Tiggemann, & Kirkbride (2007).

17) Ricciardelli, L. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2007). Pursuit of muscularity among adolescents. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 199 216). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

18) Ibid.

19) Ibid.

20) Ibid.

21) Schippert, C. (2007). Can muscles be queer? Reconsidering the transgressive hyper built body. Journal of Gender Studies, 16(2), 155 171.

22) Ibid. [quote from p. 161].

23) Ibid.

24) Gruber (2007).

25) Martins, Tiggemann, & Kirkbride (2007).