Many biological, psychological, and sociocultural coercive forces influence the development of male body image obsession. For example, the "masculine" standard in traditional culture has been deeply embedded in society for a long time. But two recent changes have strongly altered the forms of coercive power exerted on men in the contemporary era. The first was the new discovery of chemicals that allowed men to become physically stronger than they had been in millions of years.
The origins of anabolic steroids can be traced back 100 years. Scientists envision a substance, supposedly secreted by pills, that is said to build masculinity in men and animals. In fact, at the end of the 19th century, a doctor named Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard injected himself with fresh extracts of guinea pig and dog pellets. He confirmed that this increased his strength and energy. It was later discovered that Brown-Sequa's formula did not contain active hormones, but scientists later understood his concept. In 1930, German scientists discovered sterols, the source of male hormones, and immediately began to create synthetic "analogs" testosterones. This generally refers to making the original sterol molecules into smaller ones. Chemically altered drugs. This drug group is better known as "anabolic-androgenic steroids".
It didn’t take long for the functions of these drugs to be promoted. As early as 1940, Hitler's army was said to have used steroids to enhance their military strength and make soldiers more aggressive on the battlefield. There is no documented history of this period, but we do have a rich scientific literature from that period documenting how doctors used steroids. They began using steroids to treat middle-aged male patients with depression and lack of energy or sexual impotence, believing that it could delay or weaken the "menopausal phenomenon." This drug does have significant antidepressant effects for some men. But as more effective antidepressant treatments became available, steroids fell out of favor.
It was not until the 1950s that the true potential of anabolic steroids—the ability to enhance muscle function—was discovered, and the instigator of the entire incident was the Russians. At the 1954 Vienna weightlifting competition, Russia introduced the first ever steroid athletes. Then, sports elites around the world jumped into the craze. Savvy businessmen discovered that they could make a fortune off these steroid-using athletes. steroids from bodybuildingThe circle of sports quickly spread to sports that require body and strength, such as football, track and field, etc. By 1970, steroid use was limited to bodybuilding circles. Our research found that over the past few years, bodybuilding competition competitors have become increasingly bulky because they must continue to use drugs to achieve peak physical performance. As a result, their body image of large shoulders and thick arms appeared in large numbers in magazines, TV, and movies, and it was out of control.
The general public is almost completely indifferent to this silent revolution. Athletes don't want to reveal their secrets, and the promoters behind them don't want to. They hope it would be better for the public to think that these beautiful muscles are the result of hard work, dedication, improvement of skills and ideal diet and nutrition. American boys and men see this image of super-large bodies but rarely stop to question it. In fact, in history, such strong human beings have never appeared. The most muscular male bodies in Greco-Roman statues, the masculine heroes in paintings all over the world for centuries, none can compare to the bodybuilders we see today.
Look again at the 16th-century portrait of Athoeus in Chapter 1. The great painter Titian undoubtedly hoped to depict the ultimate physical beauty of men in his paintings. However, if the beautiful men in Titian's paintings were today, they might not even be able to pass the preliminary round of the lowest level bodybuilding competition. The best explanation here is: before the era of steroids, no artist had seen the muscle size achieved by today's steroid users. Such men did not exist. It was not until the development of modern drugs that the physiological limits given by nature could be achieved. breakthrough.
At first, the image of a few gigantic bodybuilders did little psychological damage to American men. But by 1980, steroid-produced male bodies made their way to Hollywood, and young boys began to see in movies men's bodies that were taller and stronger than nature. Some viewers start going to the gym, naively thinking that as long as they work hard and work hard, they can become as strong as they are.
After 1980, the steroid secrecy and deception began to unravel. Ben Johnson lost his gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics after being caught using steroids. A year later, the Berlin Wall came down and the rampant use of steroids by East German athletes was revealed. Scientific research, including some early work in our laboratory, began to attract media attention, and research survey data began to pour in. A 1998 survey found that 6% of high school students admitted to using steroids before the age of 18. Other studies have shown similar results, purely for improving appearance and not for exercise at all.
At this time, steroid bodies began to enter the media in a big way. From underwear ads to sporting goods ads, every male model who appears in them begins to promote a male body: strong abdominal muscles, strong chest muscles, and broad shoulders. Dozens of fitness miscellaneous? entered the market, and the covers and advertisements also showed the bodybuilder's body. The well-defined muscle lines displayed by many of these toned male models are likely to be achieved only with the help of drugs. Television commercials, soap operas, fitness shows, and rock and roll videos all show similar phenomena. Millions of American boys and men have seen these images of the male body. However, what they often don't know is that many male models are secretly dependent on drugs. Over the years, many men have told us that they really don’t understand why no matter how hard they work in the gym, they can never compare to the toned men in the pictures. No wonder they have insecurities. Isn’t this all too cynical?