"The Rise of the Adonis Complex" is a
very interesting reading that points out insecurities in men that many people
do not recognize. At first I was amazed by the number of men who
are concerned about their bodies compared to women. When
thinking about it more though, these numbers make perfect sense. The
evolution of society and the changing of ideals have caused men to grow
more concerned about their bodies and appearance.
Men
including myself are aware of their bodies and if they could snap their fingers
to change something they would.
There are very few people I know both men and women, that I am
comfortable saying are not self-conscious about there bodies. Although I believe they are not
self-conscious about their bodies, they are certainly aware of it and how other
people view their body. I remember
when I first came to Conn and went to the gym. It was one of the first times I really felt pressure to look
like what I thought the society wanted me too. My mentality has changed so much since then, but it would be
a lie if I were to say I am not consciously aware of my body. I think this is a result of growing up
in a generation that constantly is reminding one of how they should look.
I like how the reading points out that many people fail to
recognize how the models on covers of magazines most likely are there because
they took drugs. The other example
they use to show the evolution of men and their body figure are toys. This is really interesting and makes it
clear to understand how people can come to think this way. Young boys are going to want to be like
their favorite super heroes or action figures, and if that means taking
unhealthy supplements to get their than some men will choose to do so. It is crazy to think that society has
caused people to take many years off their life just to look differently. When the article mentioned the rise of
male strippers and Chippendales, I immediately thought back to Chris Farley’s
Saturday Night Live skit where he acts as a Chippendale. He is dancing next to an actual
Chippendale and his body figure looks so out of place. The skit really showed what our society
has evolved to and also gave an example of someone who truly appeared to be
comfortable with his body figure. My
question is, how far is society going to be able to push the idea of how ones
body “should” look?
Ry- I like how you mentioned yourself by saying that if you could change something about your body you would. I think being an athlete and being around athletes, especially on your own team where these guys are pretty much your best friends, definitely brings out a competitive side in each person. You don't want to see your best friend be able to lift more than you or have that advantage over you, so often times I feel like men are in competition with other men in trying to have the perfect body. I think you did a good job in connecting how young boys' minds are altered because they see the way their favorite super hero is built and they idolize that. But I think it goes even further than just action heroes. The media shows actors, athletes, etc. who have these chiseled bodies and people in our society see the successes that comes along with these people and ones that do not have that want that. I think the major struggle in our society is keeping up with the perfect image that has been constructed. Nice Job!- Keith Veronesi
ReplyDeleteRy I think you brought up some great points especially about your own experiences. I found it interesting but not surprising that you did not feel as self-conscious or felt the need to lift a lot of weights until you came to Conn. I did find it interesting that men see their struggle as more of a public thing, taking place at the gym in front of others and that men are expected to work for their bodies but women are not. The fact that women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies is a personal private struggle, where the are ashamed and secretive of eating disorders, as opposed to boys who are encouraging of each other in the gym and discuss supplements and protein powders and critique each other in public. I find this contrast disturbing, because society notices girl eating disorders because they are considered shameful and are a secret. Whereas society just accepts male body disorders as normal because it is an accepted part of public life. It is disheartening.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you brought up the pressure a lot of guys feel at the gym. During the summer, I studied abroad in London and one of my friends on the trip was a linebacker for his college football team. Obviously, he felt a lot of pressure to stay fit, and even though we were in another country, he bought a gym membership and worked out every single day. However, what I found most interesting was to hear how he talked about other guys at the gym who he thought were weak and wimpy. I was surprised to hear the degrading tone he took on when talking about other guys at the gym because I wasn't use to spending a lot of time with intense male athletes. However, this is not unusual and more and more guys are feeling pressure to bulk up. Like Gracie, I think it's disturbing and disheartening that society doesn't see this kind of behavior as disordered in the same way we see a girl starving herself as a sign that something is wrong. Instead, behavior like this is passed off as just another case of "boys being boys."
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