DoughertyEmma Dougherty

Emily Jones

SOC 326

October 19, 2016

Pressures of Gaining Muscle Mass and Masculinity Among College Males

In Medicalizing the Aging Male Body: Andropause and Baldness, Szymczak and Conrad

discuss men’s desire for medical agents to assist them in retaining their masculine qualities.

Within the study they describe their aspirations to maintain their “masculine” features, which are

usually considered to be “physical strength and energy, sexual vitality, and hirsutism”

(Szymczak, 89). The construction of masculinity and the health outcomes of this construction is

a pressing topic among todays males. The pressure to maintain a certain level of masculinity is

becoming increasingly defined by physical looks, including weight and specifically visible

muscle mass on ones body.

Muscle mass and appearances have become a large part of represents ones self as

“masculine”. Many men believe that there is a stigma out there that a male body is perceived as

healthier if they have a large amount of visible muscle. Men who are larger than them because

they instinctively compare their bodies when interacting with someone without even truly

thinking about it frequently intimidate men. However even though these thoughts of masculine

health and comparativeness are currently instilled in minds, the pressures to lift weights and

increase their weight and muscle mass is more prevalent at the high school level than college

level.

1

DoughertyI interviewed men in their late teens and early 20’s on their personal experiences of

pressure to gain muscle mass and why or in what ways they believe they compelled to conform

to stereotypes of masculinity. During interviews I asked these three main questions:

Do you feel as though it is perceived as “healthier” among people to have muscle

on a man’s body? Why and what makes you think that way?

How do you feel while interacting with another male who maintains a more

muscular body type than you do? Why do you think you feel that way?

Have you ever felt under pressure to lift weights or increase muscle mass from

peers such as friends, doctors, or trainers? Who and how did it make you feel?

Throughout the small data collected, conclusions were drawn that there is definitely a

stigma among young men that believes the more muscular one is, the healthier they are. For

instance, one interviewee mentioned sports advertisements,

“When you look at advertising for sports brands, Nike for example, the people they have

modeling are not typically cross country guys with lighter and leaner builds. It’s the

bulkier guys that have a big chest and large arms. So when you see athletic brands like

that it kind of makes you feel like that’s how you should look”.

However with that being said, interviewees also contradicted this statement with reasoning that

being healthy and being muscular is unrelated. Men also two out of the four men reported that

the idea of being “sculpted” has played a big part in rethinking men’s views and masculinity, but

believe it does not represent health and may in fact decrease it. For example, men reported that

taking supplements or steroids may make ones body look more muscular and masculine but it is

not healthy.

2

DoughertyIn response the question two, men responded with similar answers to each other. The

majority of men interviewed reported that instinctively every male tends to compare themselves

to one another and its just human nature.

“I do feel a bit inferior talking to someone bigger than me, its just one of those things as

men that you cant help but feel inferior when around someone whose monstrously bigger

than you are”.

These are pressures that are relevant to men today in they late teens and early 20’s, however the

small data sample also reported that they felt much more compelled and under pressure to be

muscular in order to feel masculine during their high school careers whether it just be peer

influence, or trainers and coaches in sports.

“ I haven’t felt as much pressure to lift weights or anything since high school because I’m

not in a situation where it’s necessary to succeed at what I do”

Although, it is reported that there is a greater pressure at the college level to medicalize

masculinity. Pressure to do PED’s (performance enhancing drugs) such as steroids and

supplements to “get bigger” while doing normal workouts is much more prominent.

In conclusion the pressure to retain “masculine” features such as “physical strength and

energy, sexual vitality, and hirsutism” is very relevant in younger men as well although it may

not be medicalized yet. There is still a stigma at the college age that muscle mass represents

masculinity and it is inferred that those whom have more visible muscle are superior men to

those who do not. Yet the pressures to actually conform to likes have weightlifting to gain

muscle decreases once men reach the college age. Although leaner men continue to feel inferior,

there is not as prominent push to change as there was during teens.

3

DoughertyWorks Cited

Szymczk, J. E., Conrad. P. Medicalizing the Aging Male Body: Andropause and Baldness, 89 -

111

4