Why is there an increase in male adolescent’s desiring muscularity

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Why is there an increase in male adolescent’s
desiring muscularity in contemporary society?
Word Count: 9,979
Student ID: 1021401
Date: May 1st
2013
In partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of
Sociology with in specialism in Gender Studies

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ContentsPage
Title Page………………………………………………………..Page1
ContentsPage…………………………………………………Page 2
Abstract…………………………………………………………..Page 3
Introduction………………………………………………….…Page 4
Reviewof The Literature……………………………….…Page 7
Methodology……………………………………………..……Page 16
Data Analysisand FindingPart 1………………………Page 26
Data Analysisand FindingPart 2………………………Page 37
Discussion………………………………………………………..Page 44
Conclusion………………………………………………….…….Page 50
Bibliography……………………………………………….…….Page 52

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Abstract
This work is concerned with the reasons why in today’s Western
society there is a significant amount of male adolescents desiring a
muscular body, as well as looking at how this particular body has
been idealised. Drawing on interviews with adolescent males and
discourse analysis data on the Men’s Health magazine this research
aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons for the
increase in male muscularity. It is also determining the discursive
constructions of the ‘ideal’ mesomorph male body. This work
argues that in an increasingly egalitarian society where women are
now visible in the public sphere gender roles and constructions are
changing. This has caused a crisis of masculinity with males now
focusing more on their appearance to regain their power in society
as well as causing more emphasis and visibility of the male body in
the massmedia with themale body being idealised and desired.

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Introduction
With sociological ideas of masculinity and the body ever
evolving in this Western contemporary world, the ideology of
muscularity and adolescent males appears to be becoming of great
intrigue in today’s society. With male body dissatisfaction and
pressure finally being recognisedin sociology and it’s absence from
research in the past, with a general assumption that women have
greater social pressures; there is now sufficient room for research
to be undertaken on males and body image (David and Cowles,
1991; Grogan and Richards, 2002). The term body image signifies
the embodied and internal image of our physical self (Thompson,
2003). Body image is also ‘an important aspect of self-
representation and self-evaluation during adolescence’ (Jones,
2001: 645). The number of male adolescents who desire a
muscular physique has dramatically risen in contemporary society,
for instance, ‘as many as 91% of late adolescent college males
reportedly desire a more muscular build (Shomaker and Furman,
2010: 2). The purpose of this ethnographic study is to use an
interpretavist approach to look deeper into the key reasons why
there has been a significant rise, as there is notably a lack of
qualitative research on this topic. A common reason discussed in
secondary research is the increased visibility of muscular and
mesomorphic men in the mass media; the media use this body
type to sell and promote products in a capitalist society. Mishkind

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et al gave examples stating ‘advertisements celebrate the young,
lean, muscular male body, and men’s fashions have undergone
significant changes in style both to accommodate and to
accentuate changes in men’s physiques towards a more muscular
and trim body’ (1986: 545). A mesomorph body has large muscles
with an athletic and strong physique. This body is presented as the
‘ideal’ in society and is normalised. Miskind et al (1986) asked their
college-age men sample what body type they preferred and an
‘overwhelming majority of males report that they would prefer to
be mesomorphic’ (Mishkind et al, 1986: 547). Other reasons that
regularly come up in literature are; peer and parental pressure,
vanity, attracting the opposite sex, crisis of masculinity,
competitivenessandlow self-esteem.
This study uses semi-structured interviews and a discourse
analysis of Men’s Health magazine to look in depth at these themes,
to gain a clearer understanding of why male adolescents
muscularity is increasing. This study will firstly, examine relevant
literature looking at males and muscularity. Secondly, the study will
discuss the methods chosen to research deeper into this topic.
Thirdly, the analysis will draw upon and compare the research data.
Fourthly, there will be a discussion, which reaps the understanding
and knowledge of the topic that this study has generated and lastly,
the conclusion will briefly summarise what this study has found

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Reviewof the Literature
Men have been muscle building for centuries, however,
there has been an increase in adolescent males doing this physical
practice and the reasons why men do have changed from practical
to social reasons (McCabe and Ricciardelli, 2001). The main reasons
that occur in relevant literature is the mass media, peer, parental
influence, health magazines and the crisis of masculinity. These
themes are frequently attached to the idea that they only affect
males with low self-esteem. For example, Cafri et al found from
their research that ’only males with lower self-esteem and higher
negative affect who also perceived more pressure from fathers,
female friends, and the media to gain muscles were more likely to
engage in body change strategies to increase muscles’ (Cafri et al,
2005: 228). These themes and perceptions have helped shape my
research questions through gaining a theoretical understanding of
whatis mostimportantto research.
Researching into muscle gaining methods alongside weight
training is the first step into understanding how adolescent males
are increasing their muscularity and to what lengths some will go
to attain the ‘ideal’ body. There is a large number of muscle gaining
strategies available for males. Cafri et al (2005) focused on what
they think are the three most ‘prevalent behaviours’, these being;
steroid use, ephedrine use and dieting. Steroid is a drug used

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mostly by bodybuilders to build muscle more effectively. This drug
has the same effect as testosterone and also builds protein in the
body, which results in an increase of muscles. Ephedrine focuses
more on fat loss without the male losing any muscle (Cafri et al,
2005). Some males also have a diet that restricts them toeat only a
small group of foods, which work to decrease fat and increase
muscle (Cafri et al, 2005). For example the purchasing of a certain
type of berry supplement, called the ‘Acai berry’, which helps with
muscle gain. From a ‘100 gram serving of the Açaí berry, you'll also
get about 10 grams of carbohydrates (8 of those being from fibre),
1.46 grams of protein, as well as about 6 grams of dietary fat’
(Bodybuilding,2009).
The main focus of this literature review is to look further
into the question ‘What influences adolescent males to gain the
muscular physique that is idealised in today's society?’ Literature
presents many theories attempting to answer this question.
Clement and Reinier found that ‘people associate muscular males
with positive stereotypes, including happiness, politeness,
helpfulness, bravery, strength, masculinity, health, self-reliance,
and intelligence’ (2001: 91). Within a consumer culture your
appearance is meant to be a reflection of ones self. If you don’t
have this idealised body there is a risk of being categorized as lazy
and a failure (Dewing and Foster, 2007). There is also the notion

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that perfection has become normalised in society, which has
created a larger culture of muscularity (Carden-Coyne, 2005). The
tripartite influence model is an example of how the media links to
social pressures: ‘the tripartite influence model […] posits that
three primary sociocultural influences (parents,peers, and the mass
media) directly impact body image dissatisfaction’ (Barlett et al,
2008: 283). These indicators cause direct behavioural
consequences, as well as having ‘an indirect link to body image
dissatisfaction via two mediated processes: internalization of
societal standards and appearance comparison’ (Barlettet al, 2008:
283). This internalization of societal standards starts at a young age
for boys: ‘men are still taught as boys that the body is something
that is designed to be a perfectly performing machine, not
something to be cared for and nurtured’ (CNN,2012).
Looking deeper into parental influences on male body
satisfaction, McCabe and Ricciardelli found in their own research
that both the mother and father have a part to play in encouraging
their son to pursue this ‘ideal’ physique. Mothers had a ‘stronger
influence on weight loss strategies, whereas fathers had a stronger
influence on strategies to increase muscles’ (McCabe and
Ricciardelli, 2001: 192). Much literature on this topic discusses
parents, peers and media together. Dijk (2009) looks at how sports
such as wrestling and football alongside male peer pressure and

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media messages can lead to males feeling dissatisfied with their
physique and wanting to create a more hegemonic masculine
identity through their bodies. Cafri, however, looks at both male
and female peer pressure, correlating to sport, arguing, ‘greater
acceptance and popularity with both same-gender and opposite-
gender peers may be achieved by attaining a more muscular body
that demonstrates physical strength and athletic success’ (Cafri et
al,2008: 228).
There has been a significant amount of literature on the
mass media orchestrating male desire to increase their muscularity
through this continuous image of the ‘ideal’ male physique. The
mass mediais;
‘A pervasive force in shaping ideals of appearance and
attractiveness […] and the heightened visibility of the male body
within popular culture together with the representational shift
towards muscularity has lead to the perception that the pressure
on men to obtain and maintain a particular body type is increasing’
(DewingandFoster,2007: 39).
Barlett et al describe the ‘ideal’ male body as being ‘a muscular
man […] that is “characterized by well-developed chest and arm
muscles, with shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist”’ (Barlett
et al, 2008: 280). Barlett also argues the media frequently uses

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unrealistically muscly male models and celebrities to sell products
making this body look attainable. Dewing and Foster (2007) found
this recent advance in male bodies beingeroticised and idealised in
the media is partially due to the growth in male grooming in
society.
Bodybuilding has been used as a channel for the
advertisement of male grooming and the representation of the
sexualised man: ‘male beauty was explored and advertised through
bodybuilding’s narcissism’ (Carden-Coyne, 2005: 146). Barlett
(2008) gives an example, stating gym equipment commercials use
muscular shirtless men to act out using the machines, persuading
the male viewers that they will get this muscular body if they buy
some equipment. There is also the question of whether some male
advertisements with men being sexualized in them are actually
targeted at women to buy products for men. Carden-Coyne talks of
a returning gaze as ‘body cultures instructed men in the exactitudes
of self-examination and mutual inspection. On one hand it affirmed
the visual appeal of the male body, on the other it encouraged a
certain paranoia concerning the returned gaze’ (Carden-Coyne,
2005: 148). This returned gaze could lead to males being more
consciousof theirbodyimage.
In contemporary society there is a developing cultural
interest and awareness of the male body, which is being reflected

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in the media. Clement and Reinier (2001) also found the media
now has regular features revealing the best ways to keep the male
body healthy and fit, which has forced some males to think and
care more about their exterior. For example, Clement and Reinier
found ‘as cultural interest in the male body has risen, so has the
premium assigned to physical attractiveness for adolescent boys
and, for that matter, the pressure on boys to invest in their
appearance’ (2001: 88). Through researching literature it is evident
that media such as men’s magazines have especially used hetero-
normative muscularity through advertisement and ‘how to’ articles
to gain a profit from males who aspire to have the ideal muscular
body. Cafri et al (2005) argues these magazines can cause anxiety
to some males if they fail to follow the advice given. Men
magazines also associate the ideal muscular body with having a
successful life: ‘bodybuilding magazines utilised the concept of the
muscular body as a vehicle for upward mobility’ (Carden-Coyne,
2005: 145).
Men’s magazines like ‘Men’s Health’ are now seen as being
extremely hegemonic. However, it is interesting that magazines
like this first originated from male homosexual magazines where
the start of the erotised image of half naked men and a male
consumer culture of this muscular image was created (Edwards,
2009). On the other hand, this was done through a homosexual

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gaze. The gaze has now become heterosexual and the images are
there to aspire men to become consumers of their masculinity.
Carden-Coyne makes the link to masculinity by looking at men
after WW1 and arguing magazines helped rebuild their masculinity:
‘magazines and literature […] influenced him to rebuild his
masculinity, to become robust, dominant and self confident
through rigorousmuscularexercise’ (Carden-Coyne,2005: 141).
Benyon argues ‘men are not born with masculinity […]
rather it is something into which they are acculturated and which is
composed of social codes of behaviour which they learn to
reproduce in culturally appropriate ways’ (Benyon, 2002: 2).
Carden-Coyne (2005) claims that culturally the power of manhood
was conveyed through the muscular size of the male body,
meaning the more muscular the man the more masculine he is
perceived. This is articulating that muscular men are perceived to
have a more hegemonic masculinity, which is the dominant and
normative idea of what male masculinityis. The ‘new man’ identity,
however, has also been created due to the new interest in male
grooming and appearance. For example, ‘interpretations of men’s
style magazines […] have tended to emerge around the theme of
the New Man’ (Edwards, 2009: 470). The media and Celebrities
such as David Beckham have swayed men away from traditional
masculinity ideals and have begun to care more about their

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physical appearance.
As well as masculinity being a reason for the growth in
male muscularity; a crisis of masculinity, according to literature can
also be a reason. Katz looks at how women now challenge
masculinity,statingthat:
‘Young men for the past several decades have been challenged by
women […] in education, the workplace, business, the professions.
But one area where men as a group continue to assume they have
a significant advantage over women as a group is in the area of
physicalsize and strength’ (Katz,1999: 17).
As an outcome of this men are putting more emphasis and time in
gaining large muscles to prove their masculinity and power in
society. Literature has also considered masculinity and social class
in relation to muscularity. For example, ‘theoretically, the corporeal
hierarchy of fitness and muscularity allowed the lower classes to
compete for status and respect based on the outward appearance
of their bodies’ (Carden-Coyne, 2005: 145). Clement and Reinier
supports this idea, arguing, ‘working class men often place greater
emphasis on muscularity and physical strength than middle and
upper-class men, a distinction that stems from the position
working-class men occupy in the economy’ (Clement and Reinier,
2001: 93).
This literature has helped me narrow down my target

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population to sample as it shows that lower class males have a
bigger desire to gain muscularity, and also that it is most prevalent
amongst adolescent males. For example, ‘The preference for a
large and muscular ideal male body develops somewhere between
the ages of 6 and 7 years, increases with age, and reaches a peak
between early adolescence and the commencement of adulthood’
(McCabe et al, 2001: 2). Researchers like McCabe et al (2001) have
also found that there is an insufficient amount of research on
males and the sociocultural influences affecting their body
satisfaction compared to research on females. The aim of this
literature review was to uncover what other research highlights
about what has caused the increase in adolescent male desires to
gain the ‘ideal’ muscular male physique. I have created my
research questions based on the information from the literature
review. These questions are aimed to understand if there is a link
between the increase in muscularity to the themes that are so
prominent in the literature reviewed such as; masculinity, mass
media, peers, parental influences and whether they only influence
adolescentmaleswith low self-esteem.

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Methodology
The epistemological stance of this dissertation is both
empirical and constructivist crediting the role of experience and
understanding in research and the idea that meaning is a human
construction. From this, I am going to use an interpretavist
approach applying qualitative methods, where data can be
observed not measured. By choosing an interpretavist approach
my research will focus on the assumptions, discourses and
explanations of the topic, along with the experience and
knowledge of my sample. The Interpretavist approach will also
provide my research with good internal validity as qualitative
methods focus on the causality of the issue, which means I can look
at the reasons why many adolescent males feel the need to
conform to the ideal muscular physique in contemporary society
(Bryman, 2008). However, qualitative methods produce weak
external validity due to the difficulty of generalising research
findings to a target population, both because of the population’s
personal and subjective nature as well as the likelihood of
smallness in size. Positivists would argue that qualitative methods
lack reliability, as the results are more likely to be influenced by the
researcher’s personal bias and unique understanding and
experiences of the small sample (Johnson and Onwuengbuzie,
2004). My research has a deductive approach: by looking at

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literature and theory on my topic I can use research methods to
see whetherthe themesandunderstandingscorrelate withmine.
I have chosen, firstly, to use semi-structured interviews as I
aim to gain a strong insight into my sample’s views and experience
of the topic. Klandermans & Staggenborg (2002) argue semi-
structured interviews ‘provide greater breadth and depth of
information, the opportunity to discover the respondents
experience and interpretation of reality, and access the peoples
ideas, thoughts, and memories in their own words rather than the
words of the researcher’ (Klandermans and staggenborg, 2002: 93).
This method is fluid in structure as well as enabling flexibility to
help me to develop on my set questions, for example, this method
‘leaves the interviewer free to rephrase them as appropriate and
add further enquires such as “Who?” “Where?” “When?” “Why”?’
(Buchan, 1997: 134). I am going to use a purposive sampling
method to gain my target population. This means I can sample
people with particular characteristics and relevance to the research
topic, which would help strengthen my comprehension of the
research question. The sample may not be representative, but as I
am not using a quantitative method this weakness is limited. I’ve
chosen particularly to use a homogeneous sample where the
sample shares similar characteristics. For example, they need to be
male, aged between 16-25, must build muscle or be associated
with males who do and be in the working class or middle class

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socio-economic bracket. By using the social networking site
FacebookIchoose and gainedaccessto my sample.
The questionsIaskedinmy interviewswere:
1. According to some literature there has been an increase in the
amount of male adolescents increasing their muscularity. In your
opinionwhatdo you thinkis the mainreason for thisincrease?
2. Do you think the mass media has an influence on male
adolescentswantingto increase their muscularity?Ifso why?
3. Would you say men who have a muscular physique are seen as
more masculineinsociety?
4. There are some theorists who have also argued that there is a
peer and parental influence on male adolescent desire to become
more muscular.Wouldyouagree? If so why?
5. Do you think it is just male adolescents with low self-esteem
that desire to increase their muscularity?
The interviews took place in the interviewee’s homes in a
relatively controlled situation away from others who could affect
their responses to the questions posed. This gave them a
comfortable environment where they could be at ease in the
interview. The data generated should be more valid, as the sample
could be more honest and confident with their answers. The fact

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that the questions aren’t specifically directed at them meant they
could also speak more confidently on the topic. I recorded the
interviews to not limit or change any of my memories of the
conversation. It will also enable a more thorough examination of
what my sample said in the transcription process. A digital phone
recording was used tolimit distraction, disruption andintimidation.
Informed consent was gained from my entire sample and they
were briefed on my research before the interviews. The sample
was also informed that they would be recorded in the interview
and assured they would be anonymously quoted in my analysis.
Lastly, they were guaranteed that the research would be
confidential and not seen by the public. Using semi-structured
interviews meant there was a concise list of questions to be
answered by my sample, which unswervingly addressed certain
themes of my research topic, whilst allowing my interviewee’s to
come up with new relevant issues and ideas. Open-ended
questions were used in the interviews creating a sense of
conversation, enabling me to build a rapport with my interviewees,
whichledtoa discussionthatmore widelyaddressedthe topic.
Having a homogeneous sample of 14 males aged between
16-25 was beneficial as they had more knowledge on the topic due
to their association, which helped enrich my findings and
knowledge. I chose a mixture of working class and middle males for

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my sample as literature suggests working class males rely more on
their body for a masculine status and middle class males are the
target audience for many mass media advertisements of
muscularity. Other advantages of this sample method were that
the people who were unsuitable for my research had already been
eliminated, leaving only the most applicable target population. This
meant the sampling process was less time consuming and was
more cost effective. This sampling method was an attempt to
achieve a more valid and precise sample. Sharma, (2008) argues ‘It
uses the best available knowledge concerning the sample subject. It
gives better control of significant variables’ (Sharma, 2008: 123).
However, there are also disadvantages to using this method of
sampling. Firstly, by selecting a sample with certain characteristics
it risked my research having researcher bias. Secondly, the
subjectivity of the homogeneous sampling makes it harder to
endorse the representativenessof mysample.
The semi-structured interview method helped to gain a
positive rapport with my sample and with that I attained the best
information I could out of my sample and also achieved what
Weber calls ‘verstehen’: where I gained good understanding of my
samples point of view of the topic. Another strength of this method
is that my sample was able to discuss their answers and views on
the topic in more detail and depth. This was due to them being
able to expand and me being able to probe the interviewees for

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more information, resulting in higher validity data. Limited set
questions lowered researcher bias on which information is not
important. However, having those set questions gave some degree
of preparation for the interview and some structure to follow if the
interviewee wasn’tbeingverytalkative.
Regarding reflexivity, being a woman meant I had a
disadvantage with my male sample when it came to understanding
and conversing with the interviewees and their data. On the other
hand, the interviewer effect of me being female was actually a
positive one as the sample were able to talk more about male
insecurities, considered a taboo subject amongst males. However,
there is the danger that I could have given out unconscious
indicators which may have lead interviewees to answer questions
in a certain way. When I transcribed it was hard to decide what is
and isn’t relevant to analyse and trying to compare the interviews
was very time consuming. This method can reduce the reliability of
my research as the interviews aren’t very standardised and my
sample is quite small. My data is also not very generalisable due to
the personal nature of semi-structuredinterviews.
I have also chosen to use a discourse analysis as my second
method to help me uncover the linguistics of texts and images to
understand and depict social interactions and discourses on the
topic of male adolescents and muscularity. It is important that I

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focus on the construction of masculinity linked to muscularity and
how adolescent males interpret this information to shape their
reality. Discourse analysis will enable me to gain ontological and
epistemological assumptions behind the topic and make me more
aware of the hidden motivations behind the language and text. For
example, ‘people seek to accomplish things when they talk or when
they write; DA [discourse analysis] is concerned with the strategies
they employ in trying to create different kinds of effect’ (Bryman,
2008: 500). Discourse analysis is also a useful method as according
to Alba-Juez, (2009) it is a multidisciplary method as it is also
‘studied by communication scientists, literary critics, philosophers,
sociologists, anthropologists, social psychologists, political
scientists,and many others’(Alba-Juez,2009: 10).
The discourse analysis will focus on the British Men’s
Health magazine. The British edition of the American Men’s Health
magazine is the best-selling monthly men's magazine in the UK
(Men’s Health Magazine, 2013). The magazine contains
advertisements and articles with advise on; fitness, weight loss,
nutrition, sex, relationships, fashion and technology. The magazine
is widely read by men in the UK and has a large amount of content
on fitness and gaining muscles, continuously presenting the ideal
mesomorph body through its advertisements, images and text.
Thus, I believe it is an excellent source for my research helping me

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to look deeper into the discourses and ideologies in today’s society
on masculinity and muscularity. This could also compliment my
interview analysis, as it is another way of looking at the ‘how’ and
‘why’ of my research question through studying a cultural text
insteadof a sample.
I analysed the cultural assumptions and implied meaning of
the language in the Men’s Health magazine by deconstructing the
text of three main fitness articles in two editions (November 2012
and February/January 2013): looking for new or sustained aspects
of social life. By avoiding taking things at face value and looking in-
depth at the texts I was able to gain a greater understanding. This
helped me discover discourses and linguistic meaning that are
mainly unacknowledged by the target audience. Dencombe argues
‘language should be recognized as something more subtle and
more creative than a straightforward transmitter of factual
information’ (1998: 289). Researchers are becoming more
accepting of the subjectivity of this method, for example, ‘the
strength of recent anthropology is its awareness that researchers
are embodied and specific, not interchangeable, and that while this
affects the research process it is inevitable. But the subjectivity of
researchers does not invalidate their results’ (Bucholtz, 2001: 14).
This bias, however, is inevitably a weakness as it’s difficult for me
to validate my findings as when looking at reflexivity it can be seen

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as just my subjective opinion. Another issue with this method is
that discourses and meanings change through time so my research
could become outdated or disregarded. Morgan argues,
‘proponents of discourse analysis believe that meaning is never
fixed and so everything is always open to interpretation and
negotiation’ (Morgan,2010: 4).
My discourse analysis on the Men’s Health magazine has
complimented my semi-structured interview data nicely as in the
interviews I asked the question: ‘do you think the mass media has
an influence on male adolescents wanting to increase their
muscularity? If so why?’ The discourse analysis has helped me
develop my understanding from the interview findings on this
question, looking in more detail at ‘how’ the media influence male
adolescents desire for muscularity. These two methods also
worked well together as they are both qualitative which mean’s my
findings will be easily comparable and together will make the data
high in validity. On the other hand, using these two particular
methods makes my research very descriptive and unreliable as it
lacksany statistical evidence andobjective facts.
When transcribing the interviews it brought me closer to the
research and helped me code the interview data into themes using
what Stenner (1993) calls ‘thematic decomposition’ which is ‘a
close reading which attempts to separate a given text into coherent

25
themes’ (Stenner, 1993: 114). I will then discuss and compare in my
discussion these themes with the ones from my discourse analysis.
It is also important to note that when transcribing I included
hesitationstohelpbringthe interviewstolife.

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Data Analysisand Findings – Part 1
The interview data has many similar themes occurring that
link back to much secondary research on this topic. Male
adolescent muscularity is a relatively new trend coinciding with a
noticeably rising amount of representations of muscular men in
Western popular culture (Dewing and Foster, 2007). Simon argued
this new trend has ‘created an increase in gyms and health clubs
and it has become much easier and accessible to get involved with
weight training and muscular practices’. David felt the main reason
for thisincrease inmuscularityis;
‘The growing market for sporting supplements e.g. Creatine and
Whey Protein. From a young age adolescents are receiving greater
exposure to these products and their potential benefits. As a result,
there is an inherent pressure to use these supplements. From
personal experience, when I was 16, a common question to friends
was "how much are you benching nowadays?" Whereas at a
younger age, yoyo's or pokemon cards were the craze, the new
craze appeared to be whether or not you went to the gym and/or
howstrong you were’.
In Shilling’s analysis of the body project in high modernity he
states that ‘we now have the knowledge and the technical ability in
the affluent west to intervene in, and substantially alter the body’

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(Shilling, 2003: 173). Shilling also argues more and more people are
seeing the body as an ‘unfinished entity’ which needs to be shaped
and completed (Shilling, 2003). This male desire to attain a
muscular body is starting earlier amongst males. Ricciardelli, an
associate professor of psychology at Deakin University states ’this
preference for a muscular male body is present across men’s
lifespan and appears to develop early, at around seven years of
age. More than half of boys at this age already desire to be more
muscular and may become preoccupied with exercise for the
purpose for building muscles (Ricciardelli, 2012). Phil thought that
male muscularity didn’t used to be such an issue in society but
arguesit has increasedin today’ssocietywithanew;
‘General trend in what people perceive to be masculine. If you look
at old action figures, they used to be pretty normal sized, even
quite skinny and now all the action figures are of extremely muscly
peopleso when kidsplay with them they wantto be like them’.
Kindes discussed this issue stating that ‘”boys” action toys have
become increasingly muscular over time, with many contemporary
figures having physiques more muscular than is humanly
attainable’ (Kindes,2006: 49).
Kindes also argues there is an association in today’s society
with male bodily attractiveness and male quality and that ‘male

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attractiveness is an indicator of some component of fitness such as
health and vigour; and that females detect and use this indicator
for choosing a mate’ (Kindes, 2006: 46). With there being very little
requirement for men in today’s society to have sizeable muscles, it
is clear adolescent males are striving for the muscular
mesomorphic ideal for mainly ornamental instead of instrumental
reasons (Morrison et al., 2003). Tom thinks attracting girls is the
mainreasonfor muscularitywiththisbeingdue to;
‘The affect of the media has on our view of what women are
attracted to and how males should look like. Therefore men will
feel under pressure to conform to the images of the muscular men
they see in themagazines,thinking thatthisis whatwomen want’.
In todays western society women ‘find male bodies that are more
muscular than average most attractive, and men recognize that
women prefer these body builds’ (Frederick et al, 2005: 82). Jamie
believes social networking plays a part in this where ‘adolescents
always hear from the opposite sex about how great person x's body
is, so people try increase their muscularity due to the perceived
increase in sexual attraction from the opposite sex’. There is also
more pressure from the opposite sex as many of my interviewees
argued that women expect male to be fitter and more muscular
then ever before in contemporary society. Carden-Coyne (2005)
would argue this is due to the ‘returning gaze’ of women watching

29
sexualised representations of men in the media. On the other
hand, there can be confusion and difference of opinion, with what
males consider to be the ideal body and what the opposite gender
think (Fredericketal,2005).
In todays society more males are self-disciplining
themselves with the goal of achieving a powerful body. Foucault
(1975) coined the term ‘docile bodies’ to describe how bodies are
disciplined, transformed and improved in society to create
individuals into powerful, productive, useful and docile bodies. This
according to Foucault (1975) is achievable through; self-
surveillance, norms in society, competition and sociality. However,
Crossley (2006) would argue Foucault’s theory of ‘docile bodies’ is
an ideal type as we are not completely self-survelling and have
‘blind spots’ where no one consistently regulates them-selves. In
my samples opinion and through literature theory and data it is
clear that muscularity gives a male, to a certain extent, a powerful
and hegemonic masculine status in society, respect and
admiration.Bensays;
‘To see a man walk into a room who is in really good shape, who
has a very muscular frame, you instantly respect him as a person
because you understand how much time, dedication and effort
goes in to his body, and the way he looks. Also if you have a

30
muscular figure, you are naturally more imposing than others
around you’.
Price et al (2011) supposes that certain biological qualities are
linked to prestige; this is done by either an individual ‘improving
one’s ability either to inflict costs on others (e.g., by increasing
one’s aggressive formidability), or to confer benefits to others (e.g.,
by increasing one’s mate value)’ (Price et al, 2011: 636). Benyon
(2002) would in this case argue that male adolescents discover that
the culturally idealised male body will give you status and power in
society, as it is visual evidence of their masculinity. Simon stated
that ‘muscular males are seen as more masculine because it makes
them less feminine and seen to be a more powerful person. Trends
even in jobs indicate that taller and muscly males find it easier to
get positions of power within jobs’. This correlates with Katz (1999)
research on how women are challenging men in todays society and
men are overcompensating by using there muscles to regain power
in society e.g. at work. Also men have to avoid being seen as
feminine as being gender inappropriate in society is not accepted
(Willer,2005).
Nagel argued there was, ‘three late nineteenth-century
‘ideals of manhood’ in the middle-class northern US: the ‘Masculine
Achiever’ (competitiveness, independence, persistence), the
‘Christian Gentleman’ (willpower, restraint, discipline), and the

31
‘Masculine Primitive’ (strength, virility, courage)’ (Nagel, 1998: 4).
These ideals are clearly still apparent in today’s society and are
ever stronger with many male adolescents competing against each
other striving to gain the best muscular physique through discipline
and strength. For example, Ben stated that ‘in the gym, men get
very competitive and compare themselves constantly to others
around them, this in turn constantly pushing them on to get bigger
and more defined’. Festinger’s (1954) social comparison theory
argues that people evaluate their own appearance and
attractiveness through comparing themselves against others.
Males strive to out do each other and are constantly evaluating
their bodies. Willer argues ‘public displays of strength directly
reflect strength and physical dominance’ (Willer, 2005: 4). Sam
aged 21 would agree arguing that ‘there is strong competition
amongst men to be the strongest and most dominant through
there muscularbodiesto gain respectfromothers’.
In answer to the question on whether parents and peers
create body image pressure, firstly, many interviewees felt peer
pressure stemmed from males giving other male friends friendly
‘banter’ about their bodies which then can psychologically affect
these malesintotakingthis banterseriously.Jamesstated;
‘With mesomorph figured people, what they may feel is friendly
banter about one of their friends bodies may be harmful mentally

32
for this particular person. And then this behaviour with others may
spur them on to do something about their shape and get to the
gym’.
There is a theme from secondary research e.g. (Dijk, 2009; Barlett
et al, 2008) that peer pressure is linked closely to sport and the
media. Where in fact, none of the sample included the aspects of
sport and media and focused only on the idea of wanting to
impress their friends and feel a sense of belonging. Rob thought
‘the influence of peers is what drives a lot of male adolescents as it
gives them an opportunity to become one of the lads and to get
moreintegrated into their social group’.
Eleven out of fourteen of my interviewee’s didn’t think
that parents had a big impact on male adolescents and their body
image. However, the few that did, felt that parents do have a
significant influence on how their children turn out as adolescents,
through socialisation, which would thus also affect their body
image and self-esteem. It was, however, unanimous that peer
influence is stronger. Another theme was the idea that if the father
was ‘fit’ and muscular then this brought pressure on the son, which
relates to McCabe and Ricciardelli’s (2001) research that found
fathers had the strongest influence on muscle building. For
example Josh stated;

33
‘With regards to parental influence, it is fairly situational. For
example, if a child has been brought up to eat extremely well, has
been encouraged to play sport and keep fit etc, if the childs' dad is
fit and muscular then perhaps the child is more likely to desire
muscularity. However, I personally believe that the greatest
influencesare a group of peersor the media’.
Researchers like Cafri et al (2005) found that males with
low self-esteem were more likely to make changes to their body
image,aspiringtothe ideal.Davidsaid;
‘I believe there could well be a correlation of self-esteem and desire
of muscularity. I am sure that adolescents with very low levels of
self-esteem are more likely to be influenced by the media and their
peers, and so would be more likely to desire muscularity. Perhaps
adolescents that have high levels of self-esteem are happier to be
different’.
The masculine overcompensation thesis proclaims that ‘men who
feel insecure about their masculinity enact extreme masculine
behaviours in an effort to achieve a masculine status in their eyes
and others’ (Willer, 2005: 2). Morrison and Halton also found that
‘men's body image evaluation is becoming progressively more
negative […] and, as a result, men's level of body image investment
is intensifying (2009: 1). However, most of my sample felt that low-
self esteem had no relation to a desire for muscularity and would

34
start to discuss how sport and health influence males. Interestingly
they left out the issues of attracting girls, peer pressure and the
mediathattheyhad discussedbeforehand.
Most of my sample, in answer to a number of my
questions, made reference to how the media was a significant
reason as to why so many male adolescents desire a mesomorph
body. Luke argues ‘the media seems to create this idea that being
muscular gives you more prominence and success and so I think
male adolescents develop a desire to have this socially constructed
image’. As a result of exposure to these media representations
Ricciardelli also presumes ‘as many as nine out of ten wish they
were more muscular’ (Ricciardelli, 2012: 1). Kindes found that
western media today fails to differentiate between realistic and
idealised images of the male body, which gives male adolescents
unrealistic images to aspire to (Kindes, 2006). Kindes also argues
that the ‘contemporary muscular male ideal featured in the media
represents a “hyper male” or “more male then male” look,
characterised by a disproportionate amount of muscularity in the
shoulders and upper arms’ (Kindes, 2006: 49). There was a general
trend in my sample responses to the media with an argument that
women still have it worse then men, for example, Rich said ‘the
media defiantly has an affect on some males due to the constant
images of half naked muscly men. However, it is less severe than

35
the corresponding effect on females, which has been going on for
generations’.
Sport was continuously used as an example of the mass
media affect, as sport is a widely viewed part of the mass media by
males. Sportsmen in the media are represented, as ultra masculine
champion'stoaspire to. Mike found;
‘With sporting events being shown on TV pretty much all day every
day, and coverage appearing all over the internet and newspapers,
male adolescents have a lot of access to watching sports featuring
muscular athletes. This brings about a ideological effect on
adolescents who wish to emulate these looks, which are deemend
to be aspirational’.
Sam had a similar view arguing that ‘sportsmen are seen as 'idols'
to many young people and so they exert a huge amount of
influence on adolescents minds. Seeing these athletes on TV in the
peek of their physical fitness is bound to have an effect’. It was a
unanimity of my sample that sportsmen in the media and their
physical performance spurs male adolescents on to get stronger,
faster and leaner. Dijk (2009) found, like the images in the
magazines, that masculine sports in the media could lead to males
beingdissatisfiedwiththeirownbodies.

36
Magazines were also commonly linked by the sample for
howthe mediaaffectsmale adolescentbodyimage.Bensays;
‘There seems to be so much, all the time on how Britain is becoming
obese, high percentages of people are overweight, more binge
eaters etc. So men then turn to fitness magazines and thefirst thing
they see is big muscular guys; so they then think; "yeah, I fancy a go
at that"’.
Frederick further argues ‘time spent reading health and fitness
magazines is correlated with higher levels of body image
dissatisfaction’ (Frederick et al, 2005: 81). Most advertisements
and articles in men’s magazines also promote gaining muscle
instead of losing weight (Kindes, 2006). Martin believed ‘more and
more male adolescents are buying into Men's Magazines such as
"Men's Health" or "Men's Fitness"’. This, according to Martin is
‘making males become obsessed with constantly looking after their
appearance and bodies, which, further leads to them feeling bad if
they don’t end up like the men on the cover of these mags’. This
relates to Cafri et al’s (2005) research on how magazines can cause
anxiety and pressure to follow the advice of these articles and have
the endresultof the imagesexposed.

37
Data Analysisand Findings – Part 2
This discourse analysis uses a cultural perspective through
deconstructing text and images looking at the semiotics and latent
connotative meaning and reason behind the text in the November
2012 and January/February 2013 editions of Men’s Health
Magazine. Magazines like Men’s Health have paved the way for
men to involve themselves in the relatively new phenomenon of
male grooming and body consciousness. Traditionally, being
concerned with your appearance was not seen as masculine.
However, Men’s health have used a new discourse of male scrutiny
of appearance. For example, this magazine gives advice on health
and fitness for men whilst reproducing hegemonic masculine
values and ideals, which draw in a wide male audience. This
discourse analysis will look at the different hegemonic discourses
used in the magazine that are aimed at persuading the male
audience to consume into the dominant ideology that if you have a
muscular physique you will be successful in life. These are the;
male sex drive, anti-feminist, celebrity, competitive and
individualistdiscourse.
The male sex drive discourse is regularly used in context
with gaining a fit, muscular body to entice very attractive women.
In the (November 2012) issue, for example, one of the main article
titles was called ‘Kelly’s Hero’: with the main text stating ‘this is the

38
body that won over every man’s favorite pin up, Kelly Brook […]
Thom Evans shares the gym-free moves and training cheats that
will help you build muscle to get the girl’ (Men’s Health, 2012: 62).
They are promoting the idea that if you gain a muscular physique
like Thom Evans then you’d be able to acquire a woman like Kelly
Brook who is famous for her feminine body and sex appeal. This is
also an example of Men’s Health re-producing hegemonic
masculine ideals by using an anti feminist stance through
stereotyping women as sex objects and trophies for the
gratifications of men. This emphasis on a heterosexual discourse,
reinforcing traditional gender ideologies will appeal to many men
in a society where women are becoming more equal and men’s
masculinity and dominance is being compromised. Rutherford
argues ‘in the post-feminist era of the 1990’s, there has been
growing dissatisfaction amongst middle class men with the idea of
sexualequality’ (Rutherford,1998: 4).
This dissatisfaction has continued and one way men feel
they can regain some power is through building muscle (Katz,
1999). Another example is an article on ‘The easy way to lose
23.5kg’ in the January/February 2013 issue. On each page of the 7-
page spread there are sexualised images of young beautiful
females wearing little clothing posing seductively, with only a small
paragraph with advice on losing weight. These women clearly have
nothing to do with the advice given but this availability of a male

39
gaze is, again, suggestively influences the readers into believing a
muscular body will lead to them successfully getting women like
the ones represented in the images. Men’s Health are also trying to
highlight the fact that this magazine has no homosexual discourse
as the many images of half naked men could suggest otherwise.
Willer (2005) argues male homophobic attitudes are a result of
pressure in society to assert strong heterosexual masculinity. The
heterosexual discourse of the magazine is a significant motivation
for the male audience toreadintoand trustthe advice.
Hegemonic masculinity is represented in the magazine as
being expected and appropriate. Edward’s argues ‘men’s style
magazines are cultural texts and, as such, any analysis of their
significance in terms of masculinity is essentially an analysis of
representation’ (Edward, 1997: 134). The normalisation of
hegemonic masculinity can put pressure on male adolescents to
have this masculine identity. In contemporary society not only do
men have to act the part they also have to look it. Connell (1995)
argues our biological bodies are articulated into social conduct,
giving men pressure to have the ideal muscular physique that is
associated with hegemonic masculinity. The Men’s Health
magazine constantly produces images of the mesomorph male
body, which is very visible on most of the pages in the magazine for
themto be activelyadmiredandconsumedbythe male readers.

40
In todays society men and women are persuaded to be
more individual and reflective of themselves and their identity: ‘we
now live in a post-traditional world where identities are
increasingly “made” rather than “ascribed”’ (Lewis, 2007: 286).
Men’s Health uses this reflexivity to promote a certain type of
masculine identity and consumer body. The magazine gives the
reader no option to choose a number of ideal bodies; it only
endorses one kind, which is the body building kind. The magazine
draws the reader in with these heterosexual idealised images and
the reader then relies on the magazine for tips and advice on how
to become like the men in the images who seem to have it all. Klein
(1993) argues men building muscle to thislevel is the extremist and
mostvisual wayto assertmasculinity.
The articles also used the celebrity discourse several times to
promote the muscular body they are selling. Men’s Health use
celebrities who are famous for their ultra masculine personas and
muscular bodies. In the (January/February 2013) article ‘High
Definition’ they interview and gain fitness tips from Jai Courtney
who is known first for his extremely masculine role in ‘Spartacus:
Blood and Sand’ (2010) where he revealed most of his bare body
throughout the series and training as a gladiator. This article
promotes an individualist discourse where being known for your
muscles and masculinity gives you prestige: ‘making your presence
felt opposite the world’s biggest movie stars isn’t easy. Here’s how

41
Jai Courtney built his scene-stealing physique’ (Men’s Health, 2013:
78). This article is also normalising competition against celebrity
males who are most famous for their bodies and selling the notion
that you can get their famous bodies if you follow the advice just
like Jai did. For example, ‘as next on the production line of athletic
Australian actors, following the big-screen success of Chris “Thor”
Hemsworth was always going to be a tall order. But with two major
films set for imminent release, Jai Courtney is hardly coming up
short’ (Men’sHealth,2013: 78).
This discourse is also used in the (November 2012) issue in
an article called ‘A-list muscle’ where it says you can be ‘Built like
Bond’. This article is also using celebrities to endorse the fitness
tips of a personal trainer. For example, ‘he is responsible for
sculpting the torsos of everyone from Chris Evans in Captain
America to Daniel Craig in the last three Bond movies […] He is
clearly a man who knows how to deliver results’ (Men’s Health,
2012: 157). Using celebrities like Daniel Craig who in James Bond
was a hero, brave, strong, stylish, rich and a ladies man,
emphasizes the idea that your body is an ‘indicator of a whole
range of lifestyle and identity choices’ (Gill, Henwood and McLean,
2005: 22). Gill, Henwood and McLean (2005) also discussed how
men in today’s society are taught to constantly monitor their
bodies and identities as well as compare themselves to others: this
linksbackto Foucault’sideaof ‘docile bodies’andself-surveillance.

42
The Men’s Health magazine is clearly creating a competitive
discourse between men over who has the biggest muscle and thus
the biggest status, which fuels them to read into the magazines
content and feel pressure to increase their muscularity. In the
(January/February 2013) article ‘harness the power of heroes’ the
magazine uses the prestigious and masculine status of male
athletes to provide a sense of sportive competitiveness and
determination to inspire the readers: ‘these four elite sportsmen
have all had a world-beating year, take training tips from their
coaches to hit your peak’ (Men’s Health: 2013: 37). In this issue,
again, the magazine represents Kelly Brook as a sex object to win,
creating competition between men. For example, on the side of
the article it compares Kelly Brook’s four ex boyfriends, rating their
strength, speed, buffness, rugby, special skill and gives you a top
tipto do witheachathlete (Men’sHealth,2013: 32).
To summarise, the magazine has partaken in the redefining
of masculinity by using a masculine health discourse to get men to
consume and desire the new idealised image of a man who is very
muscular, groomed, successful, clean, stylish, sporty and
heterosexual (Courtenay & Keeling, 2000). From this discourse
analysis it is apparent that this magazine uses numerous tactics to
pressure their male audience into trying to achieve the lifestyle and
image that the magazine promotes as the most masculine and
superior. The big question and on going media debate here then, is

43
whether the magazine is creating this pressure and ideal image in
society or whether it was already in society and the magazine is
justreflectingreality.

44
Discussion
There are many reasons for the male drive for muscularity
e.g. ‘functional purposes (e.g., increased athletic performance,
decreased risk of injury)’ however, my interviewees and discourse
analysis data mainly focused on reasons associated with
sociocultural pressures ‘(e.g., appearance, sex appeal, conformity)
that align with tenets of social comparison theory’ (Steinfeldt et al,
2011: 335). Adolescent males can compete witheach other to have
the biggest muscles and thus the highest status. Men’s Health is a
good example of how society and the media use hegemonic
discourses to normalise competition as well as encourage male
adolescents to compare themselves against others to become the
best. This mirrors my interview data suggesting that there are
competitive cultures in the gym against males who are striving to
out do each other. Grogan and Richards (2002), after holding a
focus group with boys and men aged eight, thirteen, sixteen and
young adults also identified a ‘male-appropriate discourse’
alongside a ‘machismo discourse’ associated with male adolescents
competing through muscularity to gain access to a certain group of
malesdeterminedbysize.
Peers are a substantial part of male adolescents lives and
have a strong position in creating and influencing their identity and
expectations alongside self-evaluation (Jones, 2001). The

45
interviewee’s expressed the notion of males wanting to be ‘one of
the lads’, where gaining the most idealised body will make them
accepted within certain desired peer groups, which means they will
receive less negative ‘banter’ from their peers about their body.
Jones (2001) ran a number of questionnaires and surveys within a
school focusing on 9th and 10th graders, which looked at
attractiveness. Jones found that males also get peer pressure from
the opposite sex where females evaluate male bodily
attractiveness through the males ‘build’ (Jones, 2001). Parental
pressure was discussed by my interviewee’s in context of parents
having a big influence over young males. Sira and Ballard (2011),
for example, connect the quality of the relationship between
parents with self-evaluation and self-esteem. They also found that
‘perceived maternal control contributed negatively to perceived
body satisfaction for both genders, but males' self-perception was
found to be more sensitive to the control/autonomy aspect of
maternal behavior’ (Sira and Mallard, 2011: 68). Most research
including my own suggests fathers may have the most influence
especially if theyare themselves‘fit’andmuscular.
With the media the main view from the interviews is that
an increased amount of idealised bodily images of men in the
media have caused a certain amount of pressure amongst males.
This can increase body dissatisfaction e.g. ‘research to date has

46
documented that exposure to media representations of same-sex
bodies affects viewers personal body ideals and their level of body
image satisfaction’ (Frederick, 2004: 84). Other themes arriving
from the interviews and discourse analysis in relation to the mass
media was the promotion of muscularity providing you with power
and success in life, the encouragement of self-evaluation,
normalization of hegemonic masculinity and unrealistic
mesomorphic male images, which are constantly shown. However,
the difference between the ideal and the self ‘is only problematic if
men believe that those closest to the ideal reap certain benefits not
available to those further away’ (Mishkind et al, 1986: 547).
Sportsmen are particularly idealised in the media and used to
target a male audience to represent the link of muscularity with
status and hegemonic masculinity. This is apparent through seeing
how Men’s Health use sportsmen to promote and sell muscularity
and howthe sample aspirestobe like them.
Society seems to promote an idea that male bodily
attractiveness creates success particularly in males dating lives.
Giles and Close’s research of the ‘comparison of the correlation
matrices for dating and non-dating participants indicated that, as
predicted, the association between lad magazine exposure and
drive for muscularity was significantly stronger among non-daters’
(Giles and Close, 2008: 1615). Although, this study did lack

47
statistical strength, there is evidence that males are being told by
the media what type of body females find attractive and this type
of body is a muscular one. Pope et al (2000) ‘developed a biaxial
computerized measure of body image perception, the
somatomorphic matrix, and assessed body image perception
among unselected male college students in Innsbruck, Austria;
Paris; and Boston’ (Pope et al, 2000: 1). All of the men in their
sample felt women would want a man to have ‘a body with at least
271b (12kg) more muscle than they actually had’ (Pope et al, 2000:
4). In fact, women just wanted a normal sized body, but due to
media like Men’s Health, mesomorph bodies are normalised and
exposed to be what women desire. Also, a female gaze is
increasing in the media with films like ‘Magic Mike’ (2012) where
males are sexualised for the satisfactions of women. However,
interview data suggests that it is not just the media but also social
networking with the opposite sex that brings a certain amount of
pressure to a male as females will openly discuss which guys they
are attracted to, inadvertently encouraging males to gain more
muscle to be the guys they will want. Mishkind et al, (1986) looked
at three dimensions that make up ideal male attractiveness and
found that ‘each of these three dimensions---facial attractiveness,
upper-body strength, and physical conditioning---suggests specific
ways in which men could attempt to narrow the distance between

48
their real and ideal selves’ making them feel more able in both
datingand theirsocial life (Mishkind,1986: 551).
Data from both the discourse analysis and interviews
suggests males in today’s society are also trying to regain and
assert masculinity through gaining a muscular physique that will
visually represent their masculine status. Men are losing their
masculine power in today’s society with female equality and
building muscles is ‘one of the only remaining ways men can
express and preserve traditional male characteristics may be by
literally embodying them’ (Mishkind, 1986: 555). Researchers such
as (Reynaud, 1983; Nicholas, 1975) find men use their muscles as a
way of securing their identity and increasing their power, almost
like having armour protecting them from society. Males are also
increasingly trying to assert masculinity in order to not be
associated with femininity and having muscles can protect you
from this, for example, ‘boys and men who are not muscular (e.g.,
those who are endomorphic or those who are ectomorphic) may
see themselves as more feminine’ (McCreary et al, 2005: 83). Males
seem to gain respect from other males when having a mesomorph
body as it represents their strength, dedication and masculinity.
Media like Men’s Health massively emphasise the link between
muscularity and hegemonic masculinity along with heterosexuality
throughthe use of a male gaze and dominantmasculine ideologies.

49
Many researchers have linked low self-esteem with
muscularity e.g. (Cafri et al, 2005; Willer, 2005; Morrison and
Halton, 2009). For example, Grogan and Richards male sample
‘presented a discourse where they linked happiness and self-
confidence with body image’ (2002: 229). Having a muscular body
can create power and confidence affecting their social life in a
positive way (Grogan and Richards, 2002). Pope et al (2000) also
found males misjudged the size and mass of their body and
muscles. However, only four out of ten of my interviewee’s agreed
with the researchers opinion with a majority of them contradicting
what they had already discussed by saying most men do it for
health reasons. 95% of college-age male’s that were surveyed by
Mishkind et al expressed ‘dissatisfaction with some aspect of their
bodies’ (1986: 546). Mishkind et al (1986) also found from
researching the topic that body satisfaction and self-esteem are
closely entwined with men and there are cases where males can
feel anxiety or depression over their body image. They also found
the closer males get to the ‘ideal’ male body the higher their self-
esteem is (Mishkind, 1986). Not only has self-esteem been linked
to the desire for muscularity amongst adolescent males but also
neuroticsm and perfectionism (Davis, Karvinen, & McCreary, 2005),
which links to how many males are always striving to be bigger and
betterthanothers.

50
Conclusion
Western cultural ideologies paint a picture that attractiveness is
good and right; children are socialised into this culture and from a
young age are pressured to strive for the ‘ideal’ body image to
fulfill success and happiness in life. This research aimed to gain rich
understanding and useful qualitative data on why there has been a
strong increase in males desiring a muscular body. To summarise,
this work has unearthed that male adolescents mainly desire to
attain muscles for sociocultural reasons. Through the media there
has been a heightened pressure on male adolescents in society to
have the unrealistic mesomorph body type, which has then given
society quite improbable expectations of males. This has caused
many peers, parents and the opposite sex to assume males should
have the ‘ideal’ body image and pressurize males into doing so.
Male adolescents are using their body to assert and prove their
masculinity in a society where more than ever women are
becomingequal and in some cases out performing males, causing a
crisis of masculinity. This study also contradicts much relevant
literature that suggests only males with low self-esteem have a
need and desire muscularity as the interview data suggests
otherwise. This study relates heavily to gender, masculinity, media,
social relations and pressure, which will be useful in sociological
study. It also calls for the need for larger scale qualitative research

51
on this topic, as it is evidently a significant and relative
phenomenon intoday’ssociety.

52
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