Body Building Vs. Anorexia

[IamtheChitt]

Not sure if this is in the right forum, but i was just wondering... Anorexic people think they are too fat. I feel like I am never big enough. Do all of you feel like this or is it just me?

[arthurb999]

Yes... we all feel this way.

[gixxerboy1]

yea there is an actual term for it but i cant remember what its called

[partyboynyc]

body dysmorphia disorder.two good books to read are Adonis complex and Broken Mirror.i'mmentally fucked up so i know

[BigGreen]

Also, check out my recommended reading (below)...a good deal of great writing on the subject is included in all.

[Warrior]

BigGreen - Little Big Men: Bodybuilding Subculture and Gender Construction (Alan Klein) ... I was thinking about it the other day. What all does the author discuss?

[BigGreen]

Warrior, Don't hold me to this *exactly*, as it's been a bit since I've gone through it and all my copies of the books in my recommended reading list are actually in the local high school (as part of an ind study i conducted, I was responsible for initiating a gender studies course at the high school...VERY fun). Anyway, it's written in such a way that it's proven somewhat inaccessible to a high school audience, and, truthfully, some of what he has to say is mired in academic-speak at times...particularly if you're not used to anthropology (which is largely the discipline from which he "attacks" the issue).

If I recall, he spent some time out in California (Venice, I think) and really immersed himself in the culture. To make a long story short, he really just equates bodybuilding and its culture to the famous birdwatcher sociological study done in England, which, basically determined that the world's most renowned birdwatchers garner their esteem only from the existence of "lesser" birdwatchers, since the endeavor is so "localized" and compartmentalized, speaking sociologically, that outsiders are simultaneously unable to comprehend what really makes one birdwatcher that much better than the next nor would they really care if in fact they were aware of how to recognize this difference. As the study concluded, star singers or football players do not suffer from this identity isolation because their range of influence extends well beyond other football players.

I don't always agree with his conclusions in this department, and even he acknowledges that the bodybuilding subculture was quickly losing its "sub" prefix. However, what I find interesting about the study/analysis, is the manner in which he examines it on the micro/individualized level, concluding that it is often the desire to please and gain acceptance from other bodybuilders (much like the birdwatchers....no one else can appreciate their skill, so they turn to those within the circle for approval) that drives them. He draws some erroneous conclusions about steroid use (don't they all) but makes some very good ones about the general unattainability of what it is each legitimately driven bodybuilder is after.

So, in short, he tackles body dysmorphic disorder from the anthropological perspective, and extrapolates that to draw some interesting conclusions about how genders are constructed within these developments and without.

In my opinion, if you're going to look to one book off of my list, I'd look at Dutton...it is an incredible, multidisciplinary account of the male body's evolution throughout western civilization...fantastic book.

[Warrior]

Cool... thanks... sounds like the Dutton book focuses more on society as a whole while the Klein book is more bodybuilder orientated...

[painintheazz]

I have actually seen it called Bigorexia. I am not kidding.

Pain

[IamtheChitt]

Thanks Big Green, I might have to check up on some of those books. -- A lot of people tell me that I am pretty big, but when i look at other people i always think they are bigger than me. Maybe it's because i'm only 5'9'' or something to that extent.

[BigGreen]

Originally posted by painintheazz
I have actually seen it called Bigorexia. I am not kidding.

Pain

Yup, that was even a loose medical term for it in some circles....before it became more properly understood. It's also referred to as "reverse anorexia"

[SwoleDiesel662]

I always feel too fat and too small, it's great.

[Sigmund Froid]

This is a very interesting subject. I wonder how much of it can simply be explained by looking in the mirror too frequently, rather than some deep seated psychological issue. Seriously. I mean, if you are like me, you look in the mirror several times per day, checking for new muscle growth. When the growth finally appears, with or without steroids , it is hard to tell if it is really there because you are constantly checking and the growth appears gradually. This is why it is important to take photographs. Admittedly, I do not think this is the only cause. I mean, even if I didn't look in the mirror frequently, I would still feel the drive to get bigger. I think it is a sort of representation of good qualities that are manifested in an arguably good or bad way. Some view it as bad because taking steroids carries some risk - no matter what. Of course, thanks to great boards like this, we can be careful and minimize the risks down to very, very little. But, there will always be some risk. Therefore, one could say that muscle dysmorphia is a bad thing. On the other hand, it is really an expression of extreme ambition, requires commitment, and is the opposite of laziness. Personally, I strive to conquer mind and body alike.

-SF

[BIG TEXAN]

Hell, whenever someone new walks into the gym I'm asking my boy...man he looks pretty damn big, probably bigger than me. My boy just looks at me like I'm cazy. Also when a usually tight fitting shirt feels loose, it sends me running into the living room to hound my wife if it looks like I'm getting smaller. I look at myself and see a small skinny guy looking back at me, others look at me and see a pretty big guy. Sometimes it's enought to make ya sick.

[BigGreen]

Big Tex, I'm with you on the shirt thing. Most of my tees are XXL's, but i still freak when I feel them getting loose around the shoulder....i could go back to XL's and feel superior...but that just seems like cheating. Of course, I wear almost exclusively JCrew clothing, so I could be 170 lbs and still need their XXL!!

[Expendable]

I have this. At 18 I was 115lbs at 5 feet 7 inches..... it took me about 3 and a half years to add 100lbs onto my frame, at my heaviest I was 220 and I still thought I looked small. Right now I'm sitting at 205 leaner, getting ready for another cycle... I think I look puny.

I honestly don't think I will be happy with my size until I have arms bigger than 21 inches and bodyweight over 260lbs.

[Expendable]

great thread by the way.