Intersting article

[muslguy]

Here is an intersting article on body-image disorders I read on gay.com. What are your thoughts?

http://www.gay.com/health/fitness/ar...ml?sernum=3213

[Corwin]

Dr. Olivardia stresses that our obsessions with our bodies are often manifestations of other problems in our lives. For example, many men work out because they are embarrassed that being openly gay associates them with an effeminate identity, and they want to cover up that part of themselves with muscles.

Oh puh-lease...

Yes, muscle dysmorphia exists and I wouldn't speculate as to whether it is a manifestation of other problems. However, I do think the above is tripe.

As long as the obsession does not so dominate your life as to make you otherwise disfunctional, there really isn't anything to worry about.

[glammaman2000]

Why can't it be something obvious,like;"More stuff to chew on"?

[Mdlftr]

....Ahem.. to answer the original question:

The most salient point that the article raised was that people need more than one item to support their self-esteem. IF your entire identity is based on only one characteristic or attribute, when that characteristic is removed or taken away, the person's self-identity crashes.

I'd say that is the most important point of all of this. If people recognize that they are competent in many areas: physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual, they tend to be able to adjust better to changing conditions. For instance, for people whose identity is bound up in their work, when that job goes away, or ends, they may be devastated. Growth comes in when they realize that they can draw on other skills or capabilities they have to find new work.

Similarly, the author of this article learned to appreciate his own physical capabilities in a different way when he was unable to lift weight as he formely did.

Remember that a LARGE part of the "muscular look" as "perfection" {HA} is MARKETING. The big, shapely muscles do not have any functional utility in everyday life unless you are a laborer using your body. In fact, 100 years ago, the preferred body shape for men was lean and languid, since it meant that you had money (or any income of some sort) and did not have to work. Manual laborers who had noticably developed muscles (Many of them immigrants) were looked down upon, since they had no money and were not "gentlemen."

Big muscles may look nice, but, like anything else (big house, big car, big sailboat) they require maintenance. (Hours in the gym, supplements, "legal and illegal" size enhancers....) That's not to say that it's not a rush to be big and strong, but that, like everything else in life, it has a cost, and a consequence.

Big muscles may help someone feel good, for many reasons:
1. Rush of endorphins from the actual exercise to build and work those muscles.
2. Positive feelings of confidence and self esteem from a feeling of accomplishment and committment ("I went to the gym today. I lifted more weight than I ever have." etc.)
3. Feedback from other people, positive and negative. It's ALL attention, and, lets' face it, we all want to be noticed!

In the end, it's all about choices, and perspective. This article discussed research that has revealed a current source of dissatisfaction from the current fad for the bodybuilding look. O.k. It's just an article, not an indictment. Take it for what it is, and move on.

Mdlftr