Defining Manhood: A Few Words about Steroids

I recently took a very informal survey of all the boys in my son's 4th grade class (for an article I'm working on). The survey was called: To Be A Man, based on a great book by the same name written by Daniel S. Kaufman.

The survey asked the boys several questions about what their idea of a man was. Questions ranged from the physical aspects to mental aspects and the answers were pretty much what I expected them to be. A majority of the boys defined "man" as someone who is male, obviously, strong, brave, and has big muscles. These are quotes from my son's survey:

• "A man has muscles and is tall...
• "...men are strong and brave..."
• "...men fight good and aren't scared, or they don't act scared."
• "Men work and make money."

The boys also said that the images they held of men were images they had seen on TV, at home, or in sports. Two boys said the image of men they remember most came from video games.

Many listed their fathers as men to whom they look up. Two boys said, when asked what their dream job as a man would be, that they wanted to be fathers. Eight of the 15 boys in the class said they wanted to be some sort of professional sports player, and the remaining five boys said they wanted to work in the math or science field.

The ethnic make-up of this class is: 5 Asian, 5 White, 3 Mixed-Race, 2 Hispanic, and 0 Black.

It's obvious that boys look up to men, especially sports players. When a boy dreams of being a pro sports star, he dreams of being muscular and strong, as well as being famous and rich. But it's the looks thing that stands out the most.

Unfortunately, boys see MUSCLES, not personality or brains, as being the most visible and obvious defining factor about being a man.

How does this affect their self-image, if at all, as they grow up? What routes and avenues will they venture down in order to have that fantasy body of what they perceive to be a man?

Steroids: Instant Muscles, Instant Problems

Remember Popeye? His drug of choice for instant muscles was canned spinach. He'd grab a can of the mighty green goodness and down it with such intensity, one might think he was addicted to the stuff. Popeye never ate fresh, raw spinach, like say, in a spinach salad. That would take too long. Such behavior can be associated with the steroid-using athlete of today. He isn't interested in the natural approach to muscle gain...that would take way too long...instead he turns to "juice", an instant (injectable) fix.

We Don't Worry So Much About Boys & Body Image...

Society tends to focus more on how girls perceive themselves. We mainly mention girls as being the ones to suffer from eating disorders. We try to help girls raise their self-esteem through all sorts of ways...but what about the boys?

In his article Body Image: A Pep Talk, Mike Hardcastle points out:

As women started to build killer careers of their own, males started to feel the pressure to attract women with "rugged good looks", "buff bods" and "chiselled features". Today, boys feel the same pressures to be physically attractive as girls do, even if this pressure manifests in different forms. The desire to have a great body so great that many young men are turning to anabolic steroids and growth hormones in an attempt to build the "better" body. And guess what -boys suffer from eating disorders too!

Muscles in the Media

Besides images of muscular men in sports, boys are exposed to unrealistic physiques even when they're playing with their action figures or watching their favorite cartoons.

Take the very popular anime cartoon called Dragonball Z features characters who have tons of muscles. They even transform into super beings with even more muscles when they get angry. Their arms become larger, their hair changes color and their veins look as though they might pop through their skin.

Here's a picture of a bodybuilder who is obviously going for that animated superhero look:

Steroid users go through a similar "transformation" experience when they are in the throes of "'roid rage". Recently, a friend of mine told me about his friend who used steroids and became very aggressive and unapproachable during a friendly game of baseball, and then turned violent towards his girlfriend at the time.

Then there's the new version of G.I. Joe & Friends.

It seems that even the makers of "real American heroes" believe in the saying, "the bigger, the better."

Since playing with dolls is considered "girl's play", toy manufactuers have resorted to making "action figures" that boys will respond to...figures packed and stacked with major muscles. When watching boys role play with these, it is obvious that they believe that muscles make a man a man...a hero.

Competition & Steroid Use: A Deadly Combination

What I came away with at the end of the day was that athletes and other men who use steroids do it to compete. Athletes want to compete with others and make more money than the next guy. Other men do it to compete with the next guy to get the girl.

American society is based on competition. Capitalism logically demands that competition is necessary in order for there to be any kind of economic growth in this country.

This competitive "spirit" bleeds over into our everyday lives and plays out on our television screens, the sliver screens, and even on our playgrounds.
For many young boys, this need to fit in and compete can lead to a lowered self-image and desire to do whatever it takes to be accepted.

A little competition never hurt anyone, this is true, but as witnessed by Joshua (who injured his arm) and his friend (who suffered from 'roid rage) who also took steroids, along with the others who have had adverse results from the drug, competition can become dangerous, addictive, and even fatal.