Par Deus & Friends - Whose Body Is This?

[webmaster]

Men today are facing a quandary regarding masculine identity. Society has put together an image of what you shoud and should not look like. How does one let society decide how they should look?

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par34.htm

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ok first, thin is first, i liked the article alot, it was well written and well researched toa degree to prove your point, im am just replying stright from the hip so if i sound alittle ticked off exuse me.

ok, deus...im not trying to dis in any way, but it sounds to me like you are one of thse guys that could not achieve his goals so you looked to see how many other peple failed. so the f@@@ what people are getting bigger, dreams are getting bigger, you make it sound like its a crime to dream, even if it is just a dream its their dream. You have dreams nobody is telling you that its almost impossible to reach it. as a matter of fact if the survey done on 11 yr old to 17 yr old boys wants an added 27 pds of muscle, that is very attainable over a 5 to 8 yr period, simply because they will gain alot of man weight, the trick is to not let it be a majority of fat. there are some people out here like me trying to help people be better, live longer, and enjoy life a little better, we don't need anyone coming along with "oh you cant do that because its impossible" attitudes fu##### everything up. For one, the only thing that pushes men to live the day to its fullest is to have goals in life. Some attainable, others are not, but its the ones that are not attainable that keep you pushing, you are not first to want to gain a **** load of muscle, its been done, tyme and tyme again, its the ones that want it the most that get it. i tell you what just because you don;t want to look like brad pit, or maybe even ronnie coleman ( or should i say put inthe work to look like them) dont try to bring everyone else down to your level.
that brings me to another point.. if you sit there and tell me that women would prefer a fat 300 pd guy over a muscular 200 pd guy, you really are in ****ing denial, wake up, smell what the **** you are shoveling, and next tyme leave your ****ing exuses to your self, this is a bodybuildig forum
thnx
oh and if you would like to reply my email is talentproductions@earthlink.net

[BigKazWSM747]

interesting article Tkarrade and well-written. I enjoyed it.

[stephanos]

Well written and informative. It is definitely an interesting trend, and women are no longer the only ones to feel the pressure.

It is a curious phenomenon. Women think they have to be thinner than men really want, men think they have to be bigger than women really want. We only have ourselves to blame, and as long as we allow our mentalities to be decided by the media, it will only get worse.

Informative and enjoyable article, and I will definitely check out some reading material referenced in it.

Thanks!

I have heard these weak arguments before and, just as with this article, they are well formulated and delivered with published arguments from the likes of the authors cited here and other feminists.
I DISAGREE WITH THEM SINCERELY!

There is nothing wrong with boys wanting to be big and strong and muscular-looking and, conversely, not wanting to be weak, queer, feminine, or fat and unathletic. What kind of woman wants to marry a grown sissy? Certainly, Woody Allen is no Bruce Willis is no Oscar de la Hoya is no Lenny Kravitz is no Luciano Pavoratti is no Bill Clinton but each of these men are manly with glaring alpha-male traits not to be easily disregarded by jealous and bitter feminists.

I love the physique culture and natural bodybuilding and see no harm in a boy (or man) working to build as stunning a physique as he "dares"; one that solicits compliments from others and makes him proud. Other competitors (or folks in the gym) compliment my muscles all the time and I don't feel un-manly telling a guy he has nice definition or whatever...and, most times, all the skinny/fat fellow needs to hear is an encouraging word like that to stay the course of becoming the man he wants to be or look like.

And IF anything destructive is to be attributed to society's growing male objectification it is society's supposedly growing acceptance of homosexuality. Not surprisingly, gay men find men and thus it follows, well-built men ideal. Funny, Tkarrade or Pope or others from the pro-feminine male camp do not make that connection. What a shame it would be for them to point the finger at anyone for "just being himself", right?

In "The American Affair with Openness" I argue against such rubbish and political correctness. I say, Down with emasculating men and up with inculcating manly virtues (otherwise known as "myths" by male bashers).
Scholar Spartan
ScholarSpartan@hotmail.com

[str8flexed]

Originally posted by Unregistered
I have heard these weak arguments before and, just as with this article, they are well formulated and delivered with published arguments from the likes of the authors cited here and other feminists.
I DISAGREE WITH THEM SINCERELY!

There is nothing wrong with boys wanting to be big and strong and muscular-looking and, conversely, not wanting to be weak, queer, feminine, or fat and unathletic. Scholar Spartan
ScholarSpartan@hotmail.com

no there is nothing wrong with that as a goal. The problem is when it becomes an obsession.

Exactally what the one member said. If you people get mad, you have to realize the point of the article is that if trying to attain that physique is ruining ones life, isolating them, and fostering an unhealthy compatative attitude, its DEFINETLY a sickness.
Exaime how much the media has affected you..

[MariaKang]

I think we need to make the distinction between 'sex' and 'gender.' Since the dawn of time, it is evident in the Roman and Greek periods that there have been categories of men who were very narcisstic in nature...those who were respected for their strength...or their heroism. The evidence are in the statues, the paintings and the fables...this 'adonis complex' is not new - and addressing it is fine, but making it a 'disorder' is the same way we make other minor psychological 'imbalances' a 'disorder'. We are all designed a little differently - and experiencing life through moods is a natural path.

The need to create a sense of belonging, a sense of identification and a sense of importance is nothing new.

While women in advanced countries are now becoming more (but not quite) independent from men economically - I don't think the root of the problem is women...I think the root of such deep issues is insecurity and lack of self identification. Whether you are trying to 'find' your 'self' through excessive strength, money, land, power...it is all the same.

I feel the article was well written. I think the subject is as taboo as talking about anything that isn't 'positive' or puts a damper in your beliefs that you shouldn't like who you are. As members of this forum, I am sure we can all identify at some level the need to 'find' ourselves through society's expectations, gender roles and the psychological impact of the inner voice we here everytime we look in the mirror.