Men’s Physique

There’s been some talk of bodybuilders being not that ripped before, which is evident in many earlier bodybuilding material and contests. Men’s Physique is a division sometimes considered to mark the return of old school bodybuilding. If that ever is the case, it’s the most successful one at that. Of course it’s not without its own problems where some contestants still do drugs.

A good number of bodybuilders today have started out at that division and are moving onto newer ones like ‘classic physique’. It’s strange sounding to most people but for some reason it worked especially for ‘lesser’ divisions like men’s physique and bikini. Like I said, these aren’t without their own flaws and all but they’re successful enough to pique the interests of newcomers so.

Anglophones and the rest

Even before Britain left the European Union, some Britons don’t see themselves as (continental) Europeans taking advantage of Britain’s insular isolation. Perhaps this too manifests in language. Whereas Anglophones use ‘fashion’, Francophones as well as Hispanophones, Lusophones and Italian speakers use ‘mode’ or some permutation of it. The English say ‘bodybuilding’, the French say ‘culturisme’.

There’s always the odd possibility of non-English language media having more information on what someone else wants and vice versa. I had more luck finding out about a mention of Kikuyu canine witchcraft in an online French study (though it’s based on an old book written when Kenyans and especially Kikuyu weren’t so big on dogs yet) than with Anglophone sources due to availability.

While there’s considerable Anglophone data on old maids and their dogs, there’s relatively more German language data about it online. At least from my experience but that’s saying for those who seriously want to learn more. Same thing with French language sources though I could be wrong about it but that’s still valuable.

The end of elastane days

I said that superhero media won’t be around in its current form, marked by a steroid scandal. While it’s not the end of the world when action movie actors also admit to doing steroids but keep in mind that it not only ruined their public image at some point or another, it also ruins the careers of athletes especially bodybuilders. There’s a reason why natural bodybuilding exists.

One can still do sports without doing steroids but such suspicions and drugs can end careers. One can observe what happened to East German sportswomen after both competing in sports and drugs that they get mocked and one of them got a sex change. (Intersex athletes are another matter for their suspicions are often aimed at their gender for the worse.)

Now a superhero actor could be outed for steroids and actors would similarly be tested for drugs. This isn’t new except that drug testing’s going to spread outside of sports. There were suspicions of actors taking steroids with some confirmed doing it but this is going to be so big it ruins the superhero genre.

If that’s the case, that’ll kill the genre for good.

Peak Spornosexual?

I suspect should a superhero actor be outed for steroids, one wonders if spornosexual has already peaked as a trend. Maybe not necessarily since there’ll always be people who support buff spornosexuals even after those controversies. In the same manner Gamergaters still patronise degrading depictions of women despite changes and growing awareness.

Who knows if economic changes will benefit from this self-awareness. The fight against obesity only complicates matters. If muscle-building’s arguably the last thing men can claim over women, I suspect manosphere types will troll the man who fights against steroids. They’ll call him foul names for calling out that.

Bodybuilders will feel divided, having been hurt badly by steroids scandals, with several of them being tested and having avoided steroids for good. Whatever the sentiment and response, steroids will polarise people.

They’ve spoken against…

I think a superhero actor that got caught doping would not only affect superhero media but also sports especially things like bodybuilding where doping’s that common. Taking steroids is still being done though there’s been some effort to minimise the practise in light of athletes that have been caught doing it. There’s one baseball player that got tested for it.

Female East German athletes are no different with some getting made fun of those changes done to their bodies and one of them got a sex change because of it. It could even put an end to the spornosexual trend where men work out to look good. Maybe not quite but alarming enough to suspect and deconstruct it. But that won’t stop people from achieving such a look and the like.

Despite growing suspicions, there’ll always be people who work out sometimes due to a sport or chore or to look good. Some of them will even chastise others for criticising their practises. ‘It’s none of your business’ as they say.

 

The necessary evils

When it comes to appealing to the masses, it’s the fairly polarising men’s physique and bikini divisions. It’s sometimes even looked down upon by several bodybuilding fans even though admittedly it’s also closer to the older versions of the practise. As much as I’m disgusted, it’s also reminiscent of the earliest female bodybuilders being not too jacked either.

Lisa Lyons and her ilk would fit right in today’s bikini division. Admittedly, it can be argued that while men’s physique and bikini are less demanding than other bodybuilding divisions and though appealing to the masses, they can be very demanding. To give you an idea, the girl next door’s a fit woman who does exercise and do laundry.

The bikini competitor’s somewhat more unattainable than her, leading a more demanding lifestyle. Conversely speaking, the boy next door enjoys playing football and rugby for recreation the men’s physique competitor’s more high maintenance. But one could credit the rise of fitspiration to those divisions whether if we like it or not.