In the media or on social networks, they are bombarded with images of muscular and powerful bodies. And instructions to make the necessary effort to be able to display the same plastic. However, some maintain a different relationship with sports, their bodies and masculinity.
Bulging chests and abs, concrete backs and powerful arms, all drenched in profuse sweat, displayed and flexed in triumph. During the nineteen days of the Paris Olympics, muscles were everywhere, feeding the wildest imaginations and the wildest admiration. It is enough, perhaps, to put pressure on those who do not want to lift cast iron several times a week. They seem to be less and less numerous, as bodybuilding has established itself in the sports habits of men, especially the youngest, in recent years. 43% of 16-25 year olds do it and even consider it their favorite sport, according to the UCPA-Crédoc barometer published in 2022. Muscle-related hashtags on social media generate millions of posts, and we can no longer count the influencers who give their advice on how to successfully “dry” or “gain mass” or recommend high-protein products. Even outside of specialized accounts, it’s hard to scroll through yours to feed Instagram or TikTok without being bombarded with toned muscles and Greek god poses?
The awakening of the rules of chivalry
And yet some seem to endure. “I do exercises at home without pressure. It can take 30 or 5 minutes, and sometimes it just consists of stretching the neck after a day in front of the computer,” assures Joachim Müller. The 36-year-old project manager in Colombe, a suburb of Paris, is a good example of men who, without hating sports, refuse to show their purpose at all costs. Long a penniless athlete, she picked up these habits ten years ago after tearing two cruciate ligaments, realizing she needed to take care of her body. He recently added 1h30 of sports per week thanks to his employer’s program. Enough to create a dynamic silhouette, but no more. “I have always been lucky. without sports I lost weight, along with it I gained mass. So I’m pretty spoiled by today’s beauty standards.”
This is the core of muscle warfare. “The desire for a strong and muscular body dates back to ancient times,” recalls anthropologist Abdu Gnaba, founder of the Sociolab agency. Male standards of beauty varied, but the emphasis on muscularity became particularly pronounced in the late 20th century as body culture grew. bodybuilding in the 1970s and 1980s.” And today? 33% of French people don’t like their figure and 64% prepare their figure summer body regularly, according to the 2023 Ifop study conducted for Voyageavecnous.fr. For the vast majority of them, these complexes arise from the fear of displeasing a potential partner, as well as from comparison with other men.
Master yourself, excel yourself and show it
The numbers are clear. physical instructions bother men half as much as women. Despite everything, the pressure is increasing. And it is not easy to resist it. “To say that I am completely free of it or that I never look in the mirror would be a complete lie,” continues Joachim Müller. I took up sports for my health, of course, but also because I suddenly knew what temptation was. I felt that I was falling behind and I wanted to catch up, so to speak. In addition, my girlfriend does not hesitate to tell me that she is physically fascinated. It’s a secondary engine, but an engine nonetheless.” Which goes beyond just the physical, as sports and muscles act as symbols.
“This search for the ideal body embodies a display of personal mastery, a true cornerstone of our social dimension of individuals,” explains Abdu Gnaba. In fact, it is the neoliberal values of competition, efficiency and productivity that are expressed through the body, understood as a visible sign of individual success or failure. Therefore, some people owe their belly only to their own ability to surpass themselves, while others, weak or overweight, can only blame themselves. As a subtext, a certain idea of virility, necessarily tinged with raw power.
In fact, it is the neoliberal values of competition, efficiency and productivity that are expressed through the body.
Abdu Gnaba
A reductive vision is sometimes accompanied by a form of violence. Bodybuilder influencer TiboInShape, one of the most followed in France with over ten million followers on Instagram, is one of the best examples. His account is full of videos of fat people, or himself wearing a fake silicone torso, doing sports. Forgetting the other factors responsible for obesity. Sometimes he takes it a step further. In this video posted on TikTok in 2022, we hear him exclaim:
Seemingly nothing, this simplistic and accusatory reading of sports and physical appearance is instilled in society. “I always told myself that charismatic or very funny people can overcome it, but I still believe that it’s easier to be appreciated when you go to the gym than when you’re stuck with your flaws,” Marie thinks aloud ( 1), 24 years old, employee of a telecommunications company. After playing judo, tennis and soccer as a child, this slender young man now makes do with the occasional jog. But not for long. “From the beginning of the academic year, I decided to enter the gym, because recently I gained a little weight. I’m not trying to get too muscular, I’m trying to get into a good habit and feel better about my friends or my girlfriend.”
Instructions against values
Like him, many of them seem torn between a sense that it is time to start and a refusal to fully conform to the dominant model. No doubt because it carries this famous procession of values, codes and attitudes, the cement of male complicity shared on the field, in the weight machines or in the locker rooms. “That’s what keeps me from pushing forward: my distaste for competition and peer judgment, and the very intense atmosphere where performance is celebrated. I’ve always been wary of it,” confides 36-year-old project manager Joachim Müller. She admits she needs a fun practice, tinged with play and based more on sharing than self-affirmation. “A few years ago, I used to attend a mixed boxing club run by a woman, where beginners and experienced boxers boxed together in an educational spirit. Knowing that such a place exists, I felt good.”
I don’t measure my prowess as a man or father by my muscles
Miles Garber
This is perhaps the way to go for those who dream of a sport other than deadlifting, alone, looking in the mirror. Or who, at least, are looking to crack it storytelling dominant and bring bodybuilding back to reality. Model Miles Garber is one of them. He, who does not share any photos of his shooting on Instagram, but many reflections on the life of his young father, posted a video about returning to the sport after ten years without worrying about his body. “I don’t have the discipline or, frankly, the time to get an 8-pack,” he admits in a video, “and I don’t measure my ability as a man or a father by how muscular I am.” Wanting to stay healthy for her daughter, however, she decided to join a gym near her home. “It was neither easy nor fun,” he concluded after the first session.
Healthy candidness, what looks like a perfect body and an intense sports routine, is insane simplicity on Instagram. There seemed to be no restrictions: limited free time, coach expenses, fatigue… That’s right, cheap, à la carte gyms that open very early in the morning and late at night are multiplying… and feeding the idea that no one has any excuse not to work out there. While summer is still in full swing, it’s a safe bet that the remarks and reprimands will be flowing on the beaches or by the pools. Body shaming, which bothers 56% of men, as much as women. And sets the stage for deeper psychological disorders: stress, anxiety, sleep disorders and even depressive episodes, which affect 40% of French people. What can be interpreted as a result? idleness to become synonymous with “tempt.” A far cry from the joy felt during the Olympics, simple and yet so powerful.
Source: Le Figaro
