In recent years, the sports halls have encountered record success. In France, there are more than 6 million registered and 5,300 rooms. Of this craze were born several archetypes such as “Fitgirls”women in healthy lifestyle who give sports advice online, or their male during “Gym Bros” –LUSTREly “Muscu brothers” -, passionate men who encourage themselves in their practice, in particular through social networks.
To achieve their goals, they put everything in place: strict sports program, taking food supplements, food control, etc. To the point of sometimes turning into obsession. Under the varnish “Healthy”more and more men are thus faced with eating disorders (TCA), largely invisible in this community.
Muscus muscus
“Nothing to fuck your depression. Nothing to give up on your apologies. Nothing to fuck your broken little heart. Nothing to fuck your mental pressure. Nothing to fuck your laziness. Stop being shit “proclaimed the influencer Fitness Tibo Inshape a year ago in a video that has become viral. Like him, thousands of content creators post personal development videos to other men every day. The objective? Push them to strengthen themselves mentally and to assert their virility by regaining control of their bodies, in particular through nutrition and the practice of bodybuilding.
To understand the link between muscle and masculine, it is advisable to return to the beginnings of modern sport, in the XIXe century. “At the time, we associated the image and social meaning of the muscle with the distinction between men and women and the hierarchy between men, Exhibits Guillaume Vallet, professor of economics at the University of Grenoble Alpes and author of the book Muscle factory. Sport was defined as the universe of forts. With the muscle, we showed that we were more powerful than the others. This thought is found today in certain sporting circles where the reference to the muscle is a way of being between “Bros” To distinguish themselves from women and measure themselves between men. “
If the communities of “Gym Bros” And online content in theory allow a mutual aid between sportsmen and a democratization of sport and nutrition, it happens that their principle is diverted in favor of a masculinist ideology, carrying an entire imagination around the “alpha male”. There are many content creators who have taken the practice of bodybuilding to impose a conservative and essentializing vision of masculinity.
Among them, we find David Siegl (120,000 subscribers all networks combined), youtubeur deploring the “Victim mentality” of modern man and praising the merits of the carnist regime, Alex Hitchens (980,000 subscribers), for whom “Feminists pretend to love overweight men”or Liver King (9,800,000 subscribers), which advocates a return to ancestral masculinity by consumption of raw meat. Using a shocking speech, all of them are angry to adopt an extreme way of life to become a “real” man. By crossing an aesthetic and demanding practice such as bodybuilding, this movement can be a fertile soil for certain drifts, in particular the birth of eating disorders.
Doped to control
Added to this is another problem. By relying on a patriarchal vision of masculinity, the current leaves little room for vulnerability – testifies to the moralizing discourse of Tibo Inshape – and, in this, listening to the body and its needs. In this context, TCA can take a long time to be detected. Their occurrence is also later in men: around 20.5 years against 17.5 years in women.
For Haidar Hussain, sportsman formerly subject to the TCA which holds the Instagram account @pacification_almentament where it helps people with the same disorders, this delay in care can be explained by semantics surrounding the circles of bodybuilding and fitness. “When you are a man and face food difficulties, we tell ourselves that we are in the challenge … using a parallel vocabulary does not help to make the problem aware. We talk about “Cheatmeals” To qualify meals without restrictions of up to 10,000 calories, or “dry” to talk about very strict diet periods, without realizing that in another frame, this fully corresponds to food disorders “he explains.
By plunging into this restrictive universe, we are also faced with a most exhilarating phenomenon: the change in the other’s gaze on the body.
Today, we know that when the food model of muscle dryer is poorly conducted, it can lead to the same health problems as anorexia (dehydration, impoverishment of intestinal flora, weakening of bone capital, etc.), or even anorexia itself.
By plunging into this restrictive universe, we are also faced with a most exhilarating phenomenon: the change in the other’s gaze on the body. By offering a validation that rewards the work done, discipline and body control, it pushes to continue further in the transformation. “This phenomenon is amplified by social networks, Adds Guillaume Vallet. There is infinite access to information for anyone who wants to transform his body. These permanent possibilities constantly create new desires, therefore frustration: it is she who can lead to a form of obsession. ”
This lifestyle is also encouraged by the relationship that humans have with control. The researcher explains: “It is a enjoyable process. What makes him so addictive, in my opinion, is the “work” side, which gives the feeling of existing. This is linked to capitalism, which is based on the sacralization of work as a source of identity, of self -transformation … At a time when professional work loses its meaning, we find this feeling in the work of the muscle. “
Get out of the regime’s culture
So, should men stop pushing melting to have a good relationship with their bodies? In fact, it’s more complicated than that. “It is above all a question of setting limits and building a plural identity”reassures us Guillaume Vallet. Because it is structuring, the framework of bodily development can be positive, even saving. It gives a rhythm, improves sleep, strengthens the joints, etc. The only condition is that it is not unique: it is with isolation that obsession comes. So, to stay healthy, it is as important to see your friends, family, read or play video games as go to the gym and ingest a large amount of protein.
However, it is good to remember that TCAs exist and that they are not inevitable. “I often hear the pessimistic speech of” when you have TCAs, you have to learn to live with it “, concludes Haidar Hussain. I don’t agree! It is not an identity, it is an experience. We can be inside for some time, then get out of it. ”
To prevent disorders, it is essential to step back and question our relationship with fitness content consumed on the Internet, on sports in itself and on food. Trying to be honest with yourself makes no less virile, but can however avoid physical and mental health problems. If in doubt, do not hesitate to discuss it with your loved ones or a healthcare professional.
