In my previous post, I mentioned the concept of hypermasculinity and how it related to male identity and body image. I also mentioned how, though especially devestating to young African-American men, hypermasculinity can affect all races and social groups.
Please check out the link I’ve posted below to some YouTube videos for the film Bigger, Stronger, Faster. This is an excellent documentary about three brothers who become obsessed with their body image and resort to steroids and extreme fitness regimens to assert their masculinity and find their "perfect" bodies.
The documentary is engaging, fast-paced and features wonderful segments with experts in the field of psychology, pop culture, and health. My favorite segment of the film is the visit to Harvard University, where the director is schooled in the ways in which the physiques of male action figures and GI Joe dolls have mutated since the 1960’s to become abnormal and impossible to imitate--tantamount to the permutations of the female figure that occured with the rise of the supermodel and anorexic chic.
I recommended this film to a male high school senior who was writing an essay on male body dysmorphia. He absolutely loved it, saying it inspired him to not only do more research on the subject, but to reflect on why he was so concerned with bulking up.
My last post also discussed the links between racism, hypermasculinity, emasculation, and body image. In the “Intro” clip posted below, pay attention to the way physicality becomes a vehicle for stereotypes and emasculation/empowerment: the Iron Sheik is bald (significant when hair is a sign of virility), bears a mustache that would look at home on Snidely Whiplash, and possesses a body that is more pallid and less defined or than golden-skinned “good American” Hulk Hogan, who reverently crosses himself before slapping his biceps and entering the ring.
My last post also discussed the links between racism, hypermasculinity, emasculation, and body image. In the “Intro” clip posted below, pay attention to the way physicality becomes a vehicle for stereotypes and emasculation/empowerment: the Iron Sheik is bald (significant when hair is a sign of virility), bears a mustache that would look at home on Snidely Whiplash, and possesses a body that is more pallid and less defined or than golden-skinned “good American” Hulk Hogan, who reverently crosses himself before slapping his biceps and entering the ring.
I acknowledge that pro-wrestling is basically a performance: the costumes, beefs, and characters are carefully constructed as entertainment. However, I think it’s provocative to consider WHY certain details are chosen when creating these characters, knowing that these elements will get a visceral response from the collective unconscious of the target WWF demographic: young men.
Trailer:
Intro:
Bigger,Stronger,Faster website
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