Muscles and Masculinity

Our bodies are reshaped at puberty, mostly due to steroid hormones called androgens and estrogens. Testosterone is an androgen; estradiol is an estrogen. Androgens and estrogens are very similar chemically—testosterone can be turned into estradiol in a single chemical step, which is how some of testosterone’s effects occur. We all have both androgens and estrogens, but males typically have much more androgens and females more estrogens.

Androgens increase sex drive and the growth of genitals, sebaceous glands (which cause acne and body odor), body hair, and muscles in all of us, except those with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome. Estrogens widen hips and increase fat deposition in breasts and buttocks.

Most of us, consciously or unconsciously, try to exaggerate either our femininity or our masculinity for social reasons. A primary way to look and feel more masculine is to build up muscles, especially in the upper body. Many of us use moderate weightlifting to produce a moderate increase in muscle mass. Fewer engage in extreme powerlifting or bodybuilding. A look at competitive bodybuilders’ experiences, however, may illuminate a “hypermasculine” ideal that is widely shared in Western societies.

Public displays of strength became common in the late 19th century. A movement called “muscular Christianity” began in Britain, arguing that building muscle was key to being both masculine and Christian. Teddy Roosevelt, for example, was an advocate of muscular Christianity.

Bodybuilding competitions began in the 1960s and accelerated in the 1970s, often encouraging unhealthy practices to achieve extreme muscularity. Serious competitors devote almost all their time to working out. They carefully regulate their diets to build muscle while reducing body fat almost to zero. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other bodybuilders compared the feeling of extreme weightlifting to an orgasm.

As competition nears, competitors reduce food and fluid intake and become dehydrated, which accentuates their muscle definition. Immediately after a competition, competitors often gorge on large quantities of food. Since at least the 1950s, many competitors have also added androgens (anabolic steroids) to their bodies orally or through injections to build muscles beyond what exercise alone can achieve, despite numerous side effects which can include infertility.

In many ways, male bodybuilders exemplify what we think of as extreme masculinity. Yet some bodybuilding practices are more traditionally feminine. Although competitive powerlifting is about what you can do, bodybuilding is instead about how you look. Bodybuilders wear skimpy clothing and pose for judges who rate them subjectively, as in a beauty contest. Competitors tan their skin, remove their body hair, and often wear makeup. Schwarzenegger took ballet lessons to improve his posing.

Taking steroids, which has been common since the 1950s, causes shrinkage of the testicles and reduces sperm production because the testes reduce their own androgen secretion in response to the increased androgens in the blood, a form of negative feedback control. Excess androgens are converted to estrogens, which can cause breast growth, so some male competitors have breast reduction surgery to avoid the appearance of femininity.

If bodybuilding reshapes bodies toward a masculine ideal, where does this leave female competitive bodybuilders? They have always endured friction between increasing their muscularity and remaining sufficiently feminine to win competitions. Intense training reduces body fat dramatically, having the largest effects on the largest stores of body fat in the breasts and buttocks, which shrink considerably.

Female bodybuilding competitions began in the late 1970s, with the first Ms. Olympia competition (initially called Miss Olympia) in 1980. For most competitions, female competitors wear a swimsuit and high heels, style their hair, and apply nail polish and makeup to maintain the appearance of femininity. The most muscular women, such as Bev Francis, rarely won or were featured on bodybuilding magazine covers or as sponsors of bodybuilding products, which are key to making a living as a bodybuilder.

Taking androgens (as many competitors do), while increasing muscle mass, also increases facial/body hair and acne, deepens the voice, enlarges the clitoris, and can cause menstrual irregularities and male-pattern baldness. The conflict between the twin goals of muscularity and femininity came to a head in 1992 in the preeminent competitions, Ms. Olympia and Ms. International. The governing body, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, insisted that female competitors maintain their “female form.”

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A new event of “Ms. Fitness” was created in 1994. One of the criteria for judges was a “less muscular and aesthetically pleasing physique.” In 2005, competitors were instructed to reduce muscularity by 20 percent. The original bodybuilding event was completely eliminated from female competition by 2015, though it is still the preeminent male event.

Currently, within female competitions, the Physique category emphasizes muscularity the most and Figure and Bikini the least. About 80 percent of female bodybuilding competitors have breast implants, apparently to maintain a sufficiently feminine appearance. Breast implants are allowed for competition, though other implants and performance-enhancing drugs are nominally prohibited.

Cultural ideals of feminine and masculine bodies are ubiquitous in advertisements and visual entertainment. Some of us may be influenced by images of unusually muscular men to build our own muscles excessively and so craft a hypermasculine appearance—what we might look like if we had exceptionally high androgen levels and no estrogens. Others of us may limit our weightlifting or obtain cosmetic surgery to maintain a feminine appearance.

Moderate exercise is healthful for all of us, but unhealthy practices are typically required to achieve extreme muscularity, which has become a major feature of a hypermasculine ideal. A simple equation of muscularity and masculinity likely has negative effects on us both physically and psychologically. It would be more helpful to recognize that we each need to have a balance of androgens and estrogens, and perhaps also a balance of masculinity and femininity.