Brief Summary of the Methodology
Since the study seeks to identify the “The effect of the media in its portrayals of masculinity resulting in men putting focus into the size and shape of their body”, an exploratory research approach suits this study. Typically, this is because the approach allows the discovery of new ideas, which would be difficult while using other approaches. Besides, this approach is highly flexible and versatile, which is necessary while conducting a study like this one. With the incorporation of the qualitative research method, participants can express their attitudes or feelings fully without fearing to reveal any relevant information. Notably, this is possible with the help of in-depth interviews that seek the respondents’ full perception on a specific aspect. The study adopted a qualitative research to uncover the respondents’ opinions by answering the various questions in the interviews. A total of eight participants were considered for the study. Notably, these fall in the age bracket of 18 and 40 years old.
The specific range of participants was chosen because most individuals who visit gyms for bodybuilding fall under this age bracket. Those ones above could seek gym services to improve their cardiovascular systems and other health issues. All the participants are males who are gym-goers and these were randomly selected. The researcher approached each one of them individually while at the gym, and asked for their participation in this study. It is worth noting that the researcher assured the participants of their anonymity and confidentiality of their responses if they accepted to be part of the study. The researcher chose eight participants for easy management of the study and to reduce delays or prolonged completion of the study. Furthermore, the study also analyzed content in different newspaper articles. Having approved the required number of participants willing to engage in the study, and possessing with consent forms, the researcher began the process of extracting information from these respondents.
Typically, this was done through one-on-one interviews between the researcher and the identified respondent. The respondent was allowed to read through the questions before he accepted or rejected to answer. Rahman (2016, 104) reveals that data collected from interviews is detailed. Besides, interviewing is flexible to both the interviewer and the respondent. In this context, the interviewer can guide the interviewee, especially on questions that may not be clear to the respondent. Furthermore, with the help of the respondent’s non-verbal behavior, it is easier for the interviewer to judge whether or not the interviewee is telling the truth. Moreover, one of the two parties can decide where to conduct the research from. In this study, the researcher preferred interviewing the participants while at the gym premises. For purposes of identifying the right people to participate in the study, face-to face interviewing plays a significant role in accurate screening.
Interviewing also keeps the two parties focused, which leads to the attainment of genuine and meaningful answers from the respondent. However, it is equally worth to mention the disadvantages of interviews in research. Usually, interviewing is costly as it requires a pool of experts to conduct the interviews. Moreover, the ability of these interviewers determine the quality of data extracted from the respondents. Interviewers with poor skills will generate unreliable information that will lead to spurious deductions. Furthermore, this technique of collecting data limits the sample size for consideration. In this study, the researcher considered only eight participants, which many not be adequate to represent the entire population. Any inferences made based on such a small population may not depict the reality. It is also tiresome to conduct interviews, especially when capturing data, which is often done manually.
Discussion
Introduction
In this section, results from the study are discussed in three major categories. The results are presented in three major themes in this chapter. Notably, theme one explores how participants perceive or understand the aspect of body image. In the second theme, it discusses the impact of social media on people’s engagement in bodybuilding. It further explores participants’ interaction with different social media platforms. Typically, this focuses on examining whether or not social media influenced the participants to involve in the practice of building bodies in the context of hegemonic masculinity. Following this is the participants’ involvement in the practice of body building. It focuses on why these individuals decide to build their bodies, and how their built image persuades others to begin the practice of building their bodies.
Description of the Gym
The process of interviewing the participants was conducted at the gym because the premise has sufficient space and a conducive environment that could allow the participants to respond effectively without interruption. For purposes of visualizing the premises used for interviewing, figure 4 depicts a visual representation of the gym. The premise did not only help the participants connect their narratives but also offered a realistic environment about the topic under study. The gym is consists of four unmarked zones, including an area for free weights, cardio, an area for resistance machines, and another for 50-strechning. The proximities of these zones are wide enough to allow free flow of gym activities without compromising the gym-goers’ exercises. The gym has one wall on which mirrors are placed three meters high from the floor. The mirrors in the free weight section have ample spaces to allow individuals have a clear view of what goes on in the premise. Moreover, on the other side of the wall is a studio that offers fitness classes to whoever needs them, as showed in the figure below.
Fig. 4: Gym layout.
Body Image Perception
The purpose of this theme was to explore the perception of participants on the concept of body image resulting from their engagement in body building. Generally, it was observed that most participants considered increase in their body size as the major result they expect from visiting gyms. In this context, their appearance was the driving force that persuaded them to begin the practice of body building. It is worth noting that several other reasons were associated with the participants’ decision to build their bodies. Out of the eight participants, five wanted to build more muscular physiques, two wished to become leaner, and the other individual sought an increment in his strength. In some of their responses to why they started visiting gyms, it was discovered that these participants had almost similar reasons. In this context, luca, one of the participants states, “I joined because I felt very weak…and I felt very scrawny, like very, very small for my height as well, so I thought that I should bulk up a little bit” (Fudge 2018, 51). In the same line of reasoning, Kris says, “my main focus was on the aesthetic side of it, I wanted to develop a better shape of my body….yeah, it was for bettering my shape.” Admittedly, these similar responses suggest that most gym-goers in the age bracket of 18-40 seek gym services to reduce body fats to develop lean muscular bodies that define an ideal muscular western man.
Fudge (2018, 52) defines body image as the mental or subjective perception on the appearance of an individual’s body. Moreover, there exists a positive relationship between satisfaction of one’s body size and body weight increment. In this regard, Billy noted that the more someone gains weight, the more muscular he becomes, which creates the impression of perceived contentment. Besides, he also wished to gain an extra weight as this would make him feel happier. In his words, he says “supposing I had like 60 kg, I would feel very happy when I gain more 15kgs to weigh 75kgs. Gaining that extra 15kgs would make admire myself more” (Billy). Just like Billy, the other seven participants also admitted being bothered by their body weights. Out of the total, six used weight scales at the gym or in their homes to regularly check their weights. Weight reflections that did not indicate weight gain caused the particular participant to feel dissatisfied with his body. Typically, this was because they could not visualize a tangible link between their daily inputs and the perceived output of visiting gyms regularly. Notably, this aligns with the existing literature that identifies the weight of an individual as an essential determinant of his perception on his body images.
In instances where a person is not comfortable with his body weight, there are higher chances that he will feel dissatisfied with his body image, which may cause depression. In this context, Ryland notes, “personally, although it is kind of challenging and costly to gain some weight, it is equally annoying to walk on streets with a very light body, especially if you were heavier previously. Typically, such a situation exposes the need to rush to the gym without a second thought” (Ryland). Lincoln agreed with Ryland indirectly by saying “maintaining my ideal body weight is one of the immense pressures I experience daily…if I miss working out even just for a day, it feels like I have betrayed myself somehow” (Lincoln).
The gym’s mirrors do not only create an illusionary bigger surrounding in the premise but also plays a significant role in fine-tuning the perceptions of the participants on their body images. The mirrors also help new gym-goers to exercise the different techniques correctly. Unfortunately, these mirrors sometimes distract lifters in one way or another. Usually, irrespective of the lifter’s size, shape or level of fitness, he may be compelled to compare his image with others’ when he looks in the mirror. Upon asking the participants if they liked seeing their images in the mirror, most of them admitted that they disliked seeing themselves in the mirror. Typically, this is because the mirror image diverged a lot from the ideal body image in their minds. The two images did not always match, which incited feelings of dissatisfaction. For this reason, most lifters avoided looking in the mirror for fear of being disappointed with their images. In this context, Adam says, “I disliked seeing myself in the mirror…may be until I gained some muscle…mirrors can discourage, especially if you are not committed to practicing the techniques” (Adam). Billy says, “Looking in the mirror would persuade me to yearn for a bigger arm or a bigger chest, yet it is impossible at that time. Thus, for purposes of avoiding distractions and discouragements, I do not look into the mirror” (Billy). Fudge (2018, 54) notes that the use of mirrors in gyms causes and increases hyper-self-consciousness which reduces the confidence of the gym-goers. Besides, these individuals develop feelings of embarrassment, especially when they see the mirror reflection of their body image not aligning with their ideal perceived images. However, some participants appreciated the presence of the mirrors, as these guided them in perfecting certain techniques. For instance, Ryland stated that “I always focus on perfecting the techniques, which is simplified when I look in the mirror because I can notice whether or not am doing the right thing” (Ryland).
The Media and Its Influence on the Practice of Bodybuilding
The media is a collection of different platforms that can disseminate information to various end points. Notably, these may include print media, consisting of magazines, newspapers, books, journals, reports, periodicals, or any other reading material that is a product of printing. Social networks are the other type of media, and these include Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Pinterest, to mention a few. It is worth noting that these social networks are effective and useful only in the presence of the internet. As of 2019, Fudge (2018, 69) estimates that over 3 billion people used at least of these social networks. Furthermore, there is also mass media consisting of radios and Televisions. All these types of media play a significant role in influencing the practice of bodybuilding. Despite the existence of several media platforms, the participants admitted being possessed with the use of Instagram. With the help of this app, these individuals received and sought different information about body building from various sources.
It is worth realizing that unlike other media platforms, Instagram has exceptional features that allow the users to edit and filter photos and videos before organizing them by either location or tagging. Instagram account users can publically share any content amongst themselves and with their followers. Besides, people can use locations and tags to browse their friends’ accounts in search for any trending event. Besides users of Instagram can like and follow others, giving them an advanced experience of using social networks. The eight participants of this study owned this app, which they regarded as a must-have technological innovation. The unique advantages that this app has over the other media platforms account for its existence among all the participants. For this reason, the study focused mainly on the use of Instagram and how it influences bodybuilding practices.
According to Fudge (2018, 70), Instagram provides over three million postings when one searches for the term “fitness”. With this huge amount of information, images and information about body builders are just a click away from one’s screen or monitor. Typically, this is because there is no restriction on uploading materials on Instagram, which increases the pool of information on different subjects. Participants admit acquiring some information about bodybuilding from the app. Besides, appearance of the people in the photos posted on Instagram persuaded the participants to seek gym services. Typically, this was because these participants perceived a positive relationship between the physique of the people in the photos and possession of sufficient knowledge about bodybuilding. Neville (2012, 57) supports this by revealing that an individual’s image holds and exposes the value of the image owner to the public.
Besides the use of Instagram to access information about bodybuilding, the participants used other platforms like magazines and websites to be briefed about the practice of building bodies. In addition, others sought guidance from personal trainers and liters in different gyms. The information from these sources also played a significant role in persuading these participants to involve in bodybuilding. Participants were conscious about the type of person from which to acquire information on body building. Notably, the person’s physical appearance determined whether or not the participant would approach him for the information. In this context, Fudge (2018, 70) notes that the physical image of an individual remains a significant factor for people to consider before choosing from whom to acquire the information. Brock, one of the participants said “the physical appearance of the person I train speaks for the results I need from that person. If he owns a physique I admire, there is no reason of asking many questions” (Brock). Walker adds that “it is easier to listen to someone who looks good….the way you want to look, compared to a street individual who looks like he has never stepped into a gym…definitely I will not listen to him” (Walker).
Although a quota of the respondents revealed that some of the people they approached might be using performance-enhancing drugs, these did not stop admiring the individuals, neither did they condemn them for using the substances. In this regard, Mark says, “you see, today everyone is doing whatever he thinks can make him become what he wants to be…in sports, for example, it is difficult to avoid the use of steroids because athletes want to look good at all costs” (Mark). Whereas the online platform was a good source of information for the respondents, some were skeptical about specific online information that looked like the writer was self-marketing. Contrary to other participants, Adam based his choice for a bodybuilding advisor on the monetary value and marketing of the content. In his perception, Adam thinks that if a website invests a lot of money in building and marketing the information on a website, then it means the owner of this site knows what he is marketing, otherwise, he would not waste resources on something he does not know.
The majority of the participants sought similar or related information from websites. Notably, movement techniques and workouts were the most searched aspects of body building. Whereas some respondents viewed YouTube videos about movement techniques, others visited bodybuilding.com website for its exercise plans. Having used the website in his early stage when he was an athlete, Luca reveals why he stopped using this site; “I realized that the information on bodybuilding.com was invalid…because these guys have sponsorships which push them to do what pleases those who are paying them (Luca). On the other hand, the use of masculine images on product placement depicted an impression that the product was valid. Moreover, a significant number of evidences are available to agree with this by indicating that social media celebrities have a crucial impact on people’s consumption choices. In most cases, the public is persuaded to consume a product because it has an image of a celebrity. Lincoln admits he would consume the product because others use them, and they have bodies he admires. On the other hand, Adam says, “am not sure is it is the right thing to use the products, however, why not, I mean if everyone is buying them, then surely it cannot be dangerous” (Adam).
For participants who joined universities for different degree courses, they followed several celebrities, including bodybuilders, physiotherapists, and sports exercise experts. All these were a perfect source of information that widened their knowledge on bodybuilding. Participants who did not join universities used social media platforms to follow their celebrities deemed to possess that ideal muscular body image they desired to have. When asked if they would consume products with a skinny celebrity, Billy said “maybe I would not…, it does not mean that skinny celebrities are dull and not worth to seek advice from, but, to me, it’s a big factor to consider (Billy). In the same line of reasoning, Brock said, “well, its hard to trust skinny chefs because you need to associate with someone who is big, know how they became big, and then extract some advice from them” (Brock). When asked if they would post their own photos without shirts, all the participants replied with a “No”. None of them was confident to post his photo to show his physique. In this context, Kris noted, “[laughs]…me? Posting my shirtless photos, nah…am tinny for that now. Probably in the future after witnessing a huge change of my physique” (Kris). Mark added, “currently, I don’t make a good photo…I mean am not photogenic, so I wouldn’t post my photos now” (Mark).
Participants’ Involvement in the Practice of Body Building
In this section, it discusses the various bodybuilding practices embraced by the participants and examines how their involvement influences others surrounding the premises. It was discovered that participants are the ones who sought services of the gym by approaching the trainer and other old lifters. Their engagement in other sports like soccer and rugby that needed physical individuals persuaded these participants to engage in bodybuilding. Although these sought gym services at a mature stage, each one had an early encounter with gymnasium at their schools. Kris, in particular said, “my first exposure to a gym was at 9 when we used to weightlift twice a week in my first school” (Kris). Since then, Kris has never forgotten the relevance of weightlifting. It is for the same reason that Luca sought gym services after testing the importance of strength training to play for his team in high school. “Having entered the school gym at about 14 years, I trained with the school football team throughout my high-school life” (Luca).
On the contrary, Walker admired his elder brother who was visiting the gym regularly for bodybuilding. Here, Walker says “my brother was possessed with gym activities…I must say he was a regular at this gym where he used to go. Having seen his body look healthier than before he started building his body, I kind of wished for the same. It was not long before I saw myself following him to the gym” (Walker). Lincoln and Mark admitted they needed to build their bodies for motivation to become productive. Surprisingly, none of the participants wished to use resistant machines and cardio. Typically, this is because these were considered for beginners, the weak or those with injuries. Brock stated that, “using the resistant machines makes me look like a woman, people in here will immediately tag me, the weak one” (Brock). However, Ryland later recognized the relevance of cardio and resistant machines, especially during his injury rehabilitation program. “I no longer undermine the people who use those machines….even when others will come to you and criticize your inability to use the other equipment, these machines help a lot, especially to an individual with injuries” (Ryland).
Conclusion
In summary, a general picture suggests that the majority of the participants were influenced by different media platforms to begin bodybuilding activities. Besides, family members also had an influence on some of the participants’ involvement in bodybuilding. However, it worth noting that all these respondents had an early exposure to gyms, which also contributes to their desire to continue gym practices. To this end, it is sufficient to conclude that the media plays a significant role in influencing bodybuilding practices.
Reference List
Fudge, D., 2018. Perceptions Of Body Image And Its Influence On Cultural Practices Within A Gym Setting Among A Young Male Population. Masters. Western Sydney University. Available at: <https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws%3A51551/datastream/PDF/view>[Accessed 8 August 2020].
Neville, R., 2012. A Phenomenology Of Fitness From Consumption To Virtuous Production. Phd. Dublin Institute of Technology. Available at: <https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=tfschcafdoc>[Accessed 8 August 2020].
Rahman, M., 2016. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Methods in Language “Testing and Assessment” Research: A Literature Review. Journal of Education and Learning, [online] 6(1), p.102. Available at: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1120221.pdf> [Accessed 8 August 2020].