A recent NYT article, “What is Bigorexia,” describes “Bigorexia” as “a form of muscle dysmorphia exhibited mostly by men and characterized by excessive weight lifting, a preoccupation with not feeling muscular enough and a strict adherence to eating foods that lower weight and build muscle. The condition can also lead young men to become obsessed with their appearance, checking themselves in the mirror either constantly or not at all.”
The father of a boy obsessed with growing his muscle mass was interviewed and explains he relates to his son. Growing up he would see buff men in magazines and wanted to look like them – he would come to realize those bodies were unattainable. But, unlike dad, this boy has social media and has taken his muscle building quest to TicTok — the more muscle, the more followers. “For many boys and young men, muscle worship has become practically a digital rite of passage in today’s beefcake-saturated culture.”
The article references researchers and doctors who describe this obsession with muscular bodies as having serious consequences on boys’ self-esteem – “with the never-ending scroll of six packs and boy-band faces making them feel inadequate and anxious.”
“And while there has been increased public awareness about how social media can be harmful to teenagers — spurred in part by the leak of internal research from Facebook showing that the company hid the negative effects of Instagram — much of that focus has been on girls.”
The article discusses the impact on boys social and interpersonal skills – skipping family meals, parties, etc to hit the gym. With one boy saying “your only new friends are the weights.” We must talk about body image, social media, societal pressure, self-esteem when it comes to boys with the same fervor as we do girls. We owe it to our boys.
whatsaboymom 