From: Scott Chase (osteopilus@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun 08 May 2005 - 02:53:26 GMT
I haven't read the book _The Adonis Complex_ yet,, but
from second hand sources it seems this is the bible of
the new fad in "muscle dysmorphia" research. In my
previous post I cited a study that shows some negative
impact of brief viewing of muscular male images on the
self-assessed body satisfaction of participant men
(Lorenzen, Greive, and Thomas. 2004. full cite
previous post). And it seems some blame could be cast
on the media, those evil muscle mags, Arnold movies,
Mark Wahlberg underwear ads etc.
Well childrens toys get their share of scrutiny too,
from _The Adonis Complex_ authors. Splete (2003. Keep
an eye on muscle-obsessed male patients: 'relatively
new phenomenon. Clinical Psychiatry News (31):69)
says: ""The Adonis Complex" authors note that the
action figures little boys play with are not
representative of a body that anyone can obtain
without steroids. In other words, they are about as
realistic for men as Barbie is for women...Dr.
Olivardia and his colleagues did a study of G.I. Joe
dolls. The G.I. Joe in the 1970s and 1980s would have
corresponded to a normal person, but "now he's
increadible" and unrealistic."
Not sure how central to the theses of the _Adonis
Complex_ book this little tangent into children's toys
is, but it seems that toys take some flak for societal
ills. Does a little boy playing with an overly
mesomorphic action figure have much of an influence on
what his future ideal body image will be? Do artifacts
have this kind of influence on mental content and
behavior? Sounds right up memetics alley.
Oh and let's not leave evolutionary psychology out in
the cold. Phillips and Castle (2001. Body dysmorphic
disorder in men: psychiatric treatments are usually
effective. British Medical Journal (323): 1015-6) say:
"While the cause of body dysmorphic disorder is
unknown and probably multifactorial, involving
genetic-neurobiological, evolutionary, and
psychological factors, recent social pressures for
boys and men to be large and muscular almost certainly
contribute to the development of muscle dysmorphia."
The recent social pressures would be the focus of
memetics, but the door is open to what Steven Rose
refers to as Flintstone psychology where we can try
taking it back to the EEA, like I alluded to in my
reply to Bill.
Phillips and Castle go on to discuss the effectiveness
of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in treatmnt of this
disorder.
Though tempting to speculate about evolutionary
origins of current maladaptive behaviors, caution
might be important. I recall Thom Hartmann's
speculations about the evolutionary origins of
Attention Deficit Disorders and wonder how much a
"Just So Story" that was.
But at least as a matter of proximate causation we
could think in terms of cultural factors that impact
body image, even if not deleteriously as in the cases
of anorexia and bigorexia.
And what other images influence our sense of self?
I've often pondered the automobile as an extension of
ego or self. My recent post about lowering trucks and
about stereo systems is related to self-perception.
Maybe an automobile isn't an integral part of your
body, but it at least plays into self-image or
self-perception as do clothes. My dad often joked
about how many kids listening to loud music would wind
up with hearing problems later in life. Could the
competition for the loudest automobile sound system
have had deleterious health consequences comparable to
wanting to have the biggest biceps?
Another competitive arena wrt automobiles has been
engine power. This was prevalent in the *muscle* car
era, but this tendency still exists. Look at the new
retro Mustangs that harken back to the pony cars. Kids
dig hot rods. In the quest for the fast car and in the
ways of proving one's superiority in horsepower how
many times have people placed themselves and others in
harm's way (ie- illegal street racing and such). Hot
rods are another case of strong directional selection
(approaching runaway status). Think in terms of a
street car with a big block motor, a supercharger and
nitrous (like the cars on Mad Max). When does this
tendency get out of hand? Have you seen some recent
movies like "Too Fast Too Furious" and "Gone in 60
Seconds". These movies didn't appear ex nihilo without
foundation in reality. Can we blame this on kids toys
too? Those Hot Wheels toys and plastic model sets that
require glue and paint and decals aren't as innocent
as we assume ;-)
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