Books take on issue of men and body image
From the San Diego Union Tribune

The Adonis Complex | Making Weight

It's no secret that men, aspiring Adonises that we are, traditionally have equated muscularity with masculinity.

Better to be stout than svelte, virile than vulnerable.

In the body image category, Mick Jagger, for all his wispy charisma, couldn't hold a dumbbell to the Schwarzeneggers and Stallones of the weight room.

But our quest for a bigger, better body is not without its dysfunctional pitfalls. Many self-destructive behaviors are so well hidden that a newly published book, "The Adonis Complex," ominously refers to "the secret crisis of male body obsession."

Among those health-threatening tendencies: eating disorders, steroid abuse, and muscle dysmorphia, an increasingly diagnosed condition that has been labeled reverse anorexia.

But while the anorexic looks at bones in the mirror and sees fat, the muscle dysmorphia sufferer looks at his average-to-well-developed physique and sees flaws.

The result? Anything from impaired self-esteem to full-blown depression. People break off relationships, change careers and risk physical destruction because of it, we're told.

Former anorexic room.

Dr. Harrison G. Pope Jr., a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has talked to such troubled men. He's reviewed the 15 years or so of research, his own and that of his colleagues in the Boston area.

And, with fellow authors Dr. Katharine Phillips and Roberto Olivardia, he has written "The Adonis Complex" (The Free Press).

Coincidentally, a book exploring some of the same phenomena, "Making Weight," was released last month by Gurze Books of Carlsbad. One of its authors, Dr. Thomas Holbrook, is recovering from two problems that often go hand-in-hand: compulsive exercise and an eating disorder.

Holbrook tells of being 15 years into his psychiatric practice before "I acknowledged I was anorexic and could see how this illness had affected me most of my life."

Running 15 miles a day on a diet of rice cakes fed his obsession while starving his body.

Anorexia, bulimia (bingeing and purging) and binge-eating disorder (without purging) may stem from all kinds of issues other than striving for the unattainable physique. One thing's certain, though: They're more common among males than believed.

"Therapists are seeing 50 percent more men for evaluation and treatment for eating disorders than 10 years ago, and experts believe this number may be the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Arnold Andersen, co-author of "Making Weight" and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of Iowa College of Medicine.

Men and secrecy

Some professionals make the case that today's more-muscular-than-ever ideal male, as promoted by media and movies, is partly to blame for the Adonis Complex and its attendant problems.

"What's also unique to the present generation is the increasing empowerment of women," Pope said. "Men are seeing their traditional roles eroding, and some see the body as the only surviving haven of masculinity."

What's equally disturbing to authors Pope and Andersen is that men are reluctant to seek treatment for or to discuss what society has perceived as a women's syndrome.

"The single most outstanding feature of men with these different forms of the complex is secrecy," Pope said. "In our society, `real men' aren't supposed to fuss about what they look like. It's considered inappropriate or even feminine."

The more it's exposed, though, the more men may be willing to admit they have a problem, just as women did in the 1980s when recognition of eating disorders spawned support groups and treatment programs.

Now, with books such as "The Adonis Complex" and "Making Weight," men can see that they're not alone in their anguish.

"Some men may need therapy and medications," Pope said. "For milder cases, advice. For one thing, don't buy into media images that make so many boys and men feel insecure about their looks."

We also might try to liberate ourselves from the belief that muscularity is the ultimate gauge of masculinity. There are two sides, it seems, to this health-zapping coin: fear of fat and muscle envy. Holbrook was focused on the former.

Jack Williams can be reached at (619) 293-1388; by fax at (619) 293-1896; or by e-mail at: jack.williams@uniontrib.com

Copyright Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

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