The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession [Hardcover]

Harrison G. Pope Jr. (Author), Katharine A. Phillips (Author), Roberto Olivardia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2000

Combining case studies with scientific research, this book reveals a threat that is as serious as the beauty myth for women or anorexia nervosa for girls. Growing numbers of young men are taking the quest for perfect muscles, skin and hair too far, crossing the line from normal interest to abnormal obsession. The symptoms of this body obsession, excessive workouts, steroid abuse, eating disorders, and body and muscle dysmorphic disorder lead to problems with sex and intimacy, relationships and work. This book shows what men really think and feel about their bodies, so no-one need suffer alone.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

You see them everywhere. With their bulging arms and deltoids and pecs, not to mention their rippling abdominal muscles, they appear on magazine covers, in underwear ads, in action movies. And American men have noticed them; after a generation of being bombarded by images of idealized male physiques, men are growing increasingly insecure about their own appearance.

The authors have studied everything from bodybuilders to Playgirl centerfolds and concluded that the images presented to men and women have gotten steadily more muscular. As a result of this bombardment of pumped-up male imagery, American men have been developing eating disorders, working out to the point of obsession, and taking steroids. None of this is for health or sports performance but rather to develop a physique that matches those seen on the cover of Muscle & Fitness or in the next squat rack over.

Another consequence is a condition the authors call "muscle dysmorphia," also known as "reverse anorexia" or just "bigorexia." In this, men who are large and muscular look in the mirror and see someone who is puny and frail. So they pump iron and eat and take steroids and swell to ever-larger proportions, while being too ashamed of their bodies to take off their sweatshirts at the beach.

The authors postulate that all this has to do with the rising power of women in society. To back this up, they produce timelines showing how women's-rights milestones correlate with increasing images of men as sex objects.

What's the solution? The authors list some Web sites to help men suffering from the Adonis Complex to find therapists familiar with the problem. Sometimes antidepressants can work. But for most people, the answer is to understand that the images of perfect male physiques they see are unattainable, and that no one really expects them to look like that anyway. --Lou Schuler

From Publishers Weekly

The impossible ideal of the Body Beautiful induces feelings of inadequacy not only among women and girls, claim the authors of this book, but, increasingly, among men and boys. Drawing upon their own clinical work, new studies and cultural observations, the authors--Pope and Olivardia teach at Harvard medical school, and Phillips at Brown University--make a compelling argument that growing numbers of males are exhibiting compulsive behaviors, chronic depressions and eating disorders, and are engaging in the use of dangerous steroids and "supplements." Although they ignore the nearly century-old popularity of Charles Atlas-like muscle-building "courses," the authors use a broad range of examples--including comparisons of the physiques of bodybuilders in the 1960s and the 1990s, a look at the evolution of the G.I. Joe doll's bulk and an examination of the nearly unobtainable body ideal that prevails among Chippendale dancers and Calvin Klein models--to make the convincing case that many men resort to dire actions to assuage their feelings of inadequacy. They bolster their claim with numerous interviews with men and a survey of the existing medical and psychological literature, and include tests by which readers can ascertain if they have an eating disorder or suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. While some readers might take exception to the authors' assertion about the prevalence of the "Adonis complex," their book offers a provocative look at what has been, until now, a largely unexplored subject. Agent, Todd Schuster. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1ST edition (April 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684869101
• ISBN-13: 978-0684869100
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Revelation, September 7, 2000

By 

downeast (Boothbay, ME) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession (Hardcover)

The authors of this book have been doing a lot of research over the years. The chapter notes contain at least 50 research papers that they have published in various scientific journals. Some of their findings are pretty stunning. For example, in a study of college men, they found that the average man would like to have a body with about 30 pounds more muscle than he actually has, and that he believes that women actually WANT him to look that muscular! In fact, when the authors studied actual women, they found that women preferred a male body that looks like an ordinary college student with no extra muscle. The authors also quote a street corner survey in which women were asked to rate the attractiveness of big bodybuilders on a scale where 0 was most attractive and 5 was the most repulsive. More than 90% of the women rated the bodybuilders as a 5.

As a woman, I'm not surprised to learn this, but I think it's a revelation to see some of these studies about how men feel about their bodies. It makes it more understandable to me why men do dumb things like taking steroids. I'd particularly recommend this book to other women.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" for any bodybuilder, May 22, 2000

By 

TheSpiffDog - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession (Hardcover)

Anybody who works out should definitly take the time to read this book. It basically makes a claim that most people are not happy with their physique. Skinny people want to gain weight, fat people want to lose weight, and muscleheads want to gain even more muscle. Nobody is content.

To illustrate their point, the authors provide several quizzes, using both questions and illustrations as guides. The book also mentions when the Adonis complex begins, what triggers it, and how society's ideals dictate who should/should not be happy with their physique.

I encourage fellow bodybuilders everywhere to read this book. It is describing most of us, and it is important to know that we are not alone.

My only criticism has to do with the topic of sterioids. The authors seem to think that it is impossible to attain a certain level of physique without the use of steroids, when this is not the case. The level that they claim is unattainable without the use of steroids is far, far too low. Some people do take the shortcut, but lots of us use hard work and determination, something that the authors don't believe in.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Assault on the Perfect Image, May 11, 2000

By 

Brett D. Cullum (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession (Hardcover)

This book is concerned with how men see themselves, and how media plays into making us more insecure and unhappy with our bodies. It's an interesting dilemma, if only because it is something society has done to women for centuries. It is a light read, and yes there are quizes...but be warned, unless you know your body fat percentage and are very adept with a calculator you may never figure out your results. And I did figure out my results, and little was given to explain exactly what it all means. But it is a fascinating topic! And the authors keep the tone breezey and fun. They even talk about how GI JOE has gotten more buff over the years (sort of like how Barbie has dimensions that are unreal). There is a section that also tells you how to recognize if a man is on steroids. Great stuff to combat those images thrust at us daily by muscle magazines and fashion editors! You could file this under MEN'S STUDIES, but it's an important topic that needs to be brought to light. It seems as if we are approaching equality for men and women, but rather than stopping making women objects...we have just extended the same discourtesy to men.