Customer Reviews

The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book was eyeopening to say the least. Their are some crazy facts in this book. Anyone who is interested in health would enjoy gaining this knowledge. Excessive body image insecurity has created so much contreversy in females leading to illness, and self-abuse. This book puts the spotlight on males who are also abusing themselves with steriods and other harmful supplements to gain confidence through their body.

This book is shocking. Did you know that video games our children play with actaully allow players to drink bottles of "Steriods" to gain power. What kind of message is that for our children?

This book uncovers a problem which is very deep-seeded. It offers diagrams and quizes which teach us how to notice steriod users and also to show what is normal and acheivable by a human and what is fake and unachievable without drugs.

The Adonis Complex is a must read for mothers with teenage sons, girlfriends with muscle conscious boyfriends, wives with weight conscious husbands... (and the obvious read for any gym-going man!)

The prose is entertaining, lucid and laugh-out-loud. Reading the book is similar to finally discovering where socks disappear to in the dryer--a long wondered-about mystery, solved.

"The Adonis Complex" is an interesting book about an important, but often ignored (and rarely spoken of - hence the subtitle "The SECRET Crisis of Male Body Obsession") problem affecting a lot of men -- obsession with their body image. It seems that only a few years ago, this was a problem that only affected women, but not anymore. Pick up a newspaper or magazine, or turn on the TV these days, and it is hard to avoid images of half-naked guys with washboard abs, bulging muscles, a full head of hair, and a generally youthful appearance selling products ranging from underwear to cars, suntan lotion to soft drinks. In the view of the authors of "The Adonis Complex," this constant bombardment via media images of "buff"men is an important factor pushing many men to spend hours of their lives (and large quantities of their money) obsessing over (and attempting to enhance) their looks.

Interestingly, the authors of "The Adonis Complex" point out, male concern over body image has increased as women have made substantial gains in many traditional male arenas - work, the military, sports, etc. The authors hypothesize - plausibly, in my opinion - that men's desire to look more "masculine" has increased in response to these gains, as they ask themselves "what is there left...to distinguish myself as a man." Thus, the one area where men can still distinguish themselves vis-à-vis women is physical strength/muscles. As the authors put it, "no matter what...achievements women accomplish, they will never, ever be able to bench-press 350 pounds." Sadly, though, this is not much of a basis for a well-balanced, happy life. And, ironically, many men cited in "The Adonis Complex" lose the very things they want most - jobs, relationships - through their obsessive/compulsive behavior in attempting to make themselves more attractive. (Also ironically, most women actually seem to prefer far LESS muscular men - Leonardo DiCaprio, for instance - than the hyper-masculine ideal pursued by many. In fact, according to "The Adonis Complex," most women seem to find super-muscular men to be unattractive, even disgusting!)

The bottom line here is that working out or spending time working on one's appearance is fine if you are doing it to be healthy, stay fit, and even to look good, as long as it is done within moderations and doesn't get taken to extremes. Personally, I try to get to the gym 4-5 times a week and to eat a healthy diet, and it makes me feel good to do so. But after reading this book, I can definitely see how thin a line it is between a healthy activity and an unhealthy obsession!

The Adonis Complex is a wonderfully written book uncovering the shocking effect of the media on boys, and men. I think anyone can enjoy this book. Very well written and surprisingly funny!

This is a very good book. At one point it was hoped by many that having to match the perfect image would loosen for both sexes. This hasn't happened. Surprizingly it has gotten worse for men.

This book documents this very well. How slowly all the images of men we see in public media are amazingly muscular. Many times with help of anabolic steriods. The book is a little hazy on its documentation of that. But ask any gym rat you are on close terms with and you will get the answer of "most often yes."

This book would be very good for teenagers. IT TELLS THE TRUTH almost all the time. Ephedrine might not be the devil drug it's depicted as. But over-all it points out steroids WORK. ANd that like most powerful drugs they have dangers.

The second thing is that it points out that girls/women don't really care that much about having a super-muscle-man. This is very important as it might communicate a positive message before permanent damage is done. Maybe that girl you ache to have likes you more the way you are, and for other qualities. Becuause MUSCLE=POWER=MALENESS=SEXUAL SUPREMACY is believe by men a majority of women don't really believe it at all

Make no mistake about it. This book is no solve-all. But it points the right direction. And we live in a very body conscious society. Imagine, as a counter example prople comparing their SAT scores, or that the higher the SAT score the better the lover you could expect. YOu would be laughed out of the room. ASk what you can bench press and it's a legitimate question these days.

Have Fun, Sends Steve

I recently read the Adonis complex. I found the book to be very insightful and interesting. I was shocked to read one person wrote a negative review. Men are very aware of their appearence,and for many men this awareness is taken to an extreme level. Anabolic Steriods are a serious drug readily available to our sons, and loved ones. This book has tables which can detect if someone you know is taking them. You can't tell if your son is using marajuana but you can detect this! I found the Adonis Complex to be eye opening and very real. The book is not dull at all, and is packed with humor and real hard facts. Anybody who pretends Steriods are rarely used is in denial, and anyone who knows males who constantly think about their bodies and working out would profit from reading this book!

As a gym goer and weight lifter for the past 25 years, I've seen this phenomenon develop first hand. The public image of fitness over that period has evolved from Jack LaLanne to Jane Fonda to Arnold Schwarzenegger. Much of this transition is attributable to the emergence of the Weider Publishing conglomerate, magazines like Muscle and Fitness with images of huge, chiseled, steroid-perfected physiques staring back at us from glossy covers next to the batteries in the checkout lane. They have made this image of the male body seem more ubiquitous and within reach--if you buy the magazine and adhere to their advice.

In Adonis Complex, the authors identify and characterize this new fitness obsession with great insight. In general, men are beginning to experience body dysmorphic disorders just as women have for decades. The interesting thing is, the phenomenon called 'muscle dysmorphia' described here is opposite of what women typically experience. Women's body issues typically focus on becoming smaller (i.e. losing weight) to become more feminine.

Men who suffer from muscle dysmorphia, on the other hand, never believe they are 'big' enough, 'jacked' enough or 'ripped' enough to meet the standard of masculinity they've created in their minds. The impossible images in the magazines of drug-inflated physiques captured in a transient state of cartoon-character muscularity have become fixated in their minds. Achieving this type of physique gradually becomes an obsession. Eventually, some of these men resort to any measures--unethical, illegal, extralegal--to get into the kind of shape they deem acceptable. They live stilted lives structured around their training, rarely socializing in any meaningful way and cultivating a hard, tough-guy, me-against-the-world image to go along with their new bodies.

Many of these men suffer from some trauma in their pasts that drive them to 'perfect' their bodies. Schoolyard bullying and teasing is the initial impetus that pushes many men down this road, which is why so many sufferers are physically smaller guys. They seek to hide their fears with a mask of bravado of which hyperdeveloped muscles are the essential artifice. Over time, they come to rationalize their behavior by denouncing others who don't share their obsession as fat, lazy, or lacking in discipline. The cult of 'hard-core' trainers with which they identify only enhances their sense of rectitude and isolation from others. It also serves as a source of validation for marginal behaviors like taking and dealing controlled anabolic drugs. Any concerns about these drugs is quashed with 'proof' that they are safe and cries that those who question the use of such drugs are only trying to diminish the status of bodybuilders. Anyone who's ever taken a look inside the house of horrors that is professional bodybuilding has seen this pattern in grim detail.

Most guys who suffer from this disorder never quite make it to this extreme, but instead live with a lingering shame over the body they do have. Unwilling or unable to take drugs to elicit the really dramatic transformation, they exercise compulsively but never quite feel a real sense of accomplishment. Too often, though, these men never seek treatment for the depression they feel over their inability to live up to their own physical ideal. Such disappointment permeates every facet of their lives.

In any degree, this disorder is a serious issue that needs to be discussed and treated with the same care and attention that is given to anorexia and bulimia. The authors of Adonis Complex have taken a meaningful first step in bringing this issue into the public consciousness.