Drive for muscularity and conformity to masculine norms among college football players.

Abstract

Fort Lewis CollegeWith sociocultural norms in American culture suggesting that muscularity is associated with masculinity, men often strive for a muscular physique. Because the psychological research on this drive for muscularity has focused primarily on negative outcomes, our mixed-method study intended to assess the contextual nature of this dynamic by examining muscularity within a functional context (e.g., sport). We assessed the experiences of 197 college football players who operate in this "masculinized" context (e.g., Richman & Shaffer, 2000) where muscularity is viewed functionally (i.e., maximizing athletic performance, minimizing injuries). Quantitative results indicated that athletic identity and certain traditional masculine norms (i.e., risk taking, emotional control, primacy of work) were significantly related to the drive for muscularity among college football players. Qualitative results indicated that football players primarily cited reasons for their desire to be muscular that were related to athletic functioning, while also acknowledging social benefits of external gratification (e.g., physical appearance, conformity, sex appeal) that are more prominent in the drive for muscularity literature. Results of this contextual examination were interpreted within existing theoretical frameworks of social comparison theory, masculinity socialization, and drive for muscularity.

The effect of media exposure on body satisfaction and drive for muscularity in women

“…This hypothesis was supported by the data, suggesting that the images shown triggered a body type self-analysis by the participant, causing her to evaluate herself more harshly. The effects of the images shown support the conclusions of previous studies, in which magazines serve as a primary form of media to promote unrealistic societal ideals, causing a more negative body appreciation [15].…”

“…This model also highlights that these societal ideals for body type are unrealistic, irrational and unobtainable for a typical woman [14]. Popular magazines expose women to images of body types below the average weight, while instructing readers how to become as thin and toned as the social standard [15]. According to previous research, 70% of girls who read these popular magazines use them as their primary source for their self-expectations and fitness information [16,17].…”

“…Eating patterns often change as a result of exposure to these societal standards which can lead to eating disorders and BDD. Today, the female standard can be represented by a thin, well-toned appearance [15]. Overall, media and societal standards can influence some individuals to attempt to reach unrealistic goals which can ultimately lead to unhealthy habits [12].…”

Social Physique Anxiety and Disturbed Eating Attitudes and Behaviors in Adolescents: Moderating Effects of Sport, Sport-Related Characteristics, and Gender

“…The fact that this study fails to consider concerns specifically-related to muscularity and their possible relation with DEAB thus represents an important limitation of this study, and an area that should be more thoroughly investigated by future research. Additionally, although the sport practice categorization used in the present study took into account leanness sports characterized by an emphasis on leanness/thinness, no distinction was made for sports where the main emphasis is on muscularity, weight gain, or even drastic weight control (e.g., body building, football, power lifting) [69,70]. Arguably, these sports may interact differently with the reported relations than the various sport classifications that were considered in this study.…”

Moral Atmosphere and Masculine Norms in American College Football

“…However, an emerging body of research has examined the relationship between masculinity and off-field outcomes within football, highlighted by a special section entitled Recent Research on College Football Players that recently appeared in the APA journal, Psychology of Men & Masculinity. The studies within this section addressed a variety of areas of masculinity (e.g., gender role conflict, conformity to masculine norms, drive for muscularity) that were found to be significantly related to a number of psychosocial outcomes (e.g., self-esteem, body image, life satisfaction, stigma toward help-seeking) among men who play football (Steinfeldt, Gilchrist, Halterman, Gomory, & Steinfeldt, 2011;Steinfeldt, Wong, Hagen, Hoag, & Steinfeldt, 2011;Wong et al, 2011). All of these manuscripts also provided recommendations for utilizing interventions related to masculinity socialization for psychologists who engage in clinical work with college football players.…”