Introduction
This is a book about boysâ bodies. While this book attempts to explain the relationship between boysâ bodies and that of sport, health and physical activity it is also about boys and their lives. It seeks to explore the meaning of boys growing up and developing into adolescent males as they navigate a range of issues within contemporary Western society. Understanding masculinities will be key to this process.
Every year, over a period of eight years I had the pleasure of talking with and interviewing the same group of boys on topics that relate to sport, health and physical activity. I have been able to watch these boys grow up in front of me as they have moved from early childhood, through to boyhood and now as emerging adolescents. It has been a wonderful experience for me, as the father of a boy in the same age range and a daughter who is slightly older.
As an academic who has devoted much of his time to research in the area of masculinities and sports and masculinities and health, all of my previous research data had been collected on specific male demographic cohorts based on either, age, race, ethnicity, sporting involvement or health condition. Therefore my published research papers tended to focus on a specific issue for the men or boys in question. Alternatively, these papers focused on a specific time in their lives. However, this research is different. This research is fundamentally about understanding boys and their lives, how they have navigated and continue to navigate, and issues relating to sport and physical activity involvement, together with personal health, changing bodies and masculinities to name a few. This book is essentially about a group of boys emerging from early childhood to adolescence that places sport, physical activity and bodies at the forefront of discussion and analysis. However, it is the boysâ voices that are most important in all of this and therefore key issues raised beyond the central focus of the book will also be discussed throughout.
Background
I have been writing and researching male bodies and male body image for the past two decades. During that time, I have written in excess of 100 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and conference proceedings, with at least 50 on this topic alone. My first published paper on men and eating disorders, and specifically anorexia and bulimia nervosa, was published in 1999. I distinctly remember opening the letter of acceptance sent by the editor of the journal. My memory is acute because I opened this letter while I was at the hospital with my wife, the day after my daughter, and first child, was born. That was 20 years ago. Given that this early research and subsequent publications have developed a ânicheâ area of expertise, I have also provided over 200 media interviews on the topic, including television, radio, print and electronic media. Interestingly, the one question that I am still regularly invited to answer today is âdo men have body image problemsâ? This question is often followed up with, âcan men develop eating disordersâ?
While the public perception of men, body image concerns and eating disorders reflects that of a relatively new phenomenon for males, the reality is that it is not. There is evidence of male body image and eating disorders as far back as 1873 (Zhang, 2014). The difference, however, appears to be that women have historically bore the brunt of having to live up to societal expectations of maintaining a slim body. In my early writings, I spoke of women having to âconserveâ space in light of these societal norms while men were socially expected to âoccupyâ space (Drummond, 1996). Interestingly, it appears that up until recently, particularly with the advent of the âobesity discourseâ, the ways in which men occupied space did not appear to matter too much. Being a larger male had a form a cultural capital more so than being small and skinny (Drummond, 1996). Certainly in times of famine and poverty larger men, and women, were seen as being wealthy because it reflected their ability to afford food and, as a consequence, their social standing in the community (Ferris, 2011). However, in contemporary Western society size attained through muscularity, and in particular athletic pursuits, has become the basis for cultural capital among men where archetypal body physiques are concerned (Drummond, 2011).
Concerns around males and body image have been increasing over the past few decades. At the extreme end of the spectrum, most notably eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa, the research literature indicates that few men (5â10%) seek professional assistance for eating disorders (e.g. Drewnowski, Kurth, & Krahn, 1995; Drewnowski & Yee, 1987). Compared to women, these statistics are not significant in terms of problematic health concerns. However, these statistics do not provide a true indication of the extent to which eating disorders and body image concerns affect contemporary Western men.
Arguably, men may be under-represented with respect to statistics on eating disorders (Andersen, 1990; Pope, Phillips, & Olivardia, 2000). They may also minimise the impact of eating disorders, and body image concerns, on their lives (Jankowski, Gough, Fawkner, Halliwell, & Diedrichs, 2018). The way in which masculinity is socially constructed within contemporary Western culture may underpin such a lack of information. This is particularly so with regard to the non-disclosure of the illness (Whitaker, Gough, Fawkner, & Deighton-Smith, 2019), the non-use of health services and problems associated with a lack of self-care for some men (Griffiths, Mond, Murray, & Touyz, 2014; Mahalik, Burns, & Syzdek, 2007; Seidler, Dawes, Rice, Oliffe, & Dhillon, 2016). Moreover, the common view that illness is more often associated with women and, in particular, the notion that eating disorders are predominantly a female condition (Drummond, 1999, 2002; Griffiths et al., 2014; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992), may be factors that contribute to why so few men who suffer from eating disorders seek help (Pope et al., 2000). Therefore, fear associated with being labelled weak and/or feminine are possible reasons that account for this phenomenon (Drummond, 1999, 2002). Given that eating disorders are categorised as being mental health conditions; this type of labelling and associations with weakness are commonplace for males with a majority of mental health concerns, which is closely aligned to traditional masculine ideologies (Evans, Blye, Oliffe, & Gregory, 2011; Galdas, Cheater, & Marshall, 2005). When discussing this misconception with my undergraduate students at the university in which I teach, I often provide the example of a man being lauded and applauded in the days after breaking his arm while playing a masculinised sport such as rugby or football. He may be happy to discuss the physical problem and the manner in which it occurred on the field. He might also be comfortable with taking days off work to deal with this physical injury. Conversely, a man who has a mental health issue, and specifically an eating disorder, may have difficulty in coming to terms with his mental health issue. There is potential for this man to struggle to talk to others about his eating disorder given it is not acknowledged, nor well understood in society (Drummond, 2002). It is likely to be difficult to explain to work colleagues that he needs time off work for something that is not overtly visible, such as a broken arm.
Sport and Physical Activity: A Masculinised Approach to Masking Obsessive Behaviours
Physical activity, particularly sport, is a highly masculinised domain (Drummond, 1996; Eitzen, 2012; Messner, 1992, 2002; Robertson, 2013). Boys are taught from a young age that to be a male is to be involved in some form of sport or physical activity. Without delving too heavily into social constructionist theories that help to explain this phenomenon, some of the early scholars in masculinities and sport identified that sport is often perceived as being a rite of passage for boys into manhood (Eitzen, 2012; Messner, 1992, 2002). Those boys who do not participate in masculinised sports or physical activities are often marginalised and possibly subjected to damning accusations by their peers (Whitson, 1990). These accusations are often levelled at their worthiness of being male and questioning surrounding their sexuality (Messner & Sabo, 1994; Pronger, 1990). (Note that discussion surrounding spor...