Throughout the gay men's community the term "Chelsea Boy" is used as a dismissive put down,
and has become synonymous with a muscled man who is stereotyped as a circuit queen. Feminism
has deconstructed the notion that beautiful, well-built women are "mindless bimbos." Similarly, it
is important for us to challenge the pervasive view that "pumped" masculine men are dumb,
insensitive, coarse and incapable of empathy.
For the past fifteen years gay men have been flocking to gyms, working out and bulking up. It is
simplistic to equate this current fashion with so-called "body fascism," a term used by gay social
critics. There are numerous complexities involved with the focus many gay men have on
bodybuilding. In the 70s, most gay men were slim. There were a few very well built and muscled
men, but they were a distinct minority. As AIDS ravaged the gay community in the 80s, people
with HIV wasted away and all too frequently looked gravely ill. It is no coincidence that the
interest in pumping up by gay men began during the early days of this health crisis.
In an effort to stem AIDS-related weight loss and wasting, physicians began to prescribe steroids,
testosterone and human growth hormones. The onset of combination antiviral drugs brought
countless people with AIDS back from the brink of death. Weight training in combination with the
above-mentioned drugs changed the way many people with AIDS looked. People who had once
been very gaunt developed into imposing hunks.
In addition to the medical reasons for keeping fit, a pumped up body also became a symbol of
health for some people. A lot of uninfected gay men go to the gym, keep fit and pumped up as a
way of announcing to the world that they are not ill. It has also become the standard for being
physically attractive and sexually desirable. One way of coping with the internal attacks of the
virus and the external oppression of unsympathetic and overtly hostile politicians was and is to
work out and get "pumped." This is one tangible way gay men can regain control of their bodies
and feel powerful. For the ever-growing numbers of HIV-positive long-term non-progressors and
survivors, the ability to do strenuous aerobic exercise and lift weights is another reminder that
they are not ill.
There are also several reasons for keeping fit that have more to do with the health benefits than
HIV. Many gay men remember being skinny and awkward kids who were never strong or athletic,
and cite the important emotional as well as physical benefits from regular exercise and lifting
weights. These include remaining centered, countering stress, increasing energy, confidence and
sex appeal.
At times, however, keeping fit can become an unhealthy obsession that is facilitated by a distorted
body image, regardless of what was the driving force behind the interest in fitness to begin with.
Today numbers of men inject themselves with anabolic steroids, gain a degree of muscle
impossible without this chemical assistance, and become huge. Physicians prescribe some steroids
while a majority of people purchase illicit drugs from personal trainers or dealers. For men who
never seem to be satisfied with how big they become, we should be aware of the cultural
pressures that have led to such practices becoming a misguided and exaggerated variant of a
healthy way of coping.
Bob Bergeron, CSW, is a Manhattan psychotherapist who works with clients examining their use
of steroids. In his work Bergeron has found that individuals who have a "problematic relationship"
with steroid use almost always suffer from a distorted body image. Indications of this are that they
feel that even as a result of several years of mega-doses of steroid usage they do not experience
any satisfaction in the way their body looks, or the size of the muscles they have developed.
Additionally, once they stop a cycle of steroids, they feel that their body is considerably and
dramatically reduced in size, and that they are not able to have as powerful workouts as when
they are taking steroids. He has clients who the minute they are done with one cycle immediately
feel they have to begin another one.
An obvious danger of using illicit steroids is the lack of quality controls regarding the purity of the drugs. It is after experiencing an understandably frightening and negative physical and psychological reaction to poor quality steroids that some men seek out therapists for help. Bergeron finds a "harm reduction" approach to be useful. Rather than trying to convince a person to stop using steroids, he helps him figure out what he physically and psychologically gets from them in order for the client to develop strategies for replacing steroids with something else in his life. Key Words: Homosexuality, gay men, fitness, gym, working out, steroids