Accounting for Illicit Steroid Use Bodybuilders’ Justifications

On the covers of magazines such as Flex and Muscle & Fitness , bodybuilders are commonly depicted as men possessing extremely muscular, nearly fat-free bodies. This figure of the bodybuilder emerged in the 1980s when subcultures of men, such as those described by Klein (1981, 1985) in his studies set in southern California, sought to push the limits of muscularity and to advance ‘professional competitive’ bodybuilding. Thirty years later, bodybuilding is a more generalized and normative practice, a trend described by Monaghan ( 1999a ) as the plurality of the muscular body. A more diverse range of men are pursuing muscularity as a component of their gender identity.