BODYBUILDING: MASCULINE PROTEST OR THE EXPRESSION OF A NORMAL PERSONALITY?

Abstract

Thirty seven competitive and non-competitive bodybuilders, along with twenty weight-training comparison subjects, were evaluated with respect to their personality characteristics, sex-role identity, and degree of body satisfaction. Several hypotheses were generated which dealt with issues raised in the psychoanalytic literature, along with others which concerned previous studies of bodybuilders and weightlifters. With the exception of age, no significant differences between the groups were discovered. Moreover, the findings indicated that the men evaluated in the current research were indistinguishable from males in the general population. Previous research that supported the concept of unique personality characteristics among bodybuilders was critically reviewed. The results suggest that a number of negative personality characteristics have been attributed to bodybuilders which has undoubtedly fostered a pejorative stereotype. The psychoanalytic assertion that bodybuilding represents a masculine protest against an over-identification with a female role and feelings of inadequacy was unsupported. The present investigation suggests that in general, competitive and non-competitive bodybuilders, as well as men who incorporate weight-training into an exercise routine, demonstrate no remarkable or pathological personality characteristics. Neither do they differ significantly from the average population in terms of sex-role identification or the degree to which they are satisfied with their bodies. In fact, no evidence was discovered to negate the assumption that in general, bodybuilding indeed represents a form of expression of a normal personality.