Few people are surprised to learn that even presidential candidate Al Gore has been known to spray a fine mist of makeup onto his face while on the campaign trail. The authors argue that this crisis in male body issues could not have reached its present proportions without these drugs, which increase muscle mass in men's upper bodies. According to a 1999 survey of drug abuse among U.S. adolescents, just under 3 percent of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders have taken anabolic steroids at least once. The desire for beauty is part of our natural inheritance, and modern science has given us plenty of tools for achieving our ideal. Thanks to a combination of tummy tucks, steroids, and the increased social acceptance of men who have undergone hair transplants and cosmetic surgery, men look in the mirror and see not what they are but what they can be.
Trouble arises when the pursuit of what can be leads to narcissistic obsession.
It's a fascinating book that will raise public awareness of steroid abuse, among other things, and it could change how everyone thinks about the male body. There is a big difference, says Katharine Phillips, between men who get annoyed with themselves for eating that extra scoop of ice cream and men who suffer from the Adonis complex. The term was coined by Phillips, an associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior, and her coauthors as a way of distinguishing normal insecurities from pathological ones. J oseph H. Griffin was a remarkable man. I found a meaningful American story.