Bigger is Better or Faker?
Bigger is better, but make sure it’s muscle, not fat. That’s the picture popular culture paints for scores of gays around the world, and Sydney is no stranger to enforcing that stereotype. But is the Adonis torso and arms the size of balloons really all that healthy?
Call me ignorant, but for years, I struggled to understand how so many gay men managed to replicate the bodies only found on a billboard promoting Calvin Klein underwear. I kept asking, “What’s the secret to their success?”
So, like any serious athlete competing for a title, I decided to join a gym full of men with chiselled torsos, washboard abs and that very sexy v-shape which leads down to the epicentre of manhood.
Within this Oxford Street Mecca, there are two types of muscled men. The ones who spend every waking minute bench pressing or grunting through arm curls, and the ones who adopt a more “less is more” approach.
These men that caught my attention and I was desperate to learn the shortcut, because let’s face it, who wants to spend three hours in the gym when you could get away with a sneaky forty five minutes?
“When I first asked Dan if he had ever used steroids, he denied it, but after a few similar questions, he did a whole u-turn.”
But just as professional athletes are held accountable for using performance-enhancing substances, so too should the “less is more” bunch, who not only cheat, but turn their nose up at anyone less than three quarters of their size.
Behind the healthy façade of the “Muscle Mary” lies your insecure, increasingly body obsessed gay man on anabolic steroids. It’s a reality like no other, according to a recent survey, which revealed that one in seven gay gym-goers admitted to using steroids. Some estimate the number could be as high as fifty per cent.
Personally, one in seven seems like a gross underestimation, considering how difficult it was to find friends confident enough to admit to steroid use. Even these friends felt uncomfortable being asked questions about their experience, and so, for the purpose of this article, have chosen to remain anonymous.
Dan (not his real name) was my personal trainer in London for almost a year and now remains a good friend. Originally from mainland Europe, he has the body gay men fornicate over at Mardi Gras, but unlike many muscled men, remains one of the nicest gay men I have ever met.
Let it be known – I only found out about steroid use after overhearing a conversation in the change room of my gym. When I first asked Dan if he had ever used steroids, he denied it, but after a few similar questions, he did a whole u-turn, and revealed he dabbles now and then.
“It’s the quickest and easiest way to get big, lean and muscley fast,” and only requires “a simple injection,” he told me. Although not a regular user, Dan says he only engaged in steroid use on special “gayccasions” such as Madrid Pride or Brazil’s Carnival in Florianopolis.
Despite having a beautiful boyfriend living in New York, he admits he first started taking “the sauce” or “juice” because “being big can make you feel accepted by, and desirable to, other muscular men, and part of an elite club.”
Another friend of mine is in his mid-forties. ‘Luke’ admits a deep love for steroids. Not only for the body and acceptance, but the increased libido that comes with it. “You feel so horny, like you want to have sex every waking minute of the day, and when you do have sex, it’s explosive.”
Take one look at the sweaty, muscular dance floor of your local nightclub. The muscle culture isn’t going anywhere. Whether we have the balls to admit it or not, we are all victims of a vain and unhealthy culture, but isn’t it about time gay men stopped being the victim?
Muscles may seem like the key to being liked and loved, with steroids a fast ticket to that, but in reality, it’s doing all of us more physical and mental harm than good.
Anabolic steroids were initially prescribed to gay men as a means of combating AIDS-related weight loss. Today, they are sold on the black market as we battle it out for Vanity Fair’s Best Cover.
With effects such as shrinking balls, baldness, sleeplessness, heart problems, diabetes, permanent liver damage and even cancer, it might be time to rethink our priorities.
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