Hey guys, I'm not sure where to post this. I had to write an essay for my communications course as a final assignment, this is my rough draft. i wrote it on bodybuilding culture from a communication perspective. [sorry for any errors, i haven't really proofread too much, it's rough]
“Who You Calling ‘Meathead?’”
The sport of bodybuilding and the culture that envelopes it, in respect to communications, has many complexities and traditions that may seem unorthodox or foreign to those who are not familiar with it. Like in any type of culture, if an outsider isn’t made aware of the cultural traditions, rules, and rituals involved in that unique culture, they may be prompted to unknowingly disrespect a member of that culture or make negative and premature judgements. These instances of violating cultural norms or making uneducated inferences about a culture stem from poor communication. For that reason, cultures like bodybuilding are complex and multifaceted if the guidelines of communication are not known. Each culture has their own set of attitudes and beliefs, and what is generally accepted in one may not be in another. In that sense cultures are different, but fundamentally all social systems like the bodybuilding culture are linked by one important principle: they develop and maintain their culture through communication.
The bodybuilding culture has many customs that are foreign or unorthodox to outsiders that do not know much about the sport. Because of this, the sport is oftentimes criticized, misunderstood, and unfairly portrayed. In reality, professional bodybuilders belong to a very unique subculture of society that strives to sculpt their body through muscle building .Like any other culture, professional bodybuilders unite and form their identity through the complex meshing of common themes and behaviors. (327) Behaviors that unite bodybuilders include following strict diets and training regimes to help gain muscle mass supplemented with weightlifting. It is still, however, a very individualistically orientated culture where the emphasis is on the individual bodybuilder, therefore the prime importance being securing a victory for yourself. Competitors belong to a very monochronic culture where agendas, schedules, diets, and training logs are meticulously recorded on a daily basis. (333-334) Most individuals are not accustomed to such a regimented lifestyle which oftentimes leaves competitors to be on their own. After long periods of bulking and training, competitors sculpt their bulky muscle-laden frames into an aesthetically pleasing physique for competition. During such competitions, the bodybuilders come out in front of an audience who watches the participants flex their muscles to showcase their build. The contestants oftentimes tan and shave to help showcase their definition and stature while wearing a posing suit (nothing more than a men’s version of the bottom of a female bikini). Judges then score the contestants on
Symmetry, Muscularity, and Presentation to determine the winner. The largest of these competitions is the Mr. Olympia, an international competition that the IFBB, or International Federation of BodyBuilders, holds to determine the best professional bodybuilder in the sport that year (winning the Olympia has a certain equivalence to a Superbowl victory). Ronnie Coleman had won the Olympia for eight consecutive years until losing his crown in a controversial loss to Jay Cutler. While professional bodybuilders must rely on a vast array of supplements and products to maintain their statute, which oftentimes stigmatizes the sport, there are also natural bodybuilding competitions where contestants are drug tested to ensure no unnatural or foreign
substances were used during training.
The most visible signs of communications are symbols, and in the bodybuilding culture the prominent symbol used for communicating is an individual’s physique. (327) A competitor’s physical build communicates, nonverbally, to others about what kind of training, dieting, and overall preparation has been done. Many of these traditions, rituals, and standards apply to both male and female bodybuilders because the sport is open to both sexes; in many ways gender roles in the bodybuilding world are not as black and white as in the real world. Women and men are separated during competitions, but they are subjected to the same rules which is uncommon in most sports that men and women both participate in. Another factor that breaks down gender roles is the fact that both sexes are primarily doing the same type of preparation, including lifting, dieting, and improving overall presentation. Individuals of both sexes usually shave, tan, and groom themselves as best as possible for competitions to showcase their muscles which communicate nonverbally to the judges. Competitors groom themselves because, along with their actual muscle, hair is considered an important nonverbal message source. A shaved physique that is well kept is another way of communicating to the judges that the competitor is ready for the competition and has prepared properly. It’s a way of communicating seriousness in regards to the competition. Also from a communication’s perspective, most bodybuilders are mesomorphs: muscular, athletic-looking, confident, and dominant among other things. Their confidence in many ways allows them to possess a higher degree of self-reflexivity than most individuals are comfortable with. Their higher degree of self-reflexivity allows them to look at themselves from an outsiders perspective which is essential in critiquing one’s physique. It also allows them to set goals, measure progress along the way, and recognize one’s work along the way. (167) All of this is done in preparation for going on stage and competing against other individuals to see who has the most impressive build.
Bodybuilders use many fundamental concepts rooted in communications to help get judges’ attention. Bodybuilders must communicate nonverbally to the judges with their physiques. In doing so, they must showcase their build against other equally impressive competitors, and separating oneself from an opponent is often times difficult. To help get an advantage over their opponents, competitors prey on message and source influences to improve their chances at receiving a higher mark. Competitors flex their muscles to visually show the judges their message because this is a more effective “mode”. Verbally describing their stature to the judges is not as effective as merely showing the judges their build. A fundamental concept of information reception is that “symbols that are large or prominent attract more attention than those which are not.” (111) Using this justification, bodybuilders will only do certain flexing routines that look the best. And finally, to bolster their message even farther, competitors will add novelty to their flexing routines through costumes [see attached sheet]. This helps “grab the attention” of the judges and continues to work to the ultimate goal of separating oneself from competition. (108-112) Source influences are also taken into account as well. Competitors oftentimes try to get on the edge of the stage to get closer to the judges (proximity), smile while performing their routine (physical, social attraction and similarity), and make eye contact or facial expressions (delivery) to improve the chances of the source (judges) attending to their message (flexing routine). (112-116) Lastly, competitors rely on technological influences like unorthodox music to add some individuality to their routines. (117) These strategies are initiated to aid in the “interpretation of the messages and transform them into a form that has value and utility”; encoding of these messages and influences affects the judging and improves the competitor’s chances. (121)
The influences help the competitors physique communicate nonverbally to others and ensure that their message will not be misinterpreted because the receiver, in this case the viewer, is seeing the “message” firsthand without any noise that could produce the anomoly “message sent not equaling message received” (49) In many ways this helps overcome the anomaly of message sent not equating to message received. It relates to Wilbur Schramm’s communication model because the competitor (source) shows his physique (message) to the judge (receiver) and the messages is interpreted accurately because both individuals have a common field of experience related to bodybuilding. (40-41)
We have already learned from class and our everyday affairs that “communications shape our cultures; and in turn, our cultures shape our communication patterns.”(329) The same is true in the bodybuilding world. In the IFBB, professional bodybuilders compete within the organization but are part of a much larger social system that uses communication to help promote and advance their sport’s culture. Cultures usually develop naturally over the course of time which stems from communication networks that help individuals share patterns and develop realities. (327) In this sense, culture and communication have a symbiotic relationship where both are reliant on the other. Culture is built through communication, and communication has significance within the culture. Arguably the most basic aspect of communication that helps establish culture is symbols such as spoken language. (327) The bodybuilding world has many unique terms to describe everything from exercises, body parts, physique shapes, poses, and supplements. This “language” is used by bodybuilders to communicate with another, and their interaction helps unite them towards establishing a culture, albeit an invisible one. The bodybuilding culture is therefore a “by-product of the communication activities that take place within the organization” and between competitors. (329) Without this symbolic language, bodybuilders would be severely handicapped in ways of establishing a commonness that leads to culture. Passing on the fundamentals of the bodybuilding culture would not be possible without communication (and the help of media) which is another aspect tying together the complex and interdependent roles of communication and culture. (329)
Cultural adaption and assimilation into the bodybuilding world is not easy for a variety of reasons. The sport itself is very misunderstood and stigmatized hampers the sports exposure and scares off many potential competitors. Entry into the sport is also limited as it is not offered as a highschool or college athletic activity. Kids are not recruited into this sport as is the case with many other athletic disciplines, so the crop for selecting premier bodybuilders is not as vast. Next, and perhaps most important, it is a very time consuming sport that requires a lot of patience and consistency; a competitor also must have access to money to pay for the food, supplements, and gym time. If one individual were so inclined to get into the bodybuilding culture, there would be some predictable steps in their assimilation. The first phase would be the honeymoon stage where an individual would basically be initially happy with his/her dieting, training, and new regimented lifestyle. This would eventually lead to the frustration stage where the athlete may begin to tire from training or crave other foods that his diet prohibits. Their may a certain feeling of “homesickness” in the sense the bodybuilder-in-the-making may want to revert back to his old lifestyle. Eventually the readjustment stage comes into fruition where the individual learns to balance the new demands of his regimented lifestyle and finds ways to cope with the challenges. And finally, the resolution stage where the bodybuilder is comfortable with his lifestyle, and probably is beginning to pack on the muscle mass. This leads to an overall feeling of satisfaction and the competitor can now appreciate the bodybuilding culture and lifestyle that comes with it.(342-343). An individual may go through all of these stages or only some of these stages, and in any possible order. The bottom line is that cultural adaption is a process that takes time and patience, and without proper communication one can not assimilate into a culture properly.
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