http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?sid=33&pid=410988Harrison Pope, the main writer for THE ADONIS COMPLEX, is the one who did the most to popularize the notion of "male body obsession," otherwise called "bigorexia." He has had it out for bodybuilders since the 1980s, when he started publishing professionally on the desire to use steroids as a mental illness. If you look at the ADONIS COMPLEX book's self-quiz on whether you have it or not, even the desire to use steroids is grounds to say you "have" it. Also, passing up a social invitation to work out is a sign you "have" it. In short, it's horseshit. But it's had a big influence & the media has picked it up like it's gospel truth. But what it actually is is prejudice against bodybuilding.
Anything you want to do well enough to compete in causes some degree of obsession/compulsion. Classical pianists train 12 hours a day. Any Olympic athlete has similarly rigorous schedules. Does that make them mentally ill?
