At the Gym, written by Mark Doty, dramatizes the conflict within the mind of a bodybuilder and his desire to change who and what he is. The speaker observes the routines of the bodybuilder bench-pressing at a local gym, and attempts to explain the driving force that compels him to change his appearance. The speaker illustrates the physical use of inanimate objects as the tools used for the “desired” transformation: “and hoist nothing that need be lifted” (5,6). However, coupled with “but some burden they’ve chosen this time” (7), the speaker takes the illustration beyond the physical use of the tools of transformation and delves into the bodybuilder’s mental state. The speaker ends by portraying the bodybuilder as an arrogant, muscular being with fragile feelings of insecurity.
Similar to a church altar where baptisms take place, the speaker begins by depicting the bench press as an altar of change and transformation. Illustrating the setting in this manner suggests that the speaker begins to wonders what drives the bodybuilder to lift an inanimate object repeatedly w...
Fraser, Allen. “What a great gymnastics movie should be.” The New Yorker. conde Nast, n.d. May. 17 Feb. 2014
The gym is a place where a typical American college student goes to work out their bodies. Based on the fact that I personally could be considered a gym rat, a stereotypical name for someone who spends a lot of time in the work out area. This is partially by choice being on the swim team requires the strength training equipment that is available to our disposal in the gym. While I have been to the gym many times I haven’t really taken the time to take in the other people around me. Within this ethnographic exercise I will explore the college gym norms within Roger Williams University.
When you look in the mirror you see your imperfections. You see your perceived flaws; things that nobody else recognizes about you and you think that there has to be some way to change it. In today’s world, society places impossible standards on the way you’re supposed to look and recently young American males in their teen age years have become increasingly self-conscious about their physical appearance. In the article “The Troubled Life of Boys; The Bully in the Mirror” author Stephen Hall investigates the changes and causes of the increase in males becoming concerned with wanting to be more muscular.
MacClancy states, “Wrenched out of normal routines by the continuing assault on their mouths, they concentrate on the sensation and ignore almost everything else” (287-288). On the topic of body art, Ruggia states, “The skinny obsession is spiraling out of control as more people risk death to be thin through diet pills and gastric bypass surgery” (318). These statements support that the essays both unveil an underlying message of the endless human search for self-gratification. Using diferent writing styles, the authors similarly impress their person opinion on the
bond we share as human beings. The paths we take in life can be of great distress, but the outcome will determine the will of who we are. These paths are a “sign of where we’ve been” (line 11). Doty challenges us how to balance the weight of the world through self-confidence and consideration of others for guidance. According to Doty, this guidance can be found in common places.
In the article, “Too ‘Close to the Bone’: The Historical Context for Women’s Obsession with Slenderness,” Roberta Seid goes in depth on the emotionally straining and life altering trials women take on to try to portray society’s “ideal” body over time. She delves far into the past, exposing our culture’s ideal body image and the changes it has gone through over time. The article brings to light the struggles of striving to be the perfect woman with the model body. On the other hand, in the article “Rethinking Weight”, author Amanda Spake, details the many differing views of obesity. Spake voices her opinion on the idea that being overweight, and not losing weight, is caused by laziness. “Too Close to the Bone” and “Rethinking Weight” both deliberate about weight issues that are
The movie, "Pumping Iron II" is an example of women doing bodybuilding which is considered a non-traditional sport. Images of muscular women are viewed by some people as threatening and imitating. The benefit of this non-traditional sport is that it forces us to question our thoughts about women and what they are. We must ask, what is a woman? Bodybuildi...
On one of the humid Louisiana evenings, walking around campus, just managing to adapt to the Helter skelter of college life, I just found my day’s Prometheus. Running across the street, I see three guys with bodies that looked like they were molded by Michelangelo himself. These athletes, who are dressed up as much as Tarzan, toil in the sun indifferent to the onlookers passing by. I was confused about my thoughts at that moment. Was I jealous, amazed or inspired? I wasn’t sure looking at those perfect bodies that I had always wanted. These sculpted gentlemen with David-esque bodies, who are indifferent to the curious, awed and shocked eyes of numerous onlookers, run around campus toiling for various reasons; personal
She shares the reader a story of a transgender women named Chloie Johnson -who was denied admission to a female CrossFit fitness competition due to her sexual orientation. The letter that CrossFit sent Chloie Johnson stated that she was not allowed to compete due to the fact that she was “… born, genetically - as a matter of fact - with an X and a Y chromosome and all of the anatomy of a male of the human race. Today, notwithstanding any hormone therapy or surgeries, Chloie still has an X and Y chromosome.” Due to the fact that Chloie Johnson had been born as a male, she was denied the opportunity to compete in the CrossFit strength competition. By sharing this story, Castillo gives the readers a chance to pity Chloie Johnson and to feel anger towards the close-mindedness and discrimination of the CrossFit company due to Chloie Johnson’s biological sex.
Through Thick and Thin Society is obsessed with fitness and weight loss. Ever since I was in sixth grade, I have had issues with my weight and self-image. The article “Fat Is a Feminist Issue”, by Susie Orbach, focuses on how our society puts this unrealistic image of what women should look like into everyone’s heads. The media and magazines urge women to conform, at any cost, to a constantly changing expectation of what is beautiful. Women are taught to look at themselves from an outside view, to be a sexual image for men and fuel the diet and fashion industries.
Rodriguez believed that although he experienced a drastic physical changed, his mental state stayed the same. He states that, “After that summer, a great deal-and not very much really-changed in my life. The curse of physical shame was broken by the sun; I was no longer ashamed of my body. No longer would I deny myself the pleasing sensations of my maleness.” Richard Rodriguez has finally accepted himself as who he is after his hard work at his summer job. In his essay, he uses imagery to show who he became when he wrote, “The torso, the soccer player’s calves and thighs, the arms of the twenty-year-old I never was, I possess now in my thirties.” He urges the reader to indulge in their body work and to change their body for their personal likings and not for others. Rodriguez depicts a moment in life when he visited a school in the ghetto. He says that, “Ghetto girls mimic high-fashion models. Their dresses are of bold, forceful color; their figures elegant, long; the stance theatrical. Boys wear shirts that grip at their overdeveloped muscular bodies… Bad nutrition does not yet tell.” He states this to show how the youth are taking advantage of what they were born with and have yet to accept themselves without being flashy or trying to mimic others that they believe look better than
Bodybuilding is a practice where through dieting and strengthening individuals enlarge the muscles of their body. Consequently, there are many health risks associated with bodybuilding. It takes a very big toll on a person’s health, not just physically, but mentally as well. For many years the sport of bodybuilding has been male dominated but in the last few decades, female bodybuilding has been making an appearance within the industry. Many believe that female bodybuilding is an act of feminism because it represents the transgression of the social constructs of gender roles such as what it means to be a woman and how a woman should look. For female bodybuilders, it allows them to take charge of their mental well-being and feel empowered.
It is a story that provides the ultimate explanation of how two different people who are witnesses to a crime give completely different psychological recollections of the same event. The author reminds us that truth depends on the telling. Someone must step forward and tell that truth.
The gym where I train and workout, the Dubuque Martial Arts Group, is a place where I know who I am. It is a place I can go to escape my problems for a while and release some stress. It's not the actual physical building, but rather the events that have occurred there over the years. It's where I have formed some of my closest friendships. It is the place I have invested years of hard work for many of my accomplishments. To some it may seem odd that a place associated with sweat, blood and physical pain mean so much to someone. However, in my eyes it's almost like a second home.
In his introduction, he makes use of emotionally-charged arguments and phrases that develop a sympathetic image. Meacham states that "my unwillingness to engage in discussing my body made me become antisocial (Meacham, n.p). The use of graphic images effectively persuades the reader to view things from the perspective of the author, who is the victim. One can feel the emotional torture of Meacham having considering using suspenders while they had bee n out of fashion for more than 100 years. The image Meacham evokes the struggles and vulnerabilities of being overweight as well as the emotional traumas of the situation. This perspective effectively introduces his claims and a high degree of seriousness. The goal here is to enlighten the readers, motivate and encourage those that are experiencing overweight issues. Additionally, using phrases like ‘yo-yo’ evokes negative emotions about the obese body (Meacham, n.p). This makes the readers sympathize with men who are