{"id":129,"date":"2016-12-26T20:41:55","date_gmt":"2016-12-26T20:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/?p=129"},"modified":"2017-01-22T21:14:30","modified_gmt":"2017-01-22T21:14:30","slug":"fitness-websites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/2016\/12\/26\/fitness-websites\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Websites creating or contributing to society’s expectations of men?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who needs a personal trainer when you have free access to fitness websites?<\/h2>\n

Bodybuilding.com is the largest online sports nutrition store and the most visited fitness website in the world, with around 29 million unique visitors every month, producing over 35,000 posts of free information, such as fitness programs, nutritious recipes, and heaps of inspiration \u2013 so much that it can be overwhelming.<\/p>\n

It has become a website, not only for bodybuilders, but for all types of people, however far along they are on their fitness journey. All you need to do to reach this website is simply type into Google, \u2018arm workout\u2019, or \u2018leg workout\u2019, or any other muscle group, and guaranteed Bodybuilding.com will be the first result – or even dominate the whole first page of results!<\/p>\n

There is no escaping the bodybuilding industry in the digital world.<\/h3>\n

On the homepage, you will be generously offered a free customised fitness plan with the option to choose your gender. Here\u2019s a screenshot\u2026<\/p>\n

\"bodybuilding-com-1\"<\/p>\n

I mean, we\u2019re all familiar with the words \u2018male\u2019 and \u2018female\u2019, right? So, why did the editors feel the need to include definitions through the use of images, instead of just simply listed the words? They\u2019ve specifically chosen to represent the term \u2018male\u2019 with a sculpted body showing beefy shoulders, defined abs and a rounded chest.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s worse, after completing the first three selections regarding gender, age and height\/weight, you\u2019ll be faced with more images of men, emphasising physical appearance as the norm for determining masculine worth. As you can see, there is little difference between \u2018Build Muscle\u2019 and \u2018Lose Fat\u2019, which just confirms the appropriate physique that they believe should be reached by males. Let\u2019s not even get started on the \u2018Transform\u2019 goal portraying the escape from the undesirable male body.<\/p>\n

\"bodybuilding-com-2\"<\/p>\n

“Just like our customers, we\u2019re always trying to be the best versions of ourselves<\/strong>\u201d (Bodybuilding.com, 2016)<\/a>.<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019ve used this particular website before and I think it contains a lot of goof information. However, there\u2019s no denying that these fitness websites and online magazines have encouraged society\u2019s image of what men and women should and shouldn\u2019t look like. This is because the Internet has allowed the fitness industry to become increasingly popular, adding to higher readership levels and achieving wide circulation.<\/p>\n

However, unlike women, men are expected to obtain a stoical demeanour, withholding and denying insecurities about their physical appearance, which is the reason why male body image is not discussed as much as it should be. And it\u2019s because of masculinity being associated to stoicism, it seems that the rising pressures of having the idealised body are simply accepted.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to be ‘masculine’?<\/h3>\n

Men\u2019s Fitness is a men\u2019s magazine that focuses on fitness, sports and nutrition. Like other magazines, Men\u2019s Fitness have progressed to digital, granting free access for those online. They describe themselves as \u201cA source for exercise, health and nutrition advice, and information on exercise programs, building muscle, athletic performance and male sexuality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Is it just me or does \u2018male sexuality\u2019 seem irrelevant?<\/p>\n

Interestingly, their website menu includes the category \u2018Women\u2019. At first, I thought this was a section designed for a female audience, but I was so wrong. Instead I was faced with articles such as \u2018How to warm her up to morning sex\u2019 and \u201910 sex tips that guarantee her orgasm\u2019.<\/p>\n

As Men\u2019s Fitness only target a male audience, it drives their content towards masculinity, causing stereotypical material with traditional masculine values. This is confirmed as the magazine declares that men are attracted to women…<\/p>\n

Therefore, Men\u2019s Fitness is suggesting that working out and gaining muscle are masculine traits, discrediting those who don\u2019t and heavily contributing to the pressures men face.<\/p>\n

All in all, the digital world has exposed men, even more so, to the idealistic muscular body. And with free access to fitness sites and online magazines, they are easily circulated and can be accessed by a broader audience. Thus, they can be hugely influencial in shaping society\u2019s image of men and the way males view themselves, especially when defining masculinity.<\/p>\n

Due to men being taught to be emotionally repressive, body image is a subject that is not often discussed, which has lead to results such as an increased use of steroids, escalated sales of protein powders and supplements and undergoing cosmetic surgery – conforming to society\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who needs a personal trainer when you have free access to fitness websites? Bodybuilding.com is the largest online sports nutrition store and the most visited fitness website in the world, with around 29 million unique visitors every month, producing over 35,000 posts of free information, such as fitness programs, nutritious recipes, and heaps of inspiration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[30,10,6,23,19,24,22,21,20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions\/140"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.buprojects.uk\/2016-2017\/sachagardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}