2008 Woodie Awards
'Musclebound' tackles male body image issues
Janine Fulginiti (Practicum Writer)
Issue date: 4/16/07 Section: News
On April 3, Michael Feldman, a playwright and performer, presented his powerful one-man show and documentary, entitled "Musclebound," which tackled the issues of men and body image.
"Guys are in the position that girls were in 20 to 30 years ago," Feldman said. Back then, females suffered in silence, but now there is open recognition of eating disorders and female body image issues. "For guys, that recognition is just not in place at all," Feldman said. "Everything is still hush- hush and there is a female stigma attached to it."
The presentation was, in part, a theatrical performance which featured three characters all performed by Feldman himself. All of the characters were men who were not comfortable with their bodies: Nicholas, a filmmaker, decided to do a documentary on gym culture and fell victim to many of the body issues of those he was filming
Josh, an awkward, homosexual, college-bound teenager became an exercise bulimic, which is a condition in which one binges and then purges through exercise rather than vomiting. Jim, a personal trainer who is obsessed with working out and gaining muscle mass, abuses steroids.
Interspersed throughout the performance, clips were shown from Feldman's documentary featuring men of all different ages and backgrounds who struggle with their body image on a daily basis. "It is so powerful to hear guys talk about this stuff because most guys never talk about these issues," Feldman said. In fact, "most of the guys I interviewed thought they were the only ones who felt the way they felt." Feldman found, however, that many men felt the same way on issues concerning their body image.
The men featured in the documentary, along with millions of other men who remain silent about their body issues, deal with eating and exercise disorders. Some of these disorders include: anorexia, bulimia and exercise bulimia. There is also another disorder which is rarely talked about called Muscle Dysmorphia, or reverse anorexia. In these cases, men become obsessed with getting bigger and having more muscle mass. "I want to get as big as I possibly can before I start looking like a mutant," one man who suffers from this disorder said.
"Guys are in the position that girls were in 20 to 30 years ago," Feldman said. Back then, females suffered in silence, but now there is open recognition of eating disorders and female body image issues. "For guys, that recognition is just not in place at all," Feldman said. "Everything is still hush- hush and there is a female stigma attached to it."
The presentation was, in part, a theatrical performance which featured three characters all performed by Feldman himself. All of the characters were men who were not comfortable with their bodies: Nicholas, a filmmaker, decided to do a documentary on gym culture and fell victim to many of the body issues of those he was filming
Josh, an awkward, homosexual, college-bound teenager became an exercise bulimic, which is a condition in which one binges and then purges through exercise rather than vomiting. Jim, a personal trainer who is obsessed with working out and gaining muscle mass, abuses steroids.
Interspersed throughout the performance, clips were shown from Feldman's documentary featuring men of all different ages and backgrounds who struggle with their body image on a daily basis. "It is so powerful to hear guys talk about this stuff because most guys never talk about these issues," Feldman said. In fact, "most of the guys I interviewed thought they were the only ones who felt the way they felt." Feldman found, however, that many men felt the same way on issues concerning their body image.
The men featured in the documentary, along with millions of other men who remain silent about their body issues, deal with eating and exercise disorders. Some of these disorders include: anorexia, bulimia and exercise bulimia. There is also another disorder which is rarely talked about called Muscle Dysmorphia, or reverse anorexia. In these cases, men become obsessed with getting bigger and having more muscle mass. "I want to get as big as I possibly can before I start looking like a mutant," one man who suffers from this disorder said.
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