Discussion Questions 2/13 Muscular Body Image Article

 Discussion Questions and Ideas for Muscular Body Image Lures Boys Into Gym, and Obsession

The author’s main point in this article is to inform people of the dangers of presenting the falsified ideal male body to society.  Who is the intended audience for this article?  Is the two step flow or another method for presenting information displayed here?

Throughout the article, the author constantly cites boys and sometimes girls being obsessed or at least interested in going to the gym and working to gain muscle and looking tone.  He says this is because of how the media portrays the perfect body.  Can you think of any other examples of how the media or society has altered our perspectives on things that we might take for as the norm?

The author claims that this portrayal of the ripped body has caused some people to take drastic measures to get fit, such taking steroids and protein supplements.  Do you think that action should be taken to change this portrayal of the ideal body or are there are only a few people who are attempting this kind of lifestyle?  Is the media trying to make the story bigger than it actually is to gain readership?

If you take a look at the end of the article, there appears to be a lot of errors in the initial article.  Why do you think this was?  For example, were they passionate about the article and wanted to get it published or maybe grab people’s attention quickly in order to captivate them and not worry so much about the minor details?