Gym Bros and Dandies

Gym Bros and Dandies: The Evolution of Masculinity and Appearance explores the parallels between 19th-century dandyism, most notoriously exemplified by George “Beau” Brummell, and contemporary gym culture, in the 1980s commonly represented by bodybuilders and recently embodied by fitness influencers and gym bros. Despite their historical differences, both the dandy and the gym bro share a common obsession with appearance and social validation that is deeply rooted in their identity shaping and forms the foundation for their manifestations of masculinity. Drawing on both historical and modern perspectives, this book offers an analysis of how societal expectations not merely shape male identity, but how these ideals also intersect with broader shifts in power dynamics and socio-political developments. In doing so, it dismantles the notion that masculinity is fixed, arguing instead that it is a continuous negotiation. Such a negotiation does not come without friction; rather, it is a process that can be as much a struggle as it is a site of possibility. By examining masculinity as a socio-cultural and aesthetic construct living in a state of constant ‘becoming,’ Gym Bros and Dandies ultimately advocates for a form of masculinity that acknowledges the pressures men face today more than ever and imagines alternatives to pressing and rigid traditional norms, whilst also acknowledging the importance for men to remain connected to aspects of masculine tradition.

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Scope and limitations
• Learning objectives
• 1 Beau Brummell: The archetypal dandy
  • The macaroni men
  • The paradox of dandyism
  • The early life of Beau Brummell
  • Brummell’s aesthetics
  • Phallic power
  • The neoclassical body
  • Grooming and personal hygiene
  • From toilette to salon
  • A solitary existence
  • Quick wit or plain arrogance?
  • Brummell’s downfall
  • The dandy as a fluid phenomenon
  • Conclusion
• 2 Black dandyism: Fashion as cultural resistance
  • Fop or dandy?
  • Self-actualization as cultural resistance
  • Julius Soubise
  • Black dandyism as a methodology
  • MET’s superfine: Tailoring black style
  • Doechii as a black dandy
  • Black dandyism as resistance
  • The sapeurs
  • Conclusion
• 3 Crafting masculinity: From dandy to gym bro
  • Hegemonic masculinity
  • The enlightenment
  • Neoclassicism
  • The body as a masterpiece
  • Enlightened concepts in fashion
  • The great male renunciation
  • Power redistribution
  • Hegemonic masculinity the product of patriarchy
  • Conclusion
• 4 Objectification of the male body: Masculinity under the gaze
  • Objectification theory
  • Western beauty ideals
  • Effects of objectification
  • The rise of objectification in men
  • Male objectification – not the same as female objectification
  • The male gaze
  • The female gaze
  • The male gaze and its effect on gay men
  • Sexual objectification or sexual power?
  • Conclusion
• 5 Social media masculinities: Digital mirrors
  • The body as a visual object
  • Stereotypical beauty in traditional media
  • Early sexualisation of the male body: Mark Wahlberg for Calvin Klein
  • Male sexual objectification in the 2000s: Abercrombie & Fitch
  • Globalisation of the male body
  • Mirror as the message
  • Fitfluencers: Healthy or harmful?
  • Rootings of comparison
  • The impact of unrealistic male body ideals
  • Education on interpretation
  • Conclusion
• 6 Male bodies on display: The spectacle of bodybuilding
  • Shifting foundations of male power
  • The rising popularity of physical culture
  • Physical training as a stage for masculinity: Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
  • The birth of modern bodybuilding
  • The father of bodybuilding: Eugen Sandow
  • Commodifying masculinity: Joe Weider
  • Capturing the gay male body: Bob Mizer
  • The legacy of Weider and Mizer
  • Building bodybuilding icons
  • Hypermuscularity in TV and movies
  • Action heroes as toys
  • Action heroes in games
  • Masculinity as performance
  • The architecture of the iron temple
  • Dandies and mirrors
  • Bodybuilders and mirrors
  • Conclusion
• 7 Health vs harm: Muscularity on steroids
  • Body dysmorphic disorder
  • Muscle dysmorphia
  • Extreme behaviors
  • Eating disorders and MD
  • Internalization of traditional masculine ideals
  • Anabolic-androgenic steroids
  • The history of steroids
  • Contemporary steroid use
  • Physical effects
  • Psychological effects
  • Conclusion
• 8 God of aesthetics: Zyzz and contemporary gym culture
  • The refinement of the gym bro
  • The gym bro on the internet
  • Bodybuilding.com
  • Do you even lift?
  • God of aesthetics: Zyzz
  • Universal beauty
  • Beauty as a practice of the elite
  • Was Zyzz the first fitfluencer?
  • Zyzz as a performed persona
  • Unrealistic body standards
  • The Zyzz pose
  • The contrapposto pose
  • Bropolitics
  • Podcasts: The sphere of brolosophy, broscience, and the emo-bro
  • The brolosopher
  • The broscientist
  • The emo-bro
  • Developing muscles and feelings
  • Conclusion
• 9 Shifting masculinities: Crisis or opportunity
  • Patriarchy and male privilege
  • Patriarchy: A painful practice
  • Capitalism as the new norm
  • The false promise of neoliberalism
  • Neoliberalistic disencouragement
  • Feminism as a catalyst for equality
  • First-wave feminism
  • Second-wave feminism
  • Third-wave feminism
  • Fourth-wave feminism
  • Hypermasculine responses
  • Evolving gender norms and masculine uncertainty
  • Queering masculinity
  • Dandyism as subversive masculinity
  • Rethinking the “crisis”
  • Need for new role models
  • Conclusion
• 10 The Manosphere: Reactionary masculinity in digital spaces
  • The emotional costs of masculinity in childhood
  • Navigating masculine expectations in adolescence
  • Masculine emotions voiced through anger
  • The health toll of patriarchal pressure
  • Manosphere
  • The rise of the manosphere
  • Men’s rights activists
  • Men going their own way (MGTOW)
  • Pick-up artists (PUAs)
  • Involuntary celibates (Incels)
  • Subgroups and archetypes
  • Alpha males
  • Beta males
  • An interconnected web of reactionary masculinity
  • Remove the boot
  • Conclusion
• Final conclusion
• Recommended assignments: Fashion and identity ethnography project
  • Assignment 1: Field observation & reflection
  • Assignment 2: Visual archive curation
  • Assignment 3: Theoretical analysis essay
• Notes
• References
• Appendix: Workout and dietary regimens
• Recommended further reading

Karmen Samson (b. 1992) is a fashion researcher with dual master’s degrees in Fine Art and Design, and Arts and Culture. Her work explores the dynamic interplay between fashion and society, both as objects and as human experience, highlighting how cultural developments are shaped by fashion and vice versa. Through her practice, Karmen seeks to bridge the gap between theoretical research and creative application, fostering a deeper understanding of fashion as both an artistic and social phenomenon.