Is gym bro culture indestructible?

Despite the rise of body positivity, it seems that the obsession with having a "perfect" body is reaching its peak in 2024. Taking care of one's body has become an omnipresent imperative on social media. For example, in France, fitness influencer Tibo InShape has become the most followed YouTuber this year with 22 million subscribers. Eating a protein-rich breakfast, walking 10,000 steps a day, going to the gym at least 5 times a week—these are the tips given by "gym bros". These men, whose lives revolve around the gym, have become unavoidable memes on the internet. Often labeled as arrogant, obsessed with their physiques, and self-centered, will there ever be a day when gym bros disappear? 

While it's difficult to pinpoint an exact date, the term "gym bro" likely emerged in the 1970s during the golden age of bodybuilding. Figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno helped establish a culture where fitness is central to life. Today, with the rise of fitness influencers on social media, the concept of the "gym bro" has evolved to define men who place crucial importance on fitness, aiming to be as muscular as possible. For some, the gym bro culture represents a healthy lifestyle that emphasizes health, motivation, and discipline. However, practices like meticulously measuring food, counting calories, and excessive exercise are linked to eating disorders. The toxicity lies in the obsession with achieving a specific body type, ignoring other factors like mental health, which are crucial for holistic well-being. 

Monitoring food intake excessively could also trigger orthorexia, an obsession with clean and healthy eating that leads to feelings of guilt and shame if one deviates from a strict diet. According to USA Today, due to its restrictive nature, this disorder could actually have the same physical consequences as anorexia, including malnutrition, heart failure, inattention, reduced sex hormones, or kidney failure. While the concept of the "gym girl" exists among women, it is far less popular than its male counterpart. This could be explained by the vicious relationship between gym bro culture and toxic masculinity. In our patriarchal society, toxic masculinity exacerbates gym bro culture, which defines physical and political dominance as one of the only ways for men to exist. On the internet, "alpha male" personalities like Andrew Tate, who spread masculinist theories, manage to build a significant male fanbase.

Aside from imposing dominance, many gym bros go to the gym with the goal of attracting women. Indeed, in the collective imagination of men, women are attracted to muscular and therefore "manly" men. However, it turns out that "men think they build muscle for women, but they actually build muscle for men." On TikTok, a wave of content explaining the difference between the male gaze and the female gaze has recently emerged to explain this phenomenon. In a viral video, @torres.alejandro asked TikTok why he got more matches on dating apps with so-called "normal" photos than when he posted gym selfies where he was super muscular. Creators explained that the male gaze is heavily focused on physical appearance, while the female gaze tends to concentrate on how a person’s character makes others feel emotionally. Gym bro culture is not just a passing trend but rather the expression of a patriarchal society that intertwines toxic masculinity, social media, and eating disorders. It is difficult to predict the possibility of the complete extinction of gym bros, but what is certain is that it will require men to completely change their perspective on their image and their definition of masculinity.