10 Does comparison change perspectives?
Some comparison and contrast within a contemporary issue like doping may help give additional perspective. The situational contrast here, doping in public gyms, represents a very different context to doping in sport. Examples from a change in context can be useful to illustrate subtle differences in an argument. The gene doping example partly illustrated this (Activity 6).
You will now use a comparison to consider what happens in communities of people who use the gym partly to change how they look in terms of bulking up by lifting heavy weights, some of whom may use steroids. These steroids are known as IPEDs (image and performance enhancing drugs, mentioned at the start of the course).
In the next activity you are going to compare a media perspective and an academic perspective by examining two short pieces of writing about steroid use in gyms – one from the BBC and another from a journal. There are separate questions and comments to consider as you read each article.
Activity 10 Steroid use in gyms
Part 1
- First, read UK Anti-Doping warns young men not to use steroids in pursuit of ‘ideal’ body [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] (BBC, 2020).
- How has the article been framed?
Discussion
The framing is related to alarm at the public health issue among young men who are influenced by body image, social media and the easy availability of steroids. If you find such a media article when you come to do your own research, it would be very wise to follow up the three pieces of research it refers to.
Part 2
- Now read the brief abstract and section snippets of the article, Superheroes – Image and performance enhancing drug (IPED) use within the UK, social media and gym culture (Richardson, Dixon and Kean, 2019).
- How might an understanding of the views of IPED users (‘user voice’) be useful for those in the legal medicine field (part of the journal name)?
Discussion
The article claims that the impact of steroid use in gyms on the individual and on society has not been investigated from the perspective of users before and it is implied that their voice will help shape the legal aspects of how this practice can be best managed. Users told researchers how social media and the web black market (the Dark Web) all play a part in the contemporary use of steroids. However, the control of steroid use is not discussed in any detail. If you were exploring this topic further you might investigate the legalities of personal use or supply of steroids.
In this gym context, the ‘protection from harm’ argument is used most strongly and the number of people using steroids in this context is probably higher than in competitive sport (e.g. Morris, 2018). This perhaps makes it more of a concern as a public health issue.
You have now considered doping from a range of perspectives, and you have seen how comparison between doping in sport and doping in gyms provides further insights. You will now think about how to conclude an issue-related discussion.