Lately, we’ve undoubtedly made great strides in broadening the scope of contemporary masculinity. From rappers like Central Cee showing their softer side in fluffy Jacquemus campaigns to Lil Nas X putting unapologetic Black male queerness on the centre of his performances, we’ve moved on from terms like “metrosexual” being attributed to straight men willing to exfoliate and iron their clothes. 

For higher or for worse, the more ‘traditional’ ways of performing masculinity are less accessible as we languish in late capitalism. The “protector, procreator, provider” roles that patriarchy indoctrinates boys with from birth are in jeopardy; austerity and a cost-of-living crisis have rendered ‘the breadwinner and homemaker’ dynamic unattainable for many heterosexual couples, which consequently makes having kids less attractive for those invested in a standard idea of family.

This leaves the “protector” role (which will be loosely embodied by being hench) as the simplest strategy to still adhere to internalised patriarchal standards. That is where “gym bro” culture and conservative ideals partner up. The link between wanting bulging biceps and conservative beliefs could appear tenuous at face value, but when that desire is rooted in a craving to be an “alpha”, gym culture can belie regressive outlooks.

The connection between pursuing physical superiority and conservative ideology within the West is centuries-old. We’re all aware of Darwinian ‘survival of the fittest’ sentiments, but what’s less obvious is that these ideas underpin how right-wing ideology positions disregarding the marginalised as ‘natural’. The road between striving for physical superiority and eugenics may be very thin; it’s no coincidence that physical training was a key feature of the Hitler Youth programme, which ultimately aimed to create a racially pure Aryan society. But this ideology even predates the Thirties and 40s: in 19th-century Britain, the ‘Muscular Christianity’ philosophy took hold, characterised by self-discipline, self-sacrifice, patriarchal duty, nationalism and non secular piousness, plus a conflation of aesthetic beauty with improved morality. Inversely, this facilitated the prevailing negative stereotypes of obese people being lazy, unclean, or sinful. After centuries of media enforcing these messages, it is smart that young boys and men would equate weakness to worthlessness.

You would possibly think that these historical movements don’t have anything to do with sixth-formers hitting PureGym, however the links between fitness and conservatism are as strong as ever. Research from Brunel University found that physically stronger men are inclined to imagine that some social groups should dominate others. This is probably unsurprising when you think about the bodies which might be celebrated in fitness spaces are those equipped to overpower and dominate weaker ones. Modern Britain is characterised by a robust minority thriving on the expense of the weak: when the Prime Minister is upgrading an electricity grid to heat his private pool and concurrently denying nurses a pay rise, it’s comprehensible that young boys would see the world through a predator-v-prey binary. And who desires to be prey? It’s not that young men “want” to be alphas, it’s that they don’t need to be betas. It’s not that boys “aspire” to being Chads a lot as that they fear being cucks.

Unfortunately, there are legions of vultures able to prey on these anxieties. The twenty first century has brought latest mediums for these ideas to be shared: 4chan is an internet forum that was founded in 2003, originally for the aim of sharing anime pornography. It has since evolved to be an online meeting space for social outcasts, where transgressive social views may very well be shared without proper scrutiny. This attitude soon spread across the web, notably to Twitter. This was where Bronze Age Pervert, an anonymous right-wing body builder, gained an enormous following by spreading the message that the bodies depicted in ancient Greek imagery were the top of masculinity. He argued that men achieving a ‘superior’ body was essential to a functional society – despite this clearly making no sense. The mainstreaming of such views on the web has only accelerated within the intervening years, and now we’re at a degree where the likes of Andrew Tate and Joe Rogan have huge young, male fanbases.

One other one among these alpha influencers is Brian Johnson, known to the web as ‘Liver King’, who rose to prominence in 2021 along with his “ancestral message” which included eating raw liver to attain his action-figure physique (the reality – which he admitted in a YouTube apology – is that he uses steroids, despite previously consistently denying it). He also repeatedly asserts that “our ancestors” had the important thing to a completely happy life found out, though he never specifies which era period or ethnic group he’s referring to. Tate and Rogan have each made similar, vague references to their ancestors and the past. From a scientific standpoint, nothing supports the concept that we’ve physically regressed as a species. Modern medicine and improving nutrition have contributed to life expectancies rising dramatically over recent centuries. So these ‘alpha male’ influencers are purposely idealising a non-specified past and making vague references to “ancestors” in a bid to prey on young men who feel lost or misplaced in modern society – à la ‘Make America Great Again’.

In any case, it’s not vascular muscles that make men like Brian Johnson, Rogan or Tate wealthy. It’s the cash from subscription fees to fitness plans, self-help courses and ad revenue from disillusioned viewers that line their pockets – all on the expense of boys attempting to escape the inevitable victimhood that capitalism affords the 99 percent. Their mantras are total bullshit too: you’ll be able to’t bench-press your strategy to fulfilment (imagine me lads, I’ve tried). If anything, the existence and mainstreaming of alpha influencers like Johnson and Tate is barely exacerbating the preexisting issue of disillusionment amongst young men.

In the identical way that Darwinism emboldened eugenics, many modern acts of violence are expressions of patriarchal ideals. In 2021, Britain saw its most dangerous mass shooting in over a decade when 22-year-old bodybuilding fanatic and self-proclaimed incel Jake Davidson killed five people and injured two others before turning the gun on himself. He had posted videos talking about how difficult it’s “when life has never rewarded you” and recurrently posted about body image issues.

“These ‘alpha male’ influencers are purposely idealising a non-specified past and making vague references to ‘ancestors’ in a bid to prey on young men who feel lost or misplaced in modern society – à la ‘Make America Great Again”

Many young girls suffer from body image issues and don’t resort to mass murder. But the dearth of a perceived “reward” (in the shape of sexual gratification) for embodying what men are ‘supposed’ to seem like suggests a chasm between young men’s expectations of what the gym will give them versus reality. When these expectations aren’t met, it might make men feel emasculated and drive them further into the arms of violent, far-right ideology. Even when men don’t turn violent, these feelings of emasculation can have damaging mental health effects: recent studies suggest the majority of men suffer from a point of body dysmorphia. Personally, I actually have been alarmed by the obsessiveness with which I overhear boys discussing their diets in gym changing rooms. Eating disorders are traditionally related to teenage girls, but teenage boys trying to realize the unnatural physiques of grown men who use steroids is equally problematic.

The reply to this isn’t to disparage exercise, after all. I really like the meditative nature of coaching in solitude and achieving goals is a fantastic feeling, plus there are myriad physical and mental health advantages to exercise. What is vital is communicating the message that men don’t owe muscles to society – and that society, in turn, doesn’t owe anyone anything based on their body. I’ve been lucky to seek out gyms to be a supportive space and sports basically can create male solidarity rooted in uplifting one another, which is wonderful – and that’s the context through which fitness can guide the trail to manhood.