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Introduction
A review of
literature as it relates to web based communities is limited to a very
narrow band of the literary spectrum. In the context of time, no historical
document describes the evolution of societies of interest into closely knit
communities of like minded intellects interacting non-physically in a
virtual environment. Even Nostradamus, for all the arguable foresight
attributed to this controversial seer, failed to pen a description of this
very significant social medium. Other historically noteworthy topics would
afford the reviewer literally thousands of years of documentation from which
to gain insight and draw conclusions. Depending on ones definition of web
based communities, the time frame spans less than forty years. There are
those who would suggest that a responded to email represents a form of
online community. Others would not be so loose in their interpretation
insisting that the word community implies a greater plurality of individuals
and that relevancy of social exchange as it relates to a common goal or
interest is germane to the definition.
Many
educated and informed writers have attempted to define what an online
community is, and yet a common definition which could be considered a
definitive standard remains elusive as of yet. Perhaps this is because the
environment and technology in which cyber communities exist is still in a
state of rapid evolution. One might argue that the evolutionary arrow which
transformed email into bulletin boards, and bulletin boards into chat rooms,
is comparable to punctuated equilibria in a physical sense and only marvel
at what is yet to come. In consideration of the above therefore, a review of
literature as it relates to the bodybuilding community, and web based
communities in general, could not be considered complete unless it attempts
to extrapolate a cohesive definition, or at a minimum, classify the types of
online communities that currently exist.
The Bodybuilding Community
It would be
difficult to explain the mentality of a bodybuilder to a layperson. The
extremes that competitive physique athletes subject themselves to in the
pursuit of a physical ideal are difficult, painful, and occasionally life
threatening. In preparation for a competitive event, bodybuilders endure a
period of self denial which boarders on monasticism. Diet and routine
dominate every moment of the bodybuilder’s life. In an attempt to explain
this mindset to potential bodybuilders, the author of this study once wrote
an article called “Expect Pain”. This article, along with many others by the
writer, have been published throughout the internet and copied to various
bulletin boards. The author quotes from his own article stating “Until you
can come to grips with the sacred truth that all successful bodybuilders,
enhanced or not, embrace pain like a lover, than you will wash out like so
much sand on an empty beach. In a week, no one will even remember that you
were coming to the gym.” (liftforlife.com, Expect Pain).
This mentality
has caused many to question the sanity of those who choose to participate in
the sport of bodybuilding. A friend of the writers once described the
average gym as “cesspools of social pathology”. He is not along in his
opinion. Present day psychologists have recognized a condition known as
“muscle dysmorphia” which is best described as anorexia in reverse. A person
with muscle dysmorphia, also known as “Bigorexia”, suffers from a
psychological condition in which they feel small or inadequate, regardless
of their actual physical size. While many in the bodybuilding community
suffer form this condition, the goal of size for its own sake is elusive at
best, regardless of ones mental frame of reference.
With the
introduction of performance enhancing drugs in the 1940’s, the bodybuilding
community became fragmented into two distinct groups which are commonly
referred to as Natural and Enhanced. Rumors of the new wonder drugs that
could reduce workout recovery time while increasing size and definition
spread with viral swiftness. Little was known at the time of the health risk
and potential side effects of steroid use and legalities were not an issue.
It was a time of experimental innocence with the piper who would one day
claim payment no where in sight. Bodybuilders were getting bigger, which to
a bodybuilder, is a goal unto itself. It is a passion, it is an obsession,
and it is the root of the problem. Professional bodybuilders today can hit
the stage carrying nearly 300 lbs of mass with extremely low levels of body
fat, chemical behemoths whose comic book proportions are rivaled only by the
hidden cost of their achievement. In comparison, Natural Bodybuilders share
the same obsession, train just as hard, and diet just as methodically as
their enhanced counterparts, yet without compromising their values and
health to the perils of steroid abuse. The pursuit of a competitive
physique, to become a walking anatomy lesson in the light of a cheering
crowd requires a level of commitment and discipline that few will
understand.
Because
bodybuilders represent a unique and narrow band of the psychological
spectrum, they are best understood by other bodybuilders. The average
armchair athlete will never understand what it means to be a bodybuilder, or
the overwhelming obsession that drives them. For this reason, many
bodybuilders flock to the internet for community, for fellowship and for
understanding. As this study will show however, the bodybuilder in search of
an online community will most likely be greeted in the home of enhanced
athletes, steroid information, and perpetuation of the scenario which has
made steroids synonymous with bodybuilding.
Definition of Community
Before attempting to define what a web based community is, it may be
helpful to explore the word community itself as well as the definition of
community in a physical sense. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines
community as:
"1. a unified body of individuals: as a unified body of individuals: as
a : STATE, COMMONWEALTH b : the people with common interests living in a
particular area; broadly : the area itself <the problems of a large
community> c : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as
species) in a common location d : a group of people with a common
characteristic or interest living together within a larger society <a
community of retired persons> e : a group linked by a common policy f : a
body of persons or nations having a common history or common social,
economic, and political interests <the international community> g : a body
of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through
a larger society <the academic community>
2 : society at large"
One may note in
the above that the word “community” itself is subject to multiple
definitions. From the strict and exclusive “people with common interest
living in a particular area”, to the broad and inclusive “society at large”,
it is clear that a common definition of “community” can only be rendered in
the context of the environment in which it exist. Rather than surrender to
the complex issues of environment however, it is imperative for the
continuation of this research that a standardized meaning of the word
community be established before we can grasp how it relates to a proper
understanding of web based communities. When striped of the hyperbole of
environment and social agenda, the word community has two elements as its
root. Based on the Latin word “communitas”, community is the melding of the
words common and united into one word. In the Merriam-Webster definition of
community, the word common was used no less than seven times. Also in the
Merriam-Webster definition, the words “unified”, “people”, “persons”,
“group” and “population” imply a plurality of individuals. Therefore, when
broken down into its simplest components, the word community may simply be
defined as a group of individuals united about a common cause, interest or
concern.
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