What was once a lifestyle for a small number of gay men in big cities has become a way of life for many, and the gay gym is now a culture on its own. Muscle Boys: Gay Gym Culture explores the evolution and current structure of this gay subculture that surfaced in San Francisco, West Hollywood, and New York during the 1970s. Covering ancient Greek gymnasium culture, modern bodybuilding practices, and homoerotic muscle-bound media, Muscles Boys examines the origins of the male athletic ideal. A sociological investigation on masculinity, fitness, HIV, steroids, and sex in the locker room, Muscle Boys dissects the gay gym experience, and celebrates gay body culture and its role in modern gay life. Author Erick Alvarez offers a candid study of the gay gym from his perspective as a physical trainer in the San Francisco Bay area, and from his interviews and online surveys of nearly 6,000 gay men. Muscle Boys: Gay Gym Culture is an enlightening read for anyone interested in gay body culture, and a valuable resource for academics working in GLBT studies, human sexuality, psychology, or athletics.

Find out why the gym has become the hottest place to work up a good sweat! Muscle Boys: Gay Gym Culture is an inside look at the secret world of exercise and fitness that's become one of the country's fastest growing and most influential gay subcultures. The author, a personal trainer on the San Francisco gay gym scene for more than a decade, examines the history, sociology, and influence of bodybuilding, male body image, and beefcake media, and incorporates the results of an online study of nearly 6,000 gay and bisexual men for an in-depth look at gay body culture and its role in modern gay life. Over the past 20 years, the physical and social trends of the gay gym have traveled far from the gay "ghettos" of New York and San Francisco, thanks to the modern gay man's ability to travel - both online and off. What was once a lifestyle for a small number of trendy gay men in big cities has become a way of life for many and the gay gym has become a subculture all its own. Muscle Boys includes interviews and profiles, photographs, and research findings on masculinity, steroids, sex in the locker room, and much more! Muscle Boys examines: the history of the ancient Greek gym culture and the Greek ideal the modern male body ideal - and the gay influences that created it body image in gay culture and its effect on modern gay socialization muscle media - a history of homoerotic muscle-bound photography, pornography, and advertising popular gay cultures and stereotypes (athletes, muscle boys, circuit boys, muscle bears, muscle daddies) the gym, fitness, and HIV fitness and health for gay baby boomers and seniors gay athletics steroids sex in the locker room "and much more" Muscle Boys is a mustread for anyone interested in gay body culture and for academics working in GLBT studies, human sexuality, psychology, and gay athletics.