Male Body Image in the Swimming Community

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By Jason Tillotson, Swimming World College Intern

Before I come across as ignorant or unsympathetic towards female swimmer body-image issues, I’d like to preface this article with the acknowledgement that I, as a male athlete, cannot fully understand what being a female athlete is like, nor do I claim to fully grasp what body-image struggles females go through. I am a cis-gendered male swimmer, so I am unable to write from any other perspective.

With that being said, over the past few months I have read several inspiring, eye opening and truly authentic pieces about female swimmer’s body-image. This sparked my thought process about how male athletes could potentially undergo similar issues and face similar anxiety from the way their body looks. It also caused me to reflect on how I feel about my body as an athlete.

Much of what I read about female swimmer’s body image revolves round feeling ‘too big’. Laura Quilter, New Zealand swimmer and blogger, wrote a blog post that referenced negative self-chat that often sprung conversation like this “I shouldn’t push that heavier rep because I didn’t want to ‘get huge’”, or “I wouldn’t find a boyfriend because I had big shoulders.”

While, for females it seems that getting too big or feeling too muscular are the biggest fears, I often find myself worrying about the opposite. Am I too skinny? Am I not muscular enough? Those are some of the questions I find myself asking during training in the weight room, in the pool or even at meals. The constant worry of not looking strong, in order to feel strong, in order to be strong is something I feel a lot of male athletes go through, and for similar reasons as to why females do.

Photo Courtesy: Streeta Lecker / Getty Images

With social media being such a prominent fixture in our everyday lives, it’s not easy to detach yourself from the photos of Nathan Adrian, Chad le Clos and Vladimir Morozov flooding the internet after a big international competition. It’s even harder not to compare yourself to the way those international stars look.

The main question I ask myself after watching these incredible athletes perform at the highest level is, “How am I supposed to do that, if I don’t look like that?” It is something that has caused me to chug an extra protein shake after a weight lifting session, or grab an extra sandwich after midday practice and ultimately feel incapable of producing high-level performances. Then the worry evolves from being big enough, to being masculine enough.

Quilter eloquently references her younger self when she says “[she] couldn’t help but compare herself to the statuesque women with designer dresses and slender arms”. I believe comparable emotions are felt by male athletes who look at themselves in the mirror, not quite filling out their workout clothes, and still expecting to perform well, despite feeling weak and not masculine enough. I know from my twelve years of experience as a male swimmer, being half-naked during most of your training might instigate one to think about how others look at them. I’ve been told I am “too skinny”, or that I need to “bulk up”, much like a female athlete might have been told her shoulders are too broad or defined.

Looking at the topic from both sides, it seems clear to me that body-image issues are non-gender specific and are problems that need to be addressed at the grass-root level. We, as a community, need to answer the burning questions; what is causing both female and male athletes to be more self-conscious and over-weary of the way their body is? And what can we do to fix it?

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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29 Comments

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Tom

7 years ago

Seriously? Get over it snowflake.

-2

Gary

7 years ago

Reply to Tom

Please tell us more about how you’ve never been self conscious about how you look. Very intrigued into this revolutionary non existent mindset.

Jksprint

7 years ago

Reply to Tom

Seriously, Thank you! When you’re putting in 12-18k + yards a day you don’t have time to worry about body image. Swim, lift, eat, Sleep, repeat. If you’re putting in the yards all you should have time to worry about are tenths and hundredths.

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to Jksprint

Wow, the number of people that drank the koolaid on this site is amazing.

Water Rat

7 years ago

Interesting article. Sooooo much to say on this topic and you are so on point. I grew up a competitive swimmer from the age of 6. My body image issues developed early into an all out obsession that I still struggle with today many years later. Standing up on a starting block just about naked with hundreds upon hundreds of eyes watching you will do that to you. I took to the weight room like a mad man. Coaches did not like this obsession with “getting big and jacked” – I thought about dropping swimming for bodybuilding. (And I didnt grow up in the shadows of Gods like Nathan Adrian…..oh that chest….seeing his towering presence in person is even more stunning than looking at pictures, its no wonder young male swimmers have it far worse than I did with this issue) – but I take issue with the female side of the issue and I hope young women are reading this. With women, “Strong is the new sexy” – I (and many others) think the highest level female swimmers are unbelievably attractive as in drool worthy attractive. Got big, defined delts and wide lats? YEAH! Have the self confidence to know that they represent not just physical strength and prowess but also the mental strength that is forged with all the laps you completed to get those delts and lats (oh and lets not get started on quads and glutes!!!….oh those glutes) ….those lats and delts are symbols of strength – not purely physical but mental and emotional. You should be enormously proud. The old saying “only swimmers get swimmers” may be true but my Crossfit classmates all talk about how female swimmers have probably the most attractive bodies of all. (one of our crossfit classmates a former high level comp swimmer deadlifts more then almost all off the men and we all think its freakin awesome) But more importantly, be proud of your accomplishments in the pool. the right person will be the person that “gets it” and “gets you” and honors / respects your hard work and your focus, discipline, and passion.

ColoSwim

7 years ago

Thank you for helping share that body image issues are present in both genders. As both a swim coach and mother of a teen boy, I have watched young boys starting at age 11, including my son, develop an Adonis Complex. My son doesn’t just compare himself to older swim super stars but to fellow teenage swimmers his age who have much larger muscles. It is tough to keep his mental body image in a positive light.

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to ColoSwim

OMG

Susan L. Lansbury

7 years ago

uuummmmm whats the problem☺️

Chris Derks

7 years ago

I once had a reporter say that I looked like a “well fed porpoise”. That same porpoise won Manhattan Island, swam the English Channel, and at least 30 races in excess of 20K. Built to haul the mail isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Time for pizza.

Jose Vassallo

7 years ago

A porpoise with a purpose!

Chris Derks

7 years ago

Reply to Jose Vassallo

To win.

Chris Derks

7 years ago

Reply to Jose Vassallo

To win.

Chris Derks

7 years ago

Reply to Jose Vassallo

To win.

Todd

7 years ago

Dear Swimming World. I have been reading this since 1975! What the hell is going on with all the social justice warrior PC BS that you are allowing these precious snow flakes to spew in what should be a magazine about swimming? This guy calls himself a cis gendered male? Can you guys please stop allowing this crap? I pay for this magazine and will not renew if I keep seeing this garbage. Get these idiot interns out of the writing. How about writing about meets and performances? FIX THIS NOW

-1

Really?

7 years ago

Reply to Todd

you pay for a magazine that is mostly available for free on line? Sounds like you’re about as intelligent as your comment…it’s attitudes like this that keep kids out of the water, I hope you aren’t in a position to influence any of them

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to Really?

Attitudes like mine? If we did not have social justice warriors pushing these attitudes to make our kids feel like this they wouldn’t.

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to Really?

this site is blocking me from commenting?

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to Really?

I pay for the digital copy of the printed magazine.

Dominique

7 years ago

Jason,

Thank you for sharing. After reading a few of the comments, it seems the swimming world needs more of this fresh perspective. I couldn’t be more proud of writers like you and this publication for continuing to grow. Keep on writing how you feel and what you think! Many thanks.

Bill V.

7 years ago

In my opinion, this piece demonstrates an alarmingly deficient treatment of a topic that should be very important to people who hang around in wet lycra all day.

Happy Holidays!

JimVi

7 years ago

Here’s an idea. If your body and self image bothers you enough to compare yourself as the ideal male/female/trans/bi/questioining/or gender queer, , pick a sport where they wear clothes.

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to JimVi

Agreed

Dave Hoover

7 years ago

I think it was Craig Beardsley in the early 1980’s that famously had a little bit of a pouch but he was the 200 fly world record holder.

Tony

7 years ago

Your constant bleating about your “problems’ and total lack of self-esteem are what will ensure that you never get a ‘gender-neutral friend’s rather than the size of your shoulders or the lack of size of your chest (depending on your unspecified gender of course)
Harden the #### up
Or try Judo. Great sport and you can wear baggy white pyjamas
People are dying horrible deaths in Aleppo right now whilst you’re snivelling about nothing very much

conny

7 years ago

Reply to Tony

Seriously? Well go to Aleppo and save them then and spare us with your unfeeling dickhead comments

Cesar Loya

7 years ago

article was way too short

Swim Giggles LLC

7 years ago

It’s good to remember that boys have feelings too. The author is right, we should think more about this issue, but also perhaps detach from devices more and practice more positive self-talk. The good old mom answer, “Worry about you, not the other kid.” 🙂

John Stevens

7 years ago

Much ado about nothing. And this is coming from a masters swimmer who 35 years ago was told by his very strict coach “when I look at you on the blocks you look like a boy among men”. Given I was 120 pounds soaking wet in high school, the comment made sense. For me, it just made me train harder.

These days, I just wish when I looked down at my feet I could see less of my belly.

Todd

7 years ago

Reply to John Stevens

Why is this even an issue? Social justice warriors. Please parents stop believing this garbage. Kids are skinny, me. Some are not, my brother. We both work on weight now. This is another stupid idea.