Thesis (BA(Hons) (Psychology)) - Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 2006. / "October 2006". A thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Honours), Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology - 2006. Typescript.

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Kentucky University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 33-39).

A phenomenological-hermeneutic approach was used to research men's experience with attempting to achieve an 'ideal' masculine body. The current North American 'ideal' male body, media and cultural influences, a continuum of exercise and dieting behaviours, steriod use, addictions, eating disorders were presented as factors that may provide insight into this phenomenon. Eight male research participants were interviewed in regards to their experiences with attempting to achieve an 'ideal' masculine body. A dramaturgical life story approach to interviewing was ued. A follow-up interview was conducted to allow each research participant to comment on the emerging themes shared by the researcher. The nine themes that emerged from the participants' stories are: (1) I am not good enough, (2) judging genetics, (3) spiraling into obsession, (4) extreme commitment, (5)join the club, (6) no one understands me, (7)control, (8) it's all an optical illusion, and (9) overcoming the obsession. The results of this thesis combined with the literature suggest the following three conclusions. First, men who attempt to achieve an ideal masculine body may be vulnerable to external messages about their bodies. Second, pre-existing personality traits and/or mental health issues may contribute to this vulnerability. Third, some men may attempt to deal with complex mental health issues by taking their 'frustrations' and 'aggression' out in the gym, rather than by seeking counselling. The implications for helping professionals are discussed. The limitations of this approach are acknowledged and directions for future research are suggested. / ix, 126 leaves ; 29 cm.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-106). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-115).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Eric Stice. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation investigates how masculinities are understood and practiced through the body and how such practices are shaped and limited by modernist theories about gender. The research argues that postmodern theory allows for a greater inclusivity of genders and bodies otherwise marginalised by modernity. A qualitative postmodern and poststructural methodology, combined with a research method involving the collection of all data via an on-line questionnaire, disrupts modernist, dualistic thinking about the body and gender. By distancing the physical body from the research method, and thus separating, temporarily, discourses of gender which inhabit the body, this research creates counter-hegemonic spaces to re-articulate masculine identities and practices within the postmodern condition. Furthermore, the postmodern theory and methodology informing this work unsettles the belief that physical bodies can be counted on to reveal consistent truths. The contextualisation of this work includes a chapter that recounts various historical moments where technological advancements made way for the re-consideration and re-negotiation of gender and bodies. The intersections of technology and modernity are examined along with the rise of the postmodern condition and the advancement of computer technologies. Shifts in understanding, influenced by postmodern theory and human-computer interaction, are discussed in relation to their challenges to modernist boundaries of ?the real? and, in turn, the possibilities of gender articulations. Additionally, a chapter containing critical researcher reflexivity through an autobiographical account of masculinities and schooling acts to illustrate some of the complexities, contradictions, privileges and counter-hegemonic possibilities of masculinities and bodies. Although the majority of the research participants identified as ?male?, some identified as ?female? and others identified as ?intersex?. The geographic identities of the respondents included Australia, The United Kingdom, Ireland, The United States, and Japan. The data were analysed using postmodern and poststructural theory. The subjectivity and the role of the researcher in the analysis of data were interrogated alongside the words of the participants. The responses were grouped into four areas: Being and Knowing; The Body Engendered; Bodies On-Line and On the Line, and New Articulations. In all four areas the participants? words demonstrate tensions between modern and postmodern understandings of bodies and genders. Computer technologies often replicate modernist images of gender and bodies, yet at the same time they provide a postmodern space of multiplicity, fluidity, and hybridity, where rigid modernist configurations cannot hold. The analysis illuminates, diffracts, disrupts, and highlights disjunctures and new possibilities for gender and bodies mediated by contemporary computer and Internet technologies. Lastly, Benjaminian dialectical images were used to transform fixed modernist beliefs about gender and bodies and to move the reader toward alternative ways of understanding gender which are not body dependent. / thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2002.

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed February 8, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-73).

Thesis (M.A.)--Western Kentucky University, 2010. / Tables. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 32-39).

This dissertation investigates how masculinities are understood and practiced through the body and how such practices are shaped and limited by modernist theories about gender. The research argues that postmodern theory allows for a greater inclusivity of genders and bodies otherwise marginalised by modernity. A qualitative postmodern and poststructural methodology, combined with a research method involving the collection of all data via an on-line questionnaire, disrupts modernist, dualistic thinking about the body and gender. By distancing the physical body from the research method, and thus separating, temporarily, discourses of gender which inhabit the body, this research creates counter-hegemonic spaces to re-articulate masculine identities and practices within the postmodern condition. Furthermore, the postmodern theory and methodology informing this work unsettles the belief that physical bodies can be counted on to reveal consistent truths. The contextualisation of this work includes a chapter that recounts various historical moments where technological advancements made way for the re-consideration and re-negotiation of gender and bodies. The intersections of technology and modernity are examined along with the rise of the postmodern condition and the advancement of computer technologies. Shifts in understanding, influenced by postmodern theory and human-computer interaction, are discussed in relation to their challenges to modernist boundaries of ?the real? and, in turn, the possibilities of gender articulations. Additionally, a chapter containing critical researcher reflexivity through an autobiographical account of masculinities and schooling acts to illustrate some of the complexities, contradictions, privileges and counter-hegemonic possibilities of masculinities and bodies. Although the majority of the research participants identified as ?male?, some identified as ?female? and others identified as ?intersex?. The geographic identities of the respondents included Australia, The United Kingdom, Ireland, The United States, and Japan. The data were analysed using postmodern and poststructural theory. The subjectivity and the role of the researcher in the analysis of data were interrogated alongside the words of the participants. The responses were grouped into four areas: Being and Knowing; The Body Engendered; Bodies On-Line and On the Line, and New Articulations. In all four areas the participants? words demonstrate tensions between modern and postmodern understandings of bodies and genders. Computer technologies often replicate modernist images of gender and bodies, yet at the same time they provide a postmodern space of multiplicity, fluidity, and hybridity, where rigid modernist configurations cannot hold. The analysis illuminates, diffracts, disrupts, and highlights disjunctures and new possibilities for gender and bodies mediated by contemporary computer and Internet technologies. Lastly, Benjaminian dialectical images were used to transform fixed modernist beliefs about gender and bodies and to move the reader toward alternative ways of understanding gender which are not body dependent. / thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2002.