Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle

by Michael Andor Brodeur Narrated by Mark Sanderlin

Overview

From a Washington Post critic and self-described meathead, a witty, incisive, poignant exploration of male body image, from the history of the gym to the politics of superheroes to the world of manfluencers

Michael Andor Brodeur is a Gen-X gay writer with a passion for bodybuilding and an insatiable curiosity about masculinity-a concept in which many men are currently struggling to find their place. In our current moment, where “manfluencers” on TikTok tease their audiences with their latest videos, where right-wing men espouse the importance of being “alpha,” as toxic masculinity and the patriarchy are being rightfully criticized, the nature of masculinity has become murkier than ever.

In excavating this complex topic, Brodeur uses the male body as his guide: its role in cultures from the gymnasia of ancient Greece to Walt Whitman's essays on manly health, from the rise of Muscular Christianity in 19th-century America to the swollen superheroes and Arnold Schwarzeneggers of Brodeur's childhood. Interweaving history, cultural criticism, memoir, and reportage, laced with an irrepressible wit, Brodeur takes us into the unique culture centered around men's bodies, probing its limitations and the promise beyond: how men can love themselves while rejecting the aggression, objectification, and misogyny that have for so long accompanied the quest to become swole.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A memoir, history, and critical essay in one, sure to captivate anyone who’s ever pumped—or dreamed of pumping—iron.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Brodeur maintains a sharp focus on the way Western culture’s perceived mind-body divide has shaped ideas about masculinity . . . Punchy, entertaining, and perceptive, this delivers.”
—Publishers Weekly

“[A] semiotic history that doubles as an autobiography in lifting . . . Brodeur writes witty, allusive prose about an enthusiasm not today considered highbrow.”
—Washington Post

“Brodeur’s glorious, insightful, and cackle-out-loud hilarious book is destined to be a classic.”
—Kevin Alexander, author of Burn the Ice

“A timely, unprecedented survey of an unexpected, often overlooked figure in body politics: the meathead. . . . Necessary . . . Crucial . . . For anyone engaged in the Sisyphean pursuit of muscle and bulk—and to anyone interested in engaging with a critical examination of masculinity—Swole is an invitation to broaden our view on what it means to want to get big.”
—Colin Self, artist and composer

“Hilarious, ribald, deeply researched, and gay as hell! I loved every page and was fascinated by the world Brodeur takes the reader into, the way he unfolds the origami of masculinity, getting ripped, homoerotics and heteronormativity, and pop culture. Buy a copy for a friend, too, because you are going to need to have someone to screen-shot and discuss with.”
—Jessica Hopper, author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic

“In Michael Brodeur’s monumental first book, Swole, he reminds us that the Greek root of gymnasium is ‘naked’ by undressing the self to unveil the roots of muscle, memory, and history. Expertly researched, hilariously rendered, and deeply felt, this book uses the body as a site of inquiry to ask big questions about gender, power, and desire. Brodeur asks, ‘In building our bodies, what else are we constructing?’ and inside that question he reveals everything.”
—Sam Sax, author of Madness

“Swole is a probing, poignant, and frequently hilarious investigation of the meaning of muscle and the evolution of twenty-first-century masculinity. A stunning debut by one of America’s most sharp-witted and sharp-elbowed cultural critics.”
—Joe Keohane, coauthor of The Lemon

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-03-20
A self-described “meathead” writes compellingly about the world of bodybuilding.

“I am trying to get Big, and doing it very much on purpose. No, I am not sure why. Yes, you can feel my arm.” So writes Brodeur, who, at a glance, might seem an unlikely candidate for bodybuilding: He is, after all, the classical music critic for the Washington Post. But there’s more to bodybuilding than meets the eye. It’s the locus of a gay subculture, a highly visible means of self-expression, and a way of both adopting and subverting he-man ideals—and besides, “I also really love how my ass looks.” Brodeur takes readers on a wide-ranging tour of lifting and the cultural factors that propel “the long physical and psychological road of consciously building one’s body.” One is the world of childhood, in which many boys played with musclemen dolls and unconsciously absorbed their physical ideals; another was the openness of the bodybuilding culture to those who were once the “klutzes who sucked very conspicuously at team sports and grew up to opt for the weight room over the battlefield or the ball field.” Brodeur is consistently funny, but he is also a cleareyed student of the culture with a trove of trivia to fall back on: Who knew that Lou Ferrigno’s Incredible Hulk body double was a Black bodybuilder (no matter, since the filmmakers decided “green is green”) or that some current bodybuilding ideals can be traced to Dutch Renaissance art? Allowing that there are all sorts of prejudices against it, Brodeur, in the end, delivers a host of good reasons for picking up the weights and putting those muscles to work.

A memoir, history, and critical essay in one, sure to captivate anyone who’s ever pumped—or dreamed of pumping—iron.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159264183
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	05/28/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

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