Dear Editor, 

I agree with your viewpoint on men being victims of pressure to look a certain way. Going to the gym can have some very positive benefits, however, the pressure to lift heavy, have more gains, and be the biggest/strongest person in the room has serious negative impacts. The pressure to preform the highest can be very detrimental to physical and mental health. With “bigorexia” leading to physical injury, the mental and physical health risk positively correlate. I agree with your statement that men experience eating disorders and that it is not just women. By bringing attention to male eating disorders and other mental disorders, we can reduce the amount of people suffering and create an environment where pressure, expectations, and judgement are little to non-existent.

Sydney L. ~ junior

Dear Editor, 

I understand why you believe the gym can be unhealthy, but it is the people that can make it unhealthy. Going to the gym in general is not unhealthy and is a suggested exercise. The only thing that can make in unhealthy is the use of steroids, constant fasting, and overexertion. Therefore, I think we need to focus on the mental health of men rather than limiting their gym use. Just because “bigorexia” exists, doesn’t mean that all gym users experience it. Overall ,gym use is very important to many people’s health and should not be discouraged at all. Instead, we should encourage each other to partake in healthy activities and value each other’s mental health.

Josh P. ~ senior

Dear Editor, 

Reading this article sparked a light in me because the topic is something I am very passionate about. As someone who does struggle on a daily basis with body and food, I think it’s very sad how other groups, like men, who are affected by eating and food disorders are overlooked. It is still a taboo topic to talk about men and their mental health because of the expectations other men and society have put on them. Having masculine men is something that is so expected that guys will drive their minds and bodies to the limit just for them to be accepted. Perfection is a concept that we all instill in our minds from an early age, and for many, they take it too far. For some, they don’t care about what others think, but for others, they would do anything to be accepted by the majority. As a society we need to remove this expectation because that is truly the only way to solve this problem.

Christine P. ~ sophomore

Dear Editor, 

I read your article and I agree with what you said to a certain extent. Personally, I also think that going to the gym for one’s own health is great. I disagree when you said that people looking for a certain physique are unhealthy. This is because when chasing this certain physique, these “Gym Rats” know what they’re doing. Most of the time they have done their research and understand what to eat, how many calories to eat, and the costs of what they’re doing. They also understand that when they’re fasting, they shouldn’t push themselves as hard as they used to, so they don’t injure themselves/ All in all, I believe that going to the gym is a great and healthy thing, and I don’t think it’s right to call “Gym Rats” unhealthy for trying to push themselves to make each other better.

Ben T. ~ senior