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Muscle worship (also called sthenolagnia) is a form of body worship in which one participant, the worshiper, touches the muscles of another participant, the dominant, in a sexually arousing manner. The practice of muscle worship can involve various wrestling holds and lifts, as well as the rubbing, massaging, kissing, or licking of a dominant's body. Although muscle worship participants may be of any gender or sexual orientation, the dominant (often a professional bodybuilder, fitness competitor, or wrestler), is almost always an individual with either a large body size or a high degree of visible muscle mass, while the worshiper is often, but not always, skinnier or smaller.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Background

The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices lists sthenolagnia ("sexual arousal from displaying strength or muscles") and cratolagnia ("arousal from strength") as paraphilias associated with the practice of wrestling for erotic purpose, although there have been no studies concerning them.^[6]^[7] Forensic and Medico-Legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices, the 2008 comprehensive monograph of Anil Aggrawal, only defines the two terms, and does not provide any additional information.^[8]

As with many BDSM-related practices, the amount of force and pain involved depends on the desires of the participants. While some dominants might use their size and strength to pin a smaller worshiper, thereby forcing that worshiper to come in contact with the dominant's muscles, others might only display their muscles and allow a worshiper to touch them.^[5] People who participate in muscle worship generally find the practice sexually arousing, but some male bodybuilders offer muscle worship sessions only for monetary gain, as bodybuilding does not always guarantee a steady income. For well-known competitors, this can also draw in fans who want a chance to meet with and touch the muscles of bodybuilders whom they idolize.^[5]^[9]

Muscle worship is a fetish among some gay men, giving rise to a number of websites that display bodybuilders posing for admirers and offering private online posing shows.^[10]^[11] There are also sites devoted to women who enjoy worshiping male bodybuilders. Many other sites are oriented towards straight men who enjoy worshipping female bodybuilders and other fit, muscular women, either virtually or by arranging for in-person sessions.

"It pays well, and many guys are either doing it right now or have done it in the past. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger was rumored to be into this shit."

— Bodybuilder Gregg Valentino about muscle worship.^[12]

In his book Death, Drugs, and Muscle: Surviving the Steroid Underworld, bodybuilder Gregg Valentino called muscle worship a "taboo subject in the world of muscle," and noted that Arnold Schwarzenegger might have participated in muscle worship sessions in the past.^[12]

In her master's thesis, Margaret Bourke-White considered Wilkie Collins' Man and Wife (1870) "a satire on muscle worship," as Collins criticized the excessive "glorification in England...of the mere physical qualities which an Englishman shares with the savage and the brute...[t]he manhood and muscles of England resemble the wool and mutton of England..."^[13] Therefore, muscle worship has also been used in reference to athletocracy, the preference of coaches towards elite athletes, as Arnold Lunn condemned the "school tradition of muscle worship" his novel The Harrovians (1913).^[14]

In a similar vein of criticism, Kōbō Abe's The Ark Sakura (1984) contains a quarry, populated in part, by the Olympic Prevention League who shout "Down with muscle-worship!"^[15] Another critic, Jean-Marie Brohm, holds that muscle worship is part of the "dominant ideology of sport, writing "[a]ll the values of the capitalist jungle are played out in sport: virility, sexual athleticism, physical dominance, the superman, muscle worship, fascistic male chauvinism, racism, sexism etc."^[16]

Dance critic John Martin maintained that late-19th century dance focused on muscle culture, when "[e]very boy wanted to be a Sandow, and the muscle that was somehow of primary importance was the biceps." Martin further derided that "when certain spectacular muscles are developed to inordinate size they merely interefere with movement and the body becomes muscle bound."^[17] In researching for his 2002 book, Skipping Towards Gomorrah, Dan Savage received an advance from eventual publisher Dutton to explore the Seven deadly sins, which included paying "a male escort with a body like an SUV whose specialty was "muscle worship" and who liked having his feet kissed for $500 an hour."^[18]

In the documentary Supersize She, Joanna Thomas said she could not be a professional bodybuilder and work a job, which is why she had a members only subscription website. One of her photographers said that the people on her website were "attracted to large biceps and vascularity, the veins. It's all about the movement and it's all about the muscles swelling and blood flowing though the muscles."

References

^ John Edward Campbell, Getting it on online: cyberspace, gay male sexuality, and embodied identity, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 1-56023-432-6, pp. 141-145
^ Benoit Denizet-Lewis, America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, Simon and Schuster, 2009, ISBN 0-7432-7782-1, pp. 94-96
^ Hunks, hotties, and pretty boys, Cambridge Scholars, 2008, ISBN 1-4438-0018-X, pp. 159-164
^ Shaun Assael, Steroid Nation, ESPN Books, 2007, ISBN 1-933060-37-9, book excerpt
^ ^a ^b ^c American Beauty, HBO Special Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, #160 aired on July 14th, 2010 official synopsis, a text summary and critique, streaming video: part 1, part 2 (the muscle worship proper coverage starts at 3:30 in the 2nd part)
^ Love, Brenda (1994). The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. Barricade Books, Incorporated. p. 313. ISBN 1-56980-011-1.
^ Google scholar search returns only [1] as of 3 Oct. 2010
^ Aggrawal, Anil (2008). Forensic and Medico-Legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices. CRC Press. p. 372 and 380. ISBN 978-1-4200-4308-2.
^ Muscle Worship Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Hidden Lives series, Channel Five, 9 Apr. 2007, imdb entry, streaming video
^ Dufour, Derek (2 July 2021). "Talking Huge With Craig Golias – EP 5: Muscle Worship and Highest Paid Bodybuilders". Generation Iron. The Vladar Company. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ Ques, Florian (23 August 2017). "Dans les coulisses de la sthénolagnie, ou quand les muscles deviennent érotiques". Konbini (in French). Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
^ ^a ^b Valentino & Jendrick 2010.
^ Bourke-White, Margaret (1942). The Novels of Wilkie Collins. Fordham University. pp. 86 (81). ProQuest 2492692675. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
^ Mangan, James A. (1976). Athleticism: A comparative study of the emergence and consolidation of an educational ideology. University of Glasgow. pp. 318 (302). Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
^ Taylor, Robert (6 April 1988). "Kobo Abe's Artistic Shipwreck". The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
^ Colaguori, Claudio A. (2002). Agon culture: The ideology of conflict and the order of domination (Ph.D). York University. pp. 272–273 (281–282). Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
^ Martin, John (1933). "XI Reaction against muscularity". The Modern Dance. Princeton Book Company/Dance Horizons. p. 24. ISBN 9780871270016. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.
^ Paynter, Susan (2 August 2002). "Wallowing in sin is not just an adventure, it's a job". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Communications. ISSN 0745-970X. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.

Sources

Valentino, Gregg; Jendrick, Nathan (2010). Death, Drugs, and Muscle: Surviving the Steroid Underworld (Revised ed.). ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-921-9. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.

[gaymuscle2-1] John Edward Campbell, Getting it on online: cyberspace, gay male sexuality, and embodied identity, Routledge, 2004, ISBN 1-56023-432-6, pp. 141-145

[todd2-2] Benoit Denizet-Lewis, America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, Simon and Schuster, 2009, ISBN 0-7432-7782-1, pp. 94-96

[3] Hunks, hotties, and pretty boys, Cambridge Scholars, 2008, ISBN 1-4438-0018-X, pp. 159-164

[4] Shaun Assael, Steroid Nation, ESPN Books, 2007, ISBN 1-933060-37-9, book excerpt

[hbo2-5] American Beauty, HBO Special Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, #160 aired on July 14th, 2010 official synopsis, a text summary and critique, streaming video: part 1, part 2 (the muscle worship proper coverage starts at 3:30 in the 2nd part)

[Love-6] Love, Brenda (1994). The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices. Barricade Books, Incorporated. p. 313. ISBN 1-56980-011-1.

[7] Google scholar search returns only [1] as of 3 Oct. 2010

[8] Aggrawal, Anil (2008). Forensic and Medico-Legal Aspects of Sexual Crimes and Unusual Sexual Practices. CRC Press. p. 372 and 380. ISBN 978-1-4200-4308-2.

[five-9] Muscle Worship Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Hidden Lives series, Channel Five, 9 Apr. 2007, imdb entry, streaming video

[10] Dufour, Derek (2 July 2021). "Talking Huge With Craig Golias – EP 5: Muscle Worship and Highest Paid Bodybuilders". Generation Iron. The Vladar Company. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

[11] Ques, Florian (23 August 2017). "Dans les coulisses de la sthénolagnie, ou quand les muscles deviennent érotiques". Konbini (in French). Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

[FOOTNOTEValentinoJendrick2010-12] Valentino & Jendrick 2010.

[13] Bourke-White, Margaret (1942). The Novels of Wilkie Collins. Fordham University. pp. 86 (81). ProQuest 2492692675. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.

[14] Mangan, James A. (1976). Athleticism: A comparative study of the emergence and consolidation of an educational ideology. University of Glasgow. pp. 318 (302). Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.

[15] Taylor, Robert (6 April 1988). "Kobo Abe's Artistic Shipwreck". The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.

[16] Colaguori, Claudio A. (2002). Agon culture: The ideology of conflict and the order of domination (Ph.D). York University. pp. 272–273 (281–282). Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.

[17] Martin, John (1933). "XI Reaction against muscularity". The Modern Dance. Princeton Book Company/Dance Horizons. p. 24. ISBN 9780871270016. Retrieved 8 December 2021 – via ProQuest.

[18] Paynter, Susan (2 August 2002). "Wallowing in sin is not just an adventure, it's a job". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Communications. ISSN 0745-970X. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.

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Muscle worship

Background

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References

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