"Musclebound," a one-man multimedia play, will bring the audience in Collis Common Ground into the not-often-revealed and frightening world of male physical self-improvement. The show is co-sponsored by, among others, College Health Services, Eating Disorder Peer Advisors, Dartmouth Athletics, Chi Gamma Epsilon, Alpha Delta, Psi Upsilon and Chi Heorot. It centers around the lives of three men who all have different body image issues and who all hide their problems from the world around them. Written and performed by Michael Feldman and directed and edited by Adam M. Laupus, the 90-minute performance supplements the three main stories with real-life interviews with men on the subject of their body image as well as television clips from popular culture that shape our feelings about our bodies.
The hidden nature of this obsession is central to the play and to its being unique. Because it is considered taboo, the problem has gotten worse. Alex Cook '09, an active EDPA, felt that the problem of male eating disorders in the country and on campus is one that deserves attention.
"One interesting statistic that I heard during training was the fact that eating-disordered patterns were leveling off in females but continuing to rise in males, which is alarming in that something's not being reached," he said. "There's a lot that's not reported."
The show itself deals with such issues as binge eating, bulimia, steroid use, compulsive exercising, dysmorphia -- which causes one to irrationally believe they are too small and must get bigger -- the "gym culture" and obsessive behaviors in general.
The performance aims to spark discussion about these underground issues. There is a "talkback" with both the performer and the director after the show for those who are curious about the performance, the issues it addresses and the College's resources for eating-disorder counselling.
On the subject of the fraternities' sponsorship of the event, Cook said, "I would think that because they do have a lot of people in those houses who might be seen as being that stereotype, the leaders of those organizations might recognize that and in turn are trying to address those issues that go along with that, which I find really cool."
"There's nothing better than to have those four houses be the face of this as a core of people who care about these issues," he added.
According to Cook, "Musclebound" has particular relevance at Dartmouth, where student culture encourages young men to become the embodiment of the "alpha male." The "Musclebound" web site notes that the simple desire for broad shoulders and six-pack abdominals has supplanted athleticism as the most popular fitness goal.
According to recent studies, men account for anywhere between 10 and 16% of all eating disorders in young adults. But since there is no mainstream precedent for men to openly discuss eating disorders, those 10 to 16 percent go largely unaddressed.
"I think it's cool that they're having a program like this," Cook said. "It'll at least make people start thinking about issues like that on campus. It's always great for people to be educated about body-image issues; it's an important part of our Dartmouth education to be exposed to stuff like that."
"Musclebound" will be performed at 7 p.m. Monday night in Collis Common Ground.