Steroids : a new look at performance-enhancing drugs

232 Pages·2011·2.337 MB·English

by  Rob Beamish

STEROIDS

STEROIDS
A New Look at Performance-Enhancing Drugs
Rob Beamish
Copyright2011byRobBeamish
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval
system,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,
photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusionofbriefquotationsina
review,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Beamish,Rob.
Steroids:anewlookatperformance-enhancingdrugs/RobBeamish.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–313–38024–2(hardcopy:alk.paper)—ISBN978–0–313–38025–9(ebook)
1. Anabolicsteroids.2. Dopinginsports.3. Olympics—Politicalaspects.4. Olympics—
Socialaspects. I.Title.
RC1230.B454 2011
362.2909—dc22 2011010791
ISBN:978–0–313–38024–2
EISBN:978–0–313–38025–9
15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableontheWorldWideWebasaneBook.
Visitwww.abc-clio.comfordetails.
Praeger
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ABC-CLIO,LLC
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Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction xi
1. Coubertin’s Olympic Project 1
2. Sports, Spectacles, and the Nation-State: The Nazi Olympics 25
3. The Olympic Games’ Fundamental Principle: The Spirit
of Olympism 41
4. The Social Construction of Steroids in Sports 73
5. Interests of the Nation-State, Sports, and Steroids 101
6. Steroids in Sports: The Social Construction
of a New Moral Panic 133
Conclusion: Sports, Modernity, and Steroids 167
Bibliography 185
Index 201

Preface
C.WrightMillsurgedstudentsandscholarstoaspiretobecraftsworkers.In
hisessay“OnIntellectualCraftsmanship,”Mills(1959)encouragedsociolo-
giststokeepfilesbecausethe veryactofwritingisinescapablycreative.By
simply jotting something down to put into a file, one pauses and reflects,
considers the idea, sees links to other ideas and experiences, and develops
newassociations.
Mills emphasized an active engagement with one’s files: going through
themfromtimetotime,physicallyspreadingafileoutonadesk,reassess-
ingandrearrangingit.Inthephysicalmanipulationofthefile,onesparks
associations and connections never seen before. All of Mills’ (1959) proj-
ects began and ended with his files; his books, Mills noted, were “simply
organized releases from the continuous work that goes into those files”
(pp.200–1). Thisbookis nodifferent.
As Ian Ritchie and I finished Fastest, Highest, Strongest, I was already
adding new material to my files on performance-enhancing substances.
Various requests for essays, chapters, and editorials encouraged me to
add more and to consider steroids and other substances from different
perspectives. The ongoing world of high-performance sports also gener-
ated new examples, problems, regulations, interpretations, and concerns
over the social construction of steroid use in sports. As a result, this is
anotherperiodic,organizedreleasefrommyownfiles;itisonethatIhope
willstimulateotherresearchers,athletes,andpolicymakersstrugglingwith
the dilemmas and contradictions that exist in high-performance sports to
openfilesoftheirownfromwhichtheymaycontributetothedebatesover
high-performance sports and performance-enhancing practices.
Asthisorganizedreleasecomestocompletion,Iamindebtedtoseveral
individuals.Ihavelearnedagreatdealfromthelively,spiriteddiscussions
in my graduate seminar: KHS 869: The Body and Social Theory. As an
interdisciplinary group, the students in that seminar have continually
viii Preface
inspiredmewiththeirenthusiasmforcomprehensivelystudyingthebody
and embodiment. While we were supportive of each other, no idea went
unchallenged or underexplored. While I am indebted to all the students
in KHS 869, I have benefited in particular from lengthy discussions, at a
variety of locations across the campus, with Stephanie Cork, Paloma
Holmes, Melanie Kurrein, Jackie Orsetto, and Carolyn Prouse—a fine
group of young craftswomen who embody the rich future for critical
scholarshipdirectedat the socialconstruction of thehumanbody.
BillMunnhascarefullyreadtheentiremanuscript,askedtherightques-
tions when others would have shied away, and provided the intellectual
support that is so vital to the solitary task of writing. My debts to Bill
extend well beyond this book, and words could never adequately express
mythanks.

I also want to thank Michael Atkinson for suggesting to Dan Harmon
that I might be a person who could undertake this project and Dan for
followingthroughonthatsuggestion—eventhoughittooklongertocom-
pletethemanuscript than Ihad anticipated.
Most of this book was written within a compressed period of time,
involving long hours, seven days a week, over several months. I am truly
fortunate that my lifelong partner, Nada, fully understands the demands
of writing and gives me the intellectual and emotional support needed to
workthrougheveryobstaclethatIencounteredalongtheway.WhileNada
may justifiably think “I’ve heard that before,” I am looking forward to
enjoying her love freed from all the external pressures and deadlines we
havehad to negotiate over thepast few years.
Finally, it is safe to say that Travis, Stephanie, and Ryan Beamish have
eachbecome fully involved in their lives as young adults, charting futures
that will follow dreams that they will realize over the next few years. In
thepast,theyhavebeencloseby,andI’vedrawnsupportfromtheirprox-
imity; this time, it has been a different form of support that I have felt—
thesense of satisfaction and well-being that arise while watchingthem on
a phase of the life course that Nada and I can recall like it was yesterday.
Knowingthey aresowellontheir wayis deeply satisfying and rewarding.
Before taking full responsibility for all the arguments presented in this
book, there is one particular issue that I should address: On the basis of
the material that follows, am I advocating the use of steroids? The short
answeris no—butthere is alsoa longer answer.
Thedecisiontousesteroidsiscomplex.Itiscurrentlycloudedinagood
deal of misinformation as well as the absence of reliable scientific
Preface ix
knowledge. Nevertheless, no matter what the state of the available infor-
mation and despite the powerful social forces that impinge on athletes’
and others’ decisions, before any individual ever chooses to introduce
powerful hormones, such as anabolic-androgenic steroids into his or her
body, heor she shouldhaveabsolutecertainty onthree points.
First,theindividualmustbeabsolutelypositivethatheorshehasgone
asfaraspossibletowardmeetinghisorherparticulargoalswithoutusing
such powerful synthetic hormones. In addition, the individual must have
compelling arguments that will persuade his or her close family and
friends that there is a genuine need to use steroids to further the individ-
ual’sgoals andobjectives.
Second, if it still seems appropriate to use steroids to enhance one’s
performance or appearance, then the individual should thoroughly study

the most authoritative scientific information possible; seek the wisdom,
experience, and guidance of the appropriate medical and health profes-
sionals; and ensure that his or her physiological responses to the substan-
ces used are closely and regularly monitored. Steroids are powerful
hormones, and they shouldnotbeusedlightly.
Finally,noindividualbelowtheageofmajorityshouldtakesteroids.To
begin with, a teenager has not matured enough physiologically to know
whether steroids are necessary to reach his or her particular performance
or appearance goals. Second, no matter how socially sophisticated and
informed a teenager may be, he or she still lacks enough life experience
to make a fully informed decision about substances that will have such a
significant long-term impact. Steroids affect more than one’s physiology,
and it is their influence on one’s social psychology and perception of self
that are really the most significant and far-reaching outcomes. Lastly, at
the present time, without a medical prescription, possession of steroids is
illegal,andwithinthecurrentsocialclimate,steroidusersaremarginalized
individuals.Dealingwiththeguilt,uncertainty,andsocialstigmacurrently
associated with steroids become additional (and unnecessary) problems
for teenagers already struggling to navigate those difficult years of emo-
tional, personal,and socialdevelopment.
Withmyviewsonsteroiduseclear,despiteallthesupportandadviceI
have received in writing this book, I remain solely responsible for each of
the argumentspresented. Nowbackto my files....