In his definitive ethnography of hardcore bodybuilding in Southern California, Klein (1993) examined gender construction in a narcissistic subculture characterized by deceit and excess on many levels. In the present article, I compare my own experiences as a strength athlete and bodybuilding author with some of the observations Klein made at Olympic Gym. Like Klein, I address ironies associated with hardcore bodybuilding and discuss the nature of deviance in the bodybuilding subculture.
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