A new trend is allegedly on the rise and it appears that because of a weak economy it has created another unfortunate trend, The Spornosexual!
According to a new study from the University of East Anglia (UEA), young men are seeking value through their bodies rather than traditional value creation because of poor economic conditions.
This trend has been labeled ‘spornosexuality’, a combination of ‘sports star’ and ‘porn star’. It was coined in July 2014 by media commentator Mark Simpson, in an article in The Daily Telegraph about the rise of men attending the gym primarily for reasons of appearance, rather than for health or fitness.
According to The ZeroHedge.com
The study, titled ‘The Spornosexual’: the affective contradictions of male body-work in neoliberal digital culture’, was published on Thursday in the Journal of Gender Study.
“Austerity has eroded young men’s traditional means of value-creation so they have become increasingly reliant on their bodies as a means of feeling valuable in society,” Dr. Hakim continued.
“In theoretical terms, so-called ‘spornosexuality’ is an embodied response to material changes brought about by neoliberal austerity.”
The study found that the amount of 16 to 25-year-old men attending the gym between 2006 and 2013 significantly increased. “The rise of men going to the gym and sharing images of their worked-out bodies began around 2008, coinciding with the intensification of neoliberalism that occurred in response to the 2008 economic crash and the following austerity measures,” Hakim said. “This is no coincidence.”
“There is a correlation between the rise of young men fashioning muscular bodies and sharing them online, and the austerity measures experienced by their generation.” In a shocking recent study by Pew Research, which highlights the economic struggle young men, and millennials in general, are going through, it was found that for the first time in 130 years Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other living situation.
As more and more good paying jobs leave the United States, it can come as no surprise that young men, who once sought validation through the acquisition of labour, starting a family, and buying a home, are struggling to find themselves and traditional manhood.