The Liver King Lie
Misrepresentation, justification, and public health implications
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14909375 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nick Gibbs (0000-0001-5911-721X, Northumbria University), Timothy Piatkowski (0000-0002-6177-0266, Griffith University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 114 |
| Pages | 103979 |
| Publication date | 2023-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Drug Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0955-3959 • E-ISSN: 1873-4758 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.103979 |
| PMID | 36841216 |
| OpenAlex | W4321783663 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 62 |
It is well-established that performance and image enhancing drugs (PIEDs) are effective in increasing muscle mass and strength. PIEDs are unique in that, while harm may result from use, there is little evidence of widespread individual or social harm comparable with other illicit substances. However, given the rapid growth of the online health and fitness industry, the digital consumption of hardcore fitness content represents a space ripe for indirect harms. A poignant example of this trend among the digital health and fitness community is the contestation around 'fake natty' users, who falsely claim to not use PIEDs. The non-disclosure of use has the potential to give individuals who are not enhanced the false impression that they too can achieve a bodily ideal which is similar, potentially resulting in psychological distress and risky behaviours. In this commentary, we discuss this harmful phenomenon using the case study of the fitness influencer Brian Johnson, more commonly known as Liver King. Employing a psycho-criminological lens, we use Social Identity Theories to understand the 'Primal' identity, before unpacking Johnson's disavowal of his PIED consumption through Sykes and Matza's (1957) techniques of neutralization. We conclude with an overview of the harms surrounding fake natural influencers and cognitive dissonance, before attempting to map a path towards emic harm reduction in collaboration with the digital fitness community
Aesthetics · Cognitive dissonance · Consumption (sociology · Criminology · Harm · Harm reduction · Identity (music · Public health · Sociology · Health and Conflict Studies · Medicine · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology · Social Psychology
Design and evaluation of a co-produced social media campaign to promote aquatic safety in Queensland national parks
Long live the Liver King
Unmasking Distorted Reflections
Development, dissemination and community response towards the first community notice regarding misrepresented illicit anabolic‐androgenic steroids in circulation in Australia
Looking for the Best Way to Come Off Steroids Safely? Exploring Post‐Cycle Therapy, Cessation, and Recovery Discourse and Practice in Australian Steroid Consumer Forums
A netnographic study of anabolic‐androgenic steroid initiation videos on YouTube
The desired body image and steroid use
Grotesque Prosperity
More drugs means more stress on my body”
I go back to it every f**king time”
Understanding muscularity, physique anxiety, and the experience of body image enhancement among men and women
They sent it away for testing and it was all bunk”
Across the spectrum of legality
Big business
You Could Try This Compound, but it Might Send You nuts
I Feel Like I'm Walking the Line; One Side It's Manageable, the Other Side It's F**king prison
The Ipeds assemblage
Impacts of exposure to images of ideal bodies on male body dissatisfaction
Cognitive Dissonance
Elaborating the communication theory of identity
Capitalizing on the look
The role of masculinity in men's help-seeking for depression
The Associations Between Instagram Use, Selfie Activities, Appearance Comparison, and Body Dissatisfaction in Adult Men
Male Body Image Portrayals on Instagram
Preventing, producing, or reducing harm? Fitness doping risk and enabling environments
Libido as a motivator for starting and restarting non-prescribed anabolic androgenic steroid use among men
Redundant Masculinities
I aspire to look and feel healthy like the posts convey”
The effects of being categorised
Testing the boundaries
Exploring the social lives of image and performance enhancing drugs
The value of unsolicited online data in drug policy research
The pharmaceuticalisation of ‘healthy’ ageing
Private messages from the field
Boosting bodily capital
It’s for their own good”
Steroids, it’s so much an identity thing!’ perceptions of steroid use, risk and masculine body image
Reconstructing Masculinity and Sexuality
The Masculinity Crisis
Social Identity, Self-Categorization, and the Communication of Group Norms
The relationship between psychosocial variables and drive for muscularity among male bodybuilding supplement users
Australia's Adonis
The impact of social media on self‐evaluations of men striving for a muscular ideal
Techniques of Neutralization
Uncertainty, entitativity, and group identification
Summarizing 25 Years of Research on Men's Gender Role Conflict Using the Gender Role Conflict Scale
Self-branding, 'micro-celebrity' and the rise of Social Media Influencers
Post-industrial masculinities and gym culture
Techniques of Neutralization
Pugs at Work
Gender Capital and Male Bodybuilders
The Spornosexual
Manly tears exploded from my eyes, lets feel together brahs
Hegemonic Masculinity
Digital Ethnography
| Unique citing works | 17 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 17 |