Wherever you look these days, you cannot help but notice all of the focus placed on sex appeal in advertisements to sell most products ranging from colognes to floor cleaners. It is anywhere and everywhere, which makes being a teenage boy that much more difficult. While he is growing and maturing, his head is filled with images of these “beefcake” guys with huge biceps, enormous chests, and perfect abs. The media portrays these “guys” as having it all. They have all the girls, they are happy, and they are respected by every other guy (Deacon, 52-53). What young male does not want this? The answer is most of them do! Young males are “brainwashed” so severely that they will do anything to obtain this “cut” and “ripped” look. A surprising amount will go so far as to inject themselves with anabolic steroids to achieve this look as quickly as possible. A young guy will start taking “roids” without having any prior knowledge of what the psychological and physiological affects of this hormonal drug are. On the other hand, if they are knowledgeable of the affects they just tend to overlook them and take the “nothing can hurt me, I’m young and invincible” attitude (Kusse

Anabolic steroid abuse is obviously a rather large problem with youth today, and is one that should be addressed. But what can be done about it? For starters, this society has to change quite drastically. First, there has to be a program to educate adolescents about the effects of steroid abuse. This subject has to be made public and must be talked about openly. This is extremely important because most of these kids are making the decision to take steroids without any knowledge of what psychological and physiological effects it will have on them. Even more importantly there has to be a change in the way in which society portrays the importance of a person’s appearance. This perception that the young men are getting is greatly distorted from what it should be which directly leads to the steroid abuse. The combination of steroid education and “alteration of societal values associated with appearance” would more than stop 90% of all abuse in the adolescent male (Yesalis, 81-83).

The steroid drug soon becomes an addiction, their fuel to live. They keep lifting and shooting up. They start to see themselves as not big enough because they have such

The problem of the abuse of anabolic steroids cannot be blamed on the individuals that are using them alone; much blame has to be given to the society in which these kids have been raised. They have grown up seeing the media hype of how a young man has to be “muscular” and have the “perfect” body. It has been portrayed that in order to be happy, get the girl, and be respected, you have to look like a body builder (Deacon, 52). Young men were also raised with no education about steroids other than that of word of mouth, which in many cases is absolutely incorrect. Honestly, how can an adolescent make the choice whether to use steroids or not when their minds are filled with so much false perceptions about themselves? Of course they are going to make the wrong decision because it has been taught to them over and over again in society through the media. They want to be that man who is the best looking and who everyone wishes they were. And in many cases they will do anything to be that guy. Including overlooking the deadly effects steroid abuse will have on them later in life (Deacon, 53). The only hope there is to stopping this epidemic of steroid use lies in the proper education and change in the portrayed “body images” of the media; then, and only then, will a teenager be qualified to make the right decision about steroids.

row, 13). What most young males do not understand is that once the

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