Freakiness: Bodybuilding in the Neoliberal Age

This thesis is an attempt to understand the current freakish moment in bodybuilding. This subculture of freakishness is a mysterious and controversial development in the world of bodybuilding, which this thesis examines through the lens of neoliberalism. Through the historical analysis of various trends and ideologies, this thesis maps out the history of bodybuilding and the historical motivations of various bodybuilders. The examination of these histories and ideologies, coupled with the usage of visual archival evidence (pictures, magazine cutouts, quotes) are essential to understanding how bodybuilding evolved. These artifacts will give the reader an understanding of bodybuilding history while simultaneously constructing the contemporary neoliberal nature of bodybuilding. To supplement this methodology of history, this thesis also contains ethnographic interviews with bodybuilders and analysis of bodybuilding social media in order to get a perspective from inside the world of bodybuilding.