Yours in Perfect Manhood

As gym use soars in the UK, accompanied by a sharp rise in steroid use, Dr Gavin Francis explores why certain historical moments drive men’s desire to put on muscle.

He considers the impact of periods of war and struggling economies on men's self-image, journeying through the opening of Europe's first public gymnasiums in the wake of the Napoleonic War and the search for the world’s ‘most perfectly proportioned’ man.

Written and read by Gavin Francis.
Produced by Lu Kemp.
This is a BBC Scotland Audio production for Radio 4.

The NHS website on anabolic steroid misuse can be found at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anabolic-steroid-misuse/

Gavin Francis is a GP and the author eleven books about medicine, culture and travel, including Sunday Times bestsellers Adventures in Human Being and Recovery, the Lost Art of Convalescence. His latest book, The Unfragile Mind explores the modern landscape of psychiatry, and calls for greater humility, curiosity and kindness in the way society approaches mental illness - it has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Award. He’s a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and his books have been translated into twenty languages.