‘We are aspiring to something that is not achievable by natural means’: a material-semiotic rendition of ‘technologies of the self’, steroid use, and social media among queer men in Winnipeg, Canada
Bibliographic record
Abstract
This study examines the socio-cultural dimensions of anabolic-androgenic steroid use among queer men in Winnipeg, Canada, addressing a gap in research that often focuses on risks and harms. Using qualitative methods, 17 semi-structured interviews were conducted with current, former, and potential anabolic-androgenic steroid users. Findings reveal that anabolic-androgenic steroid use extends beyond individual health risks, acting as a 'technology of the self' that fosters physical transformation, personal empowerment, and social belonging. Participants highlighted the influence of social media and queer community aesthetics, navigating tensions between idealised body norms and lived realities. For many, anabolic-androgenic steroid use enhanced self-worth and social connections but simultaneously reinforced hegemonic masculinity and systemic inequities, particularly for men of colour. These practices reflect deeply intertwined relationships between the body, identity, and notions of community. The study criticises interventions narrowly focused on harm, advocating for compassionate, culturally informed policies that address the lived experiences and aspirations of queer men who use anabolic-androgenic steroids. By situating their use within broader socio-technical and ethical fields, the research calls for nuanced approaches that acknowledge the intersecting pressures shaping engagement with body enhancement practices.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.002 | 0.003 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.019 | 0.028 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.009 | 0.003 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.004 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.004 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".