They call it the "Adonis Complex." A term coined by Doctors Harrison Pope, Katherine Phillips, and Roberto Olivardia in their book by the same title, this new catch phrase has created a bit of a stir in the gender studies community. This book, The Adonis complex : the secret crisis of male body obsession, analyzes the increase in male plastic surgery. The dialogues that have arisen as a result of its publication have taken an interesting slant. Is the so called "Adonis Complex" a genuine signal of self-esteem changes in the male populous, or much ado about nothing?

Pope, Phillips, and Olivardia claim that there is a "widespread crisis among today's boys and men--a crisis that few people have noticed." In recent years, indeed, there have been small increases in the numbers of men seeking plastic surgery. But according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), which is the authority charged with tracking numbers, women still lead the statistical race by a wide margin. Only 11% of all plastic surgeries are performed on men. Of these procedures, liposuction is the most common. eyelid surgery, nose reshaping, and chin augmentation were also on the rise. Among all procedures only ear surgery was close to an even gender distribution, with men clocking in at 47%. In no other category did men represent more than 24% of the numbers, and in the vast majority they showed less than 10%. It is only fair to note that none of these procedures, with the possible exception of liposuction, are considered dangerous. Debates are still being made about the increased risks of post operative infection following liposuction.

In a 1999 article addressing the issue, ASPS president C. Lin Puckett said "men are becoming as concerned about remaining fit and trim as women. Because liposuction removes localized fat that doesn’t respond to dieting and exercising, it is the best procedure to help men attain their desired body shape." Puckett brings up an interesting point. Are men and women really both having these procedures in order to "remain fit and trim?" In an article by Maurice Lyman, a plastic surgeon in New York who specializes in procedures for men, 76% of all men having invasive procedures stated that they wished to "look better" or "improve personal appearance" while 87% of all women having invasive procedures indicated that they wanted to "feel better about themselves." The difference is startling and important, if under-analyzed.

Women change how they look in order to conform to a social ideal, so that they can like themselves. Men change how they look to look better. The former motivation is psychological, social, and spiritual, the latter is psychological and aesthetic. Certainly it would be unfair to dismiss all male plastic surgery as narcisistic whim. It is, however, equally absurd to equate increases in numbers with the kind of social pressure women have suffered for centuries. Though men are having more procedures they still make up only 11% of all plastic surgeries. They still opt for less invasive procedures as a rule. They still focus more on looking good and feeling fit as opposed to being accepted and validated. And perhaps most importantly, there is little or no pressure from media, professional circles, or society in general to conform to an unrealistic ideal.

This week Russell Crowe won the Oscar for best actor. He appeared to have gained a few pounds. Crowe showed signs of puffiness in his role as an aging hockey player in Mystery, Alaska. He wore a deceptively loose fitting tuxedo at the gala night, receiving his award with a bit of a telltale chin. This may be the only public mention of it. No producers have been threatening to replace him if he doesn't drop 20 pounds. There are still legions of chubby but sexy icons in the male world: Brian Dennehy, John Goodman, John Travolta. They slide up and down the scales without any notable change in payscale or adoration. While it may be true that men are becoming more concerned about body image, this concern can hardly be touted as a "widespread crisis." 11% is not a crisis. It may indeed be an increase, it may be interesting, it may even be cause for concern. But a crisis? 89% sounds more like a crisis.