Annotated Bibliography 

Casey Butt.The WeighTrainer Blog: The HIstory of Steroids in Bodybuilding, 2009,http://weightrainer.blogspot.com/2009/08/history-of-steroids-in-bodybuilding.html, Accessed January 25, 2018

The source, The WeighTrainer Blog: The HIstory of Steroids in Bodybuilding written by Casey Butt, provides a historical insight into the creation and early advent of steroid use into the professional bodybuilding scene. In the article, Butt analyzes early attempts at synthesising and using testosterone to boost the performance and muscle mass of athletes. Butt also gives us a timeline for when the steroids we know of today were actually able to boost performance and muscle mass, since the earlier performance enhancing drugs really didn't do much in terms of increasing your physical prowess.     

This resource is important with regards to my research question not so much because it gives an outlook on whether or not steroids should continue to be banned in competitive bodybuilding, but because it gives a background on how steroids came to be used by professional bodybuilders, and how the first bodybuilding organization to drug test their competitors came to be.

This source relates to my other sources by providing background and context for the research question, but remains distinct because it does not argue for or against the use of steroids in professional bodybuilding. While I believe this to be an excellent source, it does have some shortcomings. For one, while it mentions the sources of the information found in the article, it doesn't give proper citing with a works cited page or in- text citations. Another source of concern with regards to this article is that it isn't exactly a academic source, since its from the Weightrainer blog.

 

Oliver Batemann.Drugs and the Evolution of Bodybuilding, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/08/drugs-and-the-evolution-of-bodybuilding/375100/, accessed January 26, 2018

The source, Drugs and the Evolution of Bodybuilding, was written by Oliver Bateman, a prolific writer whose work has appeared trustworthy and academic news sites. This source is important to my research question because it brings up several of the health risks that go along with heavy use of anabolic steroids that are so commonly found in modern bodybuilding. The source also gives insight into the modern landscape of bodybuilding, and how the newer competitors are almost grotesque compared to the classics found back in the day.

In the article, Bateman discusses the evolution of bodybuilding, noting how athletes in the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) have shifted from being taller and more proportional such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Larry Scott, “who won the first Mr. Olympia at a competition weight of 205 pounds, was one of the first athletes to combine scientific bodybuilding training with extraordinary proportions, including a tape-measure set of 20” biceps” (Bateman), to much heavier set and shorter athletes such as Ronnie Coleman, who won Mr. Olympia at a whopping 297 lbs of lean mass, showcasing the evolution of steroid use and abuse in professional bodybuilding.

This is important to my research question because it brings up several of the health risks that go along with heavy use of anabolic steroids that are so commonly found in modern bodybuilding. The source also gives insight into the modern landscape of bodybuilding, and how the newer competitors are almost grotesque compared to the classics found back in the day.

This source relates to my other source: The WeighTrainer Blog: The HIstory of Steroids in Bodybuilding, by giving a brief background of the origins of steroid use and bodybuilding. However, this source adds to the information provided in the other source by going over the potential health risks one may encounter when using anabolic steroids. I am confident in this source’s authenticity because it contains links to where it got its info and because it is posted on the atlantic by a credible author.

 

Gholamreza Sepeheri. 2009, Frequency of Anabolic Steroids Abuse in Bodybuilder Athletes in Kerman City,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3905495/, accessed January 28, 2018

The source, Frequency of Anabolic Steroids Abuse in Bodybuilder Athletes in Kerman City, was written by doctor Sepeheri along with Majid Mousavi Fard, and Eshan Sepeheri and was a study, “ conducted to determine the type and frequency of anabolic steroids abuse in bodybuilder athletes in Kerman City. In the study, the researchers qualify and quantify what counts as an anabolic steroid, as well as what is considered to be high enough doses to warrant concerns for user’s health and wellbeing. The study also not only provides statistics for steroid abuse in the city of Kerman, but also in other places around the world such as the United States. The study also gives specific data as to where steroid users obtain their substances, what percentages of multiple sample populations make use of/abuse steroids, etc.

This source is vital for my research because it is a scientific study which provides important data as to how many people are abusing these substances in different populations, as well as to why steroid usage needs to be monitored and why users and coaches/those related to users need to inform them right away of the potential risks involved, since potential side effects, “include including high risk of heart attack, cardiac arrest, sudden death, behavioral disorders such as aggressiveness, paranoid psychosis, prostate hypertrophy, liver cancer, and elevated hepatic enzymes.”

This source relates to my other source, Drugs and the Evolution of Bodybuilding because both point out the potential health risks involved with steroid abuse for the purpose of bodybuilding. This article is different however, in that it brings up a greater list of potential side effects, as well as specific instances of when the use of anabolic steroids resulted in the death of an athlete.

 

Chris Smith. 2012, Why it's Time to Legalize Steroids in Professional Sports,https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/08/24/why-its-time-to-legalize-steroids-in-professional-sports/#5192176865d2, accessed January 28,2018

The source, Why it's Time to Legalize Steroids in Professional Sports, written by Chris Smith for Forbes magazine, provides a view on the steroid debate in sports from the point of view of someone who believes that their use should be allowed, but monitored and regulated in the world of professional sports.

This source is important for my research because it provides a legitimate argument for steroid use, arguing that it makes sense from a business perspective since it would increase athletes’ performances and therefore make the sport that they are a part of more interesting. The author also argues against the proposed health concerns involved with steroid use, citing how athletes are already putting themselves in harms way just by stepping out onto the field, providing a specific example with, “Just last year, a media car ran Johnny Hoogerland off the road during the Tour de France, sending him headlong into barbed wire”

This source is vastly different from my others because it provides an argument for the legalization of steroids rather than the continued ban on their use.  It is also come off as much more argumentative than my other sources, which are either academic or more open/ friendly in terms of tone.

 

Jeefery Katz. 2008, Should we Accept Steroid Use in Sports?, https://www.npr.org/2008/01/23/18299098/should-we-accept-steroid-use-in-sports, accessed January 28,2018

“Should we Accept Steroid Use in Sports?” is an article written by Jeffrey Katz written on National Public Radio.inc that provides a non-opinionated view on both side of the argument of whether or not steroid use should be allowed in professional sports.

In the article, Katz describes the different viewpoints of opponents and supporters of steroid using, going on to say that, “Opponents of the drugs say the athletes are endangering not only their own health, but also indirectly encouraging youngsters to do the same.” (Katz) Katz also goes on to provide insight to supporters of legalization, stating, “Others maintain that it is hypocritical for society to encourage consumers to seek drugs to treat all sorts of ailments and conditions but to disdain drug use for sports.” The highlight of the article, however, is the description of the debate between supporters of steroid legalization and those who don't.

The article is similar to my other source, Why it's Time to Legalize Steroids in Professional Sports because it provides an insight into the argument for the legalization of steroids, but is different because the article has a much more scholarly tone and also provides a view for those who oppose the use of steroids.