BERNARR MACFADDEN

'Bernarr Macfadden' (16 August 1868, Mill Spring, Missouri – 12 October 1955) was an influential exponent of physical culture, a combination of bodybuilding with nutritional and health theories. He additionally founded the long-running magazine publishing company Macfadden Publications.

Contents

Biography

References

Biography

Born Bernard Adolphus McFadden, Bernarr Macfadden changed his first and last names to give them a greater appearance of strength^[1]. Macfadden founded ''Physical Culture'' magazine in 1899, and was editor up to the August 1912 issue. He eventually grew a publishing empire, including ''True Story'', ''True Romances,'' ''Dream World,'' the once-familiar movie magazine ''Photoplay,'' and a trashy tabloid newspaper, ''The New York Graphic.'' He was a celebrity who was an acquaintance of Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Will Rogers, and Rudolph Valentino. At the peak of his career he owned several hotels and a major building in New York.
Macfadden contributed to many articles and books including ''Superb Virility of Manhood'' (1904), ''MacFadden's Encyclopedia of Physical Culture'' (1911–1912), ''Fasting for Health'' (1923), and ''The Milk Diet'' (1923).
Macfadden made an unsuccessful attempt to found a religion, “cosmotarianism”, based on physical culture. He claimed that his regimen would enable him to reach the age of 150.
Nicknamed “Body Love Macfadden” by ''Time'', he was a flamboyant personality who inspired millions of people around the world to live healthful and vigorous lives. He was branded a “kook” and a charlatan by many, arrested on obscenity charges, and denounced by the medical establishment. Throughout his life, he campaigned tirelessly against “pill-pushers”, processed foods, and prudery.
Macfadden's magazines included ''SPORT magazine'', a preeminent sports magazine prior to Time, Inc.'s ''Sports Illustrated''.
Macfadden was married four times and had eight children, seven of whose name began with the letter ‘B’.
He died of a urinary tract infection.
Macfadden also established many “healthatoriums” in the eastern and midwestern states. These institutions offered educational programs such as “The Physical Culture Training School”. Although he gained his reputation for physical culture and fitness, he gained much notoriety for his views on sexual behavior. He viewed intercourse as a healthy activity and not solely a procreative one. This was a different attitude than most physicians had at the time. Sylvester Graham and John Kellogg were prominent figures in the health world at the time and promoted abstinence.
Macfadden popularized the practice of fasting that previously had been associated with illnesses such as anorexia nervosa.^[2] He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. Many of his subjects would fast for a week in order to rejuvenate their body. He claimed that “a person could exercise unqualified control over virtually all types of disease while revealing a degree of strength and stamina such as would put others to shame” through fasting. He saw fasting as an instrument with which to prove a man's superiority over other men.
Macfadden had photographs of himself taken before and after fasts to demonstrate their positive effects on the body. For example, one photograph showed Macfadden lifting a 100 pound dumbbell over his head immediately after a seven day fast. He also promoted fasting by appealing to racial prejudices, suggesting that fasting was a practice of self-denial that only civilized white men would choose to embrace. Macfadden acknowledged the difficulties of fasting and did not support it as an ascetic practice but rather because he believed its ultimate benefits outweighed its costs.²

References

1. Macfadden, Mary and Emile Gauvreau. Dumbbells and Carrot Strips: the Story of Bernarr Macfadden. New York: Holt, 1953.
2. Griffith, Ruth Marie; “Apostles of Abstinence: Fasting and Masculinity in the Progressive Era”, ''American Quarterly'', vol. 52, no. 4 (December 2000), pp. 599-638.


★ BernarrMacfadden.com

★ Bernarr Macfadden, the Father of Physical Culture

★ Project Gutenberg: ''Vitality Supreme'' (1915) by Bernarr Macfadden

★ The Sport Gallery: ''Sport'' magazine

★ "The Milk Diet: How to Use the Milk Diet Scientifically at Home" (1923) by Bernarr Macfadden