For some, being big comes naturally. For others, being big is a goal to work towards.

Big or small, a person's size and how they view it can have very real impacts on a person's self esteem - even sometimes self-worth.

Today we share the stories of three people - two who want to big and one who has grown fed-up of his size.

"I Want To Be Big" is an exploration of body size, self-esteem and desire.
It is part two of our three part series on "Bears, Bodies and Health" 

Despite making considerable gains in his size, Dylan of Noodles and Beef has always felt "small". Source.
 

In this weeks show:

*Jack opens the show with a confession: He likes being a big guy. He likes the perks of being a big guy... but he can't help but feel a little bit deflated of late...

*Last week, Jack spoke over the phone with Dylan from San Francisco about his own experiences of size. In the last 5 years, Dylan has been on a personal journey to gain muscle mass - and has gained over 40 kilograms! However, despite Dylan's gains, he continues to live with anxieties about his size. In the interview Dylan discusses his workout routine, his diet, the support from his boyfriend Chad and for one short moment seeing himself as he really is.  In the full interview (posted below) Dylan continues to talk about his blog Noodles and Beef and his work on the Gay Cliques Census. 

*We bring Anthony into the studio. Anthony is the webmaster for Bellybuilders.com, a website dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of the expanding male form and is one of worlds largest "gaining" web communities. On the show, Anthony discusses his own feelings of size in relation to identifying as being a gainer, he continues to discuss the gainer subculture to provide us insider insight into an oft stigmatised subculture and dispels a few myths in the process.

*Lastly, we have Jim over the phone. At 6 foot 6 and 250 kilograms, Jim knows what it is like to be a big guy. The problem is - he doesn't want to be. Acting as a counterpoint in today's program, Jim describes what it is like to be a big man in a culture that wasn't built for him.

Our SMS/ Email/ Facebook topic for today's show is "Is bigger always better?" - we share some the responses we got.

Anthony is our "Listener of the Week".

Music: