Reply #16: In the 1970s and 1980s, East Germany dosed its female athletes with steroids [View All]

Outsiders noticed their bulky physiques, deep voices, and hairy chins.

Years later, when the scandal broke, and the former athletes were reporting all sorts of side effects from the steroids, including organ damage, infertility, and bone damage, a writer asked one of them why they didn't notice the weird physical changes they were going through.

She answered that given East Germany's intensive sports training schools, she rarely saw anyone but other athletes. Women with unusual amounts of male hormones looked normal, because that's the only kind they ever saw.

I think the same thing works for the most common body type in a society. When I go to Japan, I think, "Everyone's so skinny." when I come back here, I think, "Everyone is so heavy." But then a few days later, I don't notice anymore.