Tretter M (2026)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Other publication type, Preprint
Publication year: 2026
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.7084998
Open Access Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7084998
Peptides have become a highly visible phenomenon in contemporary digital health and youth culture. Marketed across social media as tools for becoming healthier, stronger, more attractive, and more productive, they have generated widespread enthusiasm and scientific concern. Despite this prominence, however, the peptide boom has thus far received little bioethical attention. This article argues that understanding the phenomenon requires more than assessing the safety or efficacy of individual compounds. It conceptualizes the peptide boom as a convergent phenomenon in which four mutually reinforcing dynamics come together: self-optimization culture, experimental health practices, social media infrastructures, and ideological backing. Examining this convergence reveals three ethical challenges that put established bioethical categories under pressure: the erosion of conditions for informed decision-making, the reconfiguration of epistemic authority, and the systematic evasion of responsibility and accountability. By identifying distinctive dynamics of the peptide boom and mapping its ethical challenges, the article lays essential groundwork for future bioethical engagement with this rapidly expanding phenomenon.
APA:
Tretter, M. (2026). Ethics of the Peptide Boom: Mapping the Terrain.
MLA:
Tretter, Max. Ethics of the Peptide Boom: Mapping the Terrain. 2026.
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