[Lingster]

Another really nice thing about the new site features is that I can unfriend you.

[David]

Bodybuilding will never be mainstream because it is all about the display of the physique and it’s so distorted from the normal physique. Never mind that the normal physique is pear shaped. There is some acceptance of male muscle but if you look at the guys that get the attention in the regular media the only time you see bodybuilders are when they make fun of them, Jersey Shore anyone, or when they are doing a perp walk.
But over all bodybuilders are looked down on for 2 reasons. The obvious one everyone likes to harp on is the chemical nature of the mass monsters. The other is it’s not functional muscle. What I mean here is it’s not developed in the pursuit of a record in swimming or some other sport. Add on top of that the neanderthal mentality in the so called media culture that derides anything more than a hint of muscle even on female athletes by people who are busy buying a larger size because of too many latte’s. Female athletes are often asked to soften their look to make themselves more marketable.
For the women they try and get into fitness or figure, and now bikini, because they hope to make money with sponsorships. But they are so few and far between that the powder companies that do sponsorships really don’t have to offer much.
Meanwhile a figure gal here or there gets to massive for figure so they move up to bodybuilding and this brings the bodybuilding average mass down but eventually they want to win and they too become extreme.
This discussion goes on every year and there are lulls where you don’t see many new bodybuilders and then suddenly there’s a bunch of new gals on the scene. In the RXMuscle thread it looks like Australia is going through a drought and in some places here in the US you see drops in competitors. In others you see sudden bursts of competitors.

[MaxxC]

Mimi wrote:

I had no idea that the FBB community was in shambles. Is it all because of the steroid mania? That’s so sad to hear especially when there is so much beauty within any woman who dedicates her life to health and power.
~Mimi

I don’t know too many women who are willing to inject male hormones into their bodies to become more muscular. Though, I think it’s more about the ends justifying the means.

Is it because of power? Is it because of muscle? Is it because they feel more natural being more masculine? Or maybe just to be the best? It’s a pretty interesting mix of psychological and physical things that probably compel a gal to do it.

I guess us fans only see this type of beauty through monstrosity. I’ve always wondered what sleeping with a giant monster would be like. :woohoo:

[Lingster]

Jersey Shore. :angry:

[Holiday]

Lingster wrote:

Jersey Shore. :angry:

Say what?

[AlexG]

Masschine wrote:

In the RXMuscle thread it looks like Australia is going through a drought and in some places here in the US you see drops in competitors. In others you see sudden bursts of competitors.

That’s what really surprised me, I normally think of the Land Down Under having more then its fair share of uberbuffed women. But according the poster, and as a publisher of a Aussie BBing mag (so he should know if anyone should), its all but extinct under the southern cross.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[AlexG]

Holiday wrote:

Lingster wrote:

Jersey Shore. :angry:

Say what?

They’re jacked-up on AAS.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[skinnyguy]

Is this an issue for bodybuilding or an issue for society? Is society moving to an era in which much of the work of the feminist movement is undone? You can blame some of the excesses of womens bodybuilding for its problems, however, it might also be a precursor of overall changes in the attitute of society on the role of women.

Hopefully I am wrong!

[TC2]

I believe you are wrong Skinnyguy.

The feminist movement from what I’ve seen is stronger than ever, with females obviously not staying in the household and instead are out there working real jobs making money.

Women have become much more independent and take care of themselves without the reliance of men, which is pretty much the definition of the feminist movement.

In some areas women don’t view bodybuilding in a negative light, the problem is the aesthetic look of the physique. Mainstream people view muscular bulk as male, and when women start looking like males that’s where the whole bodybuilding craze starts to fall apart.

When you’ve got people like Caroline Wang who look like dudes and sound like dudes, it is no wonder people get turned off by female bodybuilders. The ones that are the ugliest tend to get the most media attention so that they can get ridiculed. There are some exceptions to the rule, but most FBB’s get painted in a negative light.

With the media influencing how people think, unless female bodybuilders becomes something you see everyday. Mainstream will always look at it with disgust.

So no, it has nothing to do with the feminist movement, and that movement is far from being undone.

[Reason]

AlexG wrote:

Masschine wrote:

In the RXMuscle thread it looks like Australia is going through a drought and in some places here in the US you see drops in competitors. In others you see sudden bursts of competitors.

That’s what really surprised me, I normally think of the Land Down Under having more then its fair share of uberbuffed women. But according the poster, and as a publisher of a Aussie BBing mag (so he should know if anyone should), its all but extinct under the southern cross.

While it’s true that the female bodybuilding scene is not very big in Australia (not that it ever was), there seems to be an ever growing number of women around who are noticeably buff or at least highly athletic. I happened to be driving past a gym the other day on my way home from work, and I noticed a seemingly endless procession of buff women walking from their cars to the gym for a workout session, obviously after they had just finished work.

Also, I don’t think you can say there’s no link between the feminist movement and more women working out. As more women started moving into careers previously dominated by men, there had to be an increased motivation for them to become stronger to do be able to work in some areas. I mean look at Ashlee. She said one of the reasons she started working out was to be able to equal and not intimidated by the men she had to do business with.

[Author]

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