PenteKing’s BodyBlog

One would think, in this day and age, that all of the misconceptions and misinformation about female bodybuilding would be a thing of the past. Sadly, that is not the case. Today, while working out in the gym (way earlier than usual because I recently lost my job), I got into a rather heated discussion with two other gym members who thought that a female member (who I know very well) was "too masculine".

Normally, I would ignore jerks like this because talking to them has the same effect as talking to the rug. (In fact, sometimes you get a better reaction from the rug.) But what they said rankled me. Fabiana is a good friend of mine, and an occasional lifting partner. I know how strenuously she diets, and how hard she works to build a world-class physique. Her grit and determination are characteristics anyone would be proud to emulate. I consider her my friend. So when these two pissants started making snide comments, I lit into them. The exchange got so heated that the on-duty manager felt compelled to intervene and asked us to take the conversation outside. Wisely, I chose not to do so. (Two against one is never a good idea, especially if you’re on the receiving end.) I put the lid on my temper, plugged in my iPod and continued my workout. The two jomokes, after some muted grumbling, left the gym. Fabiana, who had heard from the manager what the altercation was about, came over to thank me for sticking up for her. I will tell you what I told her.

In the animal kingdom, no one would look at the female of the species and consider them to be "too masculine", no matter how well- or strongly-built they were. Lionesses are every bit as fast and powerful as their male counterparts, and if not for the mane around the male’s neck, you could probably not tell them apart. And it is a fact that the lioness does the lion’s share (poor joke) of the hunting for the pride. Is that consider "masculine"? I think not.

Female bodybuilders should be admired. They work long and hard to sculpt their bodies into works of art. They are justifiably proud of their strength and prowress - as well they should be. I suspect that most men who deride female bodybuilders are either afraid of, or secretly envy them. They aren’t secure enough in their own masculinity to accept the fact that women can be every bit as powerful and self-sufficient as any man. If that’s the case, grow up. Female bodybuilders are here to stay, and here is one man who is damned glad of it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Training, Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.