Today you have some reading to do, dear - er - reader.
The article first appeared in the UK edition of VICE, but has become better known since appearing on its US sister site. And as articles about the subject that are, at least in part, about "us", it's as good as anything I've read since Tanya Bunsell's seminal Strong and Hard Women. Yes, there is a bit of laziness on the part of author Lucas Oakeley - we are all "schmoes", the use of the word "goddess" to describe desirable women is not the exclusive domain of the female muscle lovin' community, and surely these days it's camshows, rather than the more "traditional" sessions, that are really the most "lucrative" way for a Female Bodybuilder to spend her time. However, and here's the acid test, I finished the article and felt informed. Especially interesting (to me) was a large chunk of the "fascination with muscular women is not new" section, as well as the extended Skype interview with HerBiceps overlord Michael Eckstut.
It's a long read - the fact that it appears in the VICE "Long Reads" section is a clue - but as I say, well worth the effort. I'd be interested to hear your own reactions (via the comment box below or by emailing me direct: 6ft1swell@gmail.com).
INSIDE THE LUCRATIVE WORLD OF FEMALE MUSCLE WORSHIP
Showing posts with label Tanya Bunsell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tanya Bunsell. Show all posts
Friday, 17 August 2018
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Olympia 2014 Review: Gymnastic Fantastic
It's one thing to look great. It's a whole other deal to look great and perform an acrobatic routine while carb and water depleted. But that's what Fitness competitors do each and every time they hit the stage. It's a sport that combines the aesthetics of physique with an entertaining twist. If you like looking at fit women doing insane tricks, then you need to sign up for the Fitness division fan club.
Cassie Smith, Bodybuilding.com
It's been a while since FMS last celebrated the power and flexibility of Fitness competitors and muscular women in general. In fact you have to go back almost exactly two years to 16th October 2012 for our last Gymnastic Fantastic post. Watching this year's Fitness Olympia routines with our collective jaw on the floor convinced us it was high time we celebrated such dynamic athleticism once again.
Don't cha wish your girlfriend had moves like these? read the tagline on our very first Gymnastic Fantastic post in 2011, and on another early post we (somewhat more crudely) invited readers to imagine the possibilities. As Tuco might have said in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: "There are two types of men in this world. Those whose women are this gymnastic, and those who wish their women were this gymnastic."
I was once fortunate enough to actually be with a couple of extremely flexible women. One was an ex-gymnast, the other a dancer. And yes, it is as good as you imagine it is, better, in fact. Legs all over the place. The ability to achieve positions previously undreamt of and, more importantly, maintain them. Those were, indeed, the days!
But it's not just the sexual fantasies of men that this kind of strength and agility appeals to. It was the sight of a fitness competitor performing her routine that originally aroused Dr Tanya Bunsell's interest in muscular women. As she recalls in her wonderful book Strong and Hard Women - now available in paperback remember - The first time I saw a female bodybuilder I was 7 (at a ballet class). I looked up and saw a woman doing a gymnastic routine on a muted television screen. I watched her do the splits, one armed press-ups and even a back flip. I was awestruck, not so much by the routine, but by the combination of her skills and her appearance. I had never seen a woman look like that before. She was wearing a shiny bikini, displaying her tanned, muscular body. She had lots of make-up on and styled 'big' hair. She looked so happy, independent, strong and carefree. I know now that the woman performing the routine was a fitness competitor. Unlike the majority of people who immediately react with repulsion at the mere sight of a muscular woman, her appearance, demeanour and capabilities immediately appealed to me. Even at that young age I was drawn to and fascinated by a woman so apparently possessed of herself.
Really the prowess of these amazing women can only be partially appreciated in photos like the ones we've selected today. While they may capture something of the "insane tricks" Fitness competitors perform, what they don't capture is the speed at which they perform them. The transition from one almost impossible move to the next almost impossible position happens in the blink of an eye, and what's more, there are no let-ups - at no point do they pause and catch their breath. They're relentless.
We noted on Saturday that it was thought Oksana Grishina's routine was just so far ahead of everyone else's that she had moved up the judges' scorecards from 4th (or even 5th place) in the first ("physique") round and into top spot because of it. But quite honestly, the flexibility, the acrobatics, the strength and the sheer energy displayed in every single one of the routines at the 2014 Fitness Olympia left me quite breathless.
Nevertheless, I did especially enjoy (former gymnast) Myriam Capes' strength in her "Angel & Devil" routine - and she even treated the audience to a most impressive most muscular at the finish. As well as Capes' routine, I enjoyed her fellow Canadian Fiona Harris flinging herself around the stage, and another woman that caught my eye for her acrobatics was American Whitney Jones. And some of the positions 4th place finisher Bethany Cisternino and Uruguay's Marta Aquiar managed to get themselves into had my eyes popping out of their sockets (among other things).
All in all, I'm left wondering why the Fitness division bothers with any other round, so much have I enjoyed the rare treat of watching all the routines in full. Heels and quarter turns are fine and all, but the Figure and Bikini divisions already cover that. And given the routines already count for 66% of the total scoring, it seems a bit unnecessary to put these fantastic gymnastic athletes through the heels and turns thing when it is clear to all they are best appreciated flying through the air, twisting and landing into a one-armed press-up... then taking off again!!!
You can pick your own favourites, and see these amazing women in motion, here.
Enjoy!
Monday, 1 September 2014
Strong and Hard Women: Good News!
It's nice to be back, and it's particularly nice to be back with news that Dr Tanya Bunsell's ethnographic study of female bodybuilders, Strong and Hard Women, reviewed by FMS back in May 2013, is now available in paperback.
Although the author herself has told us that she is "still not comfortable about the pricing", the paperback is currently retailing at a slightly more wallet-friendly price of around £27 on Amazon at the time of writing (with the Kindle version slightly cheaper) compared to the £70 you would have had to fork out for the original hardback.
It was never a given that there would be a paperback edition, its publication very much dependent on the book's "success". Part of that success was the book being shortlisted by a panel of experts for the BBC's Ethnography Award, and as a result it was given a glowing review on the BBC Radio 4 programme Thinking Allowed.
UK readers can listen to the show on the BBC (from just after the nine-minute mark) although I'm not sure if non-UK readers will be able to access it. If you can, though, you'll be treated to a round table of academics not only complimenting Dr Bunsell's work (it's a "classic" ethnography, says one), but also the FBBs themselves! And, if you are at all curious as to what Dr Bunsell sounds like (I know I was!) then there is also the bonus that you get to hear her reading a short extract from the book as well.
And, to coincide with the paperback coming out, the book has been reviewed (favourably) in the prestigious Times Higher Education, although we imagine that Dr Bunsell's favourite review of her work is still the one we published on FMS!
You might also want to read the interview Dr Bunsell kindly agreed to do with us (and which contains a number of extracts from the book) on FMS passim.
But, most of all, BUY it! Firstly, you won't regret doing so, and secondly, you'll also be doing your bit to show there is a market for serious books on the subject of female bodybuilders and female bodybuilding, which can only be a good thing.
Our sincere thanks and congratulations to Dr Bunsell!
Enjoy! And BUY!!!
Although the author herself has told us that she is "still not comfortable about the pricing", the paperback is currently retailing at a slightly more wallet-friendly price of around £27 on Amazon at the time of writing (with the Kindle version slightly cheaper) compared to the £70 you would have had to fork out for the original hardback.
It was never a given that there would be a paperback edition, its publication very much dependent on the book's "success". Part of that success was the book being shortlisted by a panel of experts for the BBC's Ethnography Award, and as a result it was given a glowing review on the BBC Radio 4 programme Thinking Allowed.
UK readers can listen to the show on the BBC (from just after the nine-minute mark) although I'm not sure if non-UK readers will be able to access it. If you can, though, you'll be treated to a round table of academics not only complimenting Dr Bunsell's work (it's a "classic" ethnography, says one), but also the FBBs themselves! And, if you are at all curious as to what Dr Bunsell sounds like (I know I was!) then there is also the bonus that you get to hear her reading a short extract from the book as well.
And, to coincide with the paperback coming out, the book has been reviewed (favourably) in the prestigious Times Higher Education, although we imagine that Dr Bunsell's favourite review of her work is still the one we published on FMS!
You might also want to read the interview Dr Bunsell kindly agreed to do with us (and which contains a number of extracts from the book) on FMS passim.
But, most of all, BUY it! Firstly, you won't regret doing so, and secondly, you'll also be doing your bit to show there is a market for serious books on the subject of female bodybuilders and female bodybuilding, which can only be a good thing.
Our sincere thanks and congratulations to Dr Bunsell!
Enjoy! And BUY!!!
Monday, 28 April 2014
The Agony & the Ecstasy
Lea Wiehl - check her out her Facebook, she's the Danish Georgina McConnell (only smaller!) - took to the stage over the Easter weekend at The Loaded Cup.
This was her competitive debut, her first experience of the physical and mental challenges involved in preparing for and performing at a bodybuilding show. And in the mood I'm in this week, I couldn't help but wonder how Lea was feeling as she stood up there and posed for the judges and the crowd (not to mention all the fans following the show's live stream). And as I looked at Lea, I couldn't help remembering something I'd read by an anonymous female IFBB pro on her feelings about competing...
It's agony to get so depleted, but it's ecstasy to show it off...
The challenges involved in competing are well-documented. But what of the pleasures? In the final chapter of Strong and Hard Women, Tanya Bunsell gives us a unique and invaluable insight into both as she recounts her experience of following "Michelle", a female bodybuilder, preparing and competing in a regional British show.
In her opinion, unless you go through the bodybuilding diet yourself, you can never fully understand what it’s like... With more than two weeks to go before the show, "Michelle" finds herself in a difficult place – I’m tired, I’m exhausted and I’m not very responsive. I know that I can just sit in my vegetative state just listening, but it can come across that I just don’t care. I’m just not very enthusiastic – just plodding along. Sometimes I feel like I’m cold, shut off and isolated and completely on my own – and everything gets blamed on the diet and sometimes I feel so alone with it.
But as we enter the fortnight before the show, "Michelle" transforms, both physically and mentally, as the end of her journey (the contest) comes into sight. Dr. Bunsell observes that her drawn face is animated by her bright, almost translucent blue eyes, with dilated pupils. She describes an ‘almost heightened awareness’. This sublime, ‘euphoric’ feeling manifests itself in an overall feeling of confidence.
This is demonstrated in the gym, when, one week before the competition, she trains in a vest and tight shorts, rather than her usual baggy T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms. Within the gym, Michelle is greeted by hushed whispers, people pointing and shocked stares. Some men even take one look at her and leave the weights area altogether. Instead of her usual reaction of annoyance and frustration as a result of such unwelcome distractions from her training, she now challenges the onlookers in a direct but non-aggressive manner. Far from turning away and avoiding eye contact in a dignified manner, she poses audaciously in front of the mirror for all to see.
With a couple of days to go, her depleted body is crying out for carbs and her intake of water so great she needs to pee all the time. The afternoon before the show and she's suffering from a deep thirst and only having the odd tiny sip of water. But at least she gets to have the carbs she's been dying for. "Michelle" has been looking forward to this treat, but so dry is her mouth that her carrot cake tastes like 'sawdust'.
On the day of the show itself, "Michelle" gets what she calls her 'time to shine'. It's a regional amateur show, but there's a crowd of over 1,000 spectators to perform for as well as the judges. Backstage, Dr. Bunsell witnesses "Michelle"'s final transformation.
As she begins to pump up for the last time, new life is breathed back into her organs, causing the separation between her muscle groups to become so distinctly visible and her veins so prominent that her body looks like an anatomy chart come to life. Her pumped-up muscles glisten underneath the oil and perspiration. It is finally time for that sacred moment. Everything has been building up to this one moment in time.
It seems then that competing is both a kind of physical AND a spiritual experience, much like a pilgrimage in my opinion. The moment on stage is Mecca, and it is 'sacred', and the end of the journey. What "Michelle" feels when on stage is, sadly, missing from the account, but Dr. Bunsell tells us she looks confident, radiant and proud as she stands with the lights shining down on her and the audience clapping and cheering.
At this point, Dr. Bunsell claims, "Michelle" is storing memories that will serve to get her through the process of contest prep again. The journey has been both spiritual and physical, so they are memories of 'sensations and emotions' rather than events.
And it is these memories of her 'sacred moment' that will help enable "Michelle" to compete again and to once more achieve the objectively insane ambition of depleting her body of excess fat and ridding it of as much water as possible, until it is at its most unhealthy and weak. It is the memory of the 'ecstasy' that makes the 'agony' bearable. And the moment of 'ecstasy' is the 'sacred' moment when she is posing on stage.
Congratulations to Lea, to "Michelle" (she won the contest in the book in case you were wondering), and to all competitive female bodybuilders, pro and amateur, whatever their division or federation. FMS wishes you all the ecstasy you can handle!
Enjoy!
Strong and Hard Women - sadly no paperback edition as yet.
This was her competitive debut, her first experience of the physical and mental challenges involved in preparing for and performing at a bodybuilding show. And in the mood I'm in this week, I couldn't help but wonder how Lea was feeling as she stood up there and posed for the judges and the crowd (not to mention all the fans following the show's live stream). And as I looked at Lea, I couldn't help remembering something I'd read by an anonymous female IFBB pro on her feelings about competing...
It's agony to get so depleted, but it's ecstasy to show it off...
The challenges involved in competing are well-documented. But what of the pleasures? In the final chapter of Strong and Hard Women, Tanya Bunsell gives us a unique and invaluable insight into both as she recounts her experience of following "Michelle", a female bodybuilder, preparing and competing in a regional British show.
In her opinion, unless you go through the bodybuilding diet yourself, you can never fully understand what it’s like... With more than two weeks to go before the show, "Michelle" finds herself in a difficult place – I’m tired, I’m exhausted and I’m not very responsive. I know that I can just sit in my vegetative state just listening, but it can come across that I just don’t care. I’m just not very enthusiastic – just plodding along. Sometimes I feel like I’m cold, shut off and isolated and completely on my own – and everything gets blamed on the diet and sometimes I feel so alone with it.
But as we enter the fortnight before the show, "Michelle" transforms, both physically and mentally, as the end of her journey (the contest) comes into sight. Dr. Bunsell observes that her drawn face is animated by her bright, almost translucent blue eyes, with dilated pupils. She describes an ‘almost heightened awareness’. This sublime, ‘euphoric’ feeling manifests itself in an overall feeling of confidence.
This is demonstrated in the gym, when, one week before the competition, she trains in a vest and tight shorts, rather than her usual baggy T-shirts and tracksuit bottoms. Within the gym, Michelle is greeted by hushed whispers, people pointing and shocked stares. Some men even take one look at her and leave the weights area altogether. Instead of her usual reaction of annoyance and frustration as a result of such unwelcome distractions from her training, she now challenges the onlookers in a direct but non-aggressive manner. Far from turning away and avoiding eye contact in a dignified manner, she poses audaciously in front of the mirror for all to see.
With a couple of days to go, her depleted body is crying out for carbs and her intake of water so great she needs to pee all the time. The afternoon before the show and she's suffering from a deep thirst and only having the odd tiny sip of water. But at least she gets to have the carbs she's been dying for. "Michelle" has been looking forward to this treat, but so dry is her mouth that her carrot cake tastes like 'sawdust'.
On the day of the show itself, "Michelle" gets what she calls her 'time to shine'. It's a regional amateur show, but there's a crowd of over 1,000 spectators to perform for as well as the judges. Backstage, Dr. Bunsell witnesses "Michelle"'s final transformation.
As she begins to pump up for the last time, new life is breathed back into her organs, causing the separation between her muscle groups to become so distinctly visible and her veins so prominent that her body looks like an anatomy chart come to life. Her pumped-up muscles glisten underneath the oil and perspiration. It is finally time for that sacred moment. Everything has been building up to this one moment in time.
It seems then that competing is both a kind of physical AND a spiritual experience, much like a pilgrimage in my opinion. The moment on stage is Mecca, and it is 'sacred', and the end of the journey. What "Michelle" feels when on stage is, sadly, missing from the account, but Dr. Bunsell tells us she looks confident, radiant and proud as she stands with the lights shining down on her and the audience clapping and cheering.
At this point, Dr. Bunsell claims, "Michelle" is storing memories that will serve to get her through the process of contest prep again. The journey has been both spiritual and physical, so they are memories of 'sensations and emotions' rather than events.
And it is these memories of her 'sacred moment' that will help enable "Michelle" to compete again and to once more achieve the objectively insane ambition of depleting her body of excess fat and ridding it of as much water as possible, until it is at its most unhealthy and weak. It is the memory of the 'ecstasy' that makes the 'agony' bearable. And the moment of 'ecstasy' is the 'sacred' moment when she is posing on stage.
Congratulations to Lea, to "Michelle" (she won the contest in the book in case you were wondering), and to all competitive female bodybuilders, pro and amateur, whatever their division or federation. FMS wishes you all the ecstasy you can handle!
Enjoy!
Strong and Hard Women - sadly no paperback edition as yet.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)