Women, Muscles, and "Bulk:" A historical perspective

hungryhobbit1

There are a million threads about women and "bulky" muscles, but yes I am starting a new one.

Are you worried that lifting heavy weights, lifting light weights, or even just running on an elliptical will make you "bulk up" and look like a man? Please, consider this.

You exist today because thousands of your female ancestors carried their children, and the water and food to keep them alive, nearly 24 hours a day for the entire span of their lives. You are sitting here sipping green tea and debating whether or not picking up a 10 pound weight will make your arms look too big, because your great great great great great grandmother carried your great great great grandmother through a 200 mile migration while balancing a gourd filled with water on her head.

Her physique might have looked something like these huge manly women:



Later on, your ancestors might have settled down and engaged in agriculture. Maybe they tended to dairy cattle like this bulky woman:



Or maybe she swung a scythe all day like this unfortunate manly person:



How ever they survived, they did it by carrying heavy loads constantly, like many women all over the world still do today:



Take a minute to be thankful that you can even be asking this question, and be grateful for your amazing, capable, strong body.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

But, but, we must be weak and frail. Otherwise why would we need men to protect us and control us?

LorinaLynn

Love this.

CoderGal

bump

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I love vintage muscle women pictures:

These two were stolen from a facebook page I follow:

Ivy Russell 1930s


Abbye "Pudgy" Stockton


From the Venus with Biceps book: http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/11/venus-with-biceps-a-history-of-muscular-women-in-pictures/248820/

Iron_Lotus

RunHardBeStrong

Love it!! Completely agree...what's the point if you're going to lift weights lighter than your purse or toddler??

StarChanger

Awesome post

Achrya

Look at all these manly women. Groce.

But seriously. My younger sister is 4. She weighs like...twenty pounds and likes to jump off of tables onto my back/into my arms. Lifting things lighter than that isn't going to cut it.

TravisBikes

Yay! Bulky women!!

CallMeCupcakeDammit

CharliesInCharge

not ashamed to say women that lift heavy rock

UsedToBeHusky

:drinker:

caterpillardreams

I love all the women lifting pics. I just started Lifting last week at the gym, love it

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

Yay!

This thread has inspired me to run off and lift heavy things over my head. Love it!

4word

Love this! My body just responds better to heavy lifting. I want my body to reflect the inner strength I feel!

neandermagnon

**** big round of applause, standing ovation ****

<

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see my avatar - the middle palaeolithic definition of feminine - and great x 2000(ish) grandmother of probably about six sevenths of the world's population

BeachIron

I love this perspective on the "bulky" comments. Very well said, OP.

rhiannon737

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SairahRose

So much love.

tehboxingkitteh

ldrosophila

Take a minute to be thankful that you can even be asking this question, and be grateful for your amazing, capable, strong body.

Those women work so hard carrying food, water, and babies. The men...meh, but the women at least in a small area of Nigeria where I lived worked from sun up to sun down. So much respect.

Unknown

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mkcmurphy

Love! Thank you!

mommabenefield

Y.o.u. W.I.N ... :drinker:

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I've always loved fit women, going all the way back to Rachel McLish days. The first Ms. Olympia!

I love this picture with her awesome early 80s hair.

redheaddee

I love this so frakking hard!!

bettepower

Gorgeous textiles.

hungryhobbit1

Speaking of gorgeous textiles...

LiftAllThePizzas

In for teh bulky womens.