strong is the new skinny...or is it?

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Replies

  • melb_alex
    melb_alex Posts: 1,154 Member
    http://fitandfeminist.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/what-happens-when-the-pursuits-of-skinny-and-strong-collide/

    interesting article :smile:

    STRONG is definitely better in my opinion :)
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
    ask the hulk :wink:
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    I love this! I've always hated these "strong is the new skinny" fitspo images because the women still look unrealistic. Glad this article could put that into words!
  • aprmay
    aprmay Posts: 216 Member
    Strong :)
  • SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel
    SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel Posts: 434 Member
    100% STRONG! :wink:
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
    Trying to gain muscle without gaining fat, and getting thinner at the same time.

    My pointless life pursuit in a nutshell, lol
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    http://fitandfeminist.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/what-happens-when-the-pursuits-of-skinny-and-strong-collide/

    interesting article :smile:

    Anyone mind posting cliffnotes please?
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    cliffs:
    Trying to gain muscle without gaining fat, and getting thinner at the same time.

    body image isn't as important as what you can do with it. Sort of. She can write it better than me :laugh:
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    cliffs:
    Trying to gain muscle without gaining fat, and getting thinner at the same time.

    body image isn't as important as what you can do with it. Sort of. She can write it better than me :laugh:

    Wha.....


    Those are like the worst cliff notes ever. Damnet now I'm gonna og and read the damn article at work!
  • 1Kristine1
    1Kristine1 Posts: 697 Member
    I love this! I've always hated these "strong is the new skinny" fitspo images because the women still look unrealistic. Glad this article could put that into words!
    Hm interesting viewpoint.
    I have never thought about it this way.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    the bit about seeing how these women look for photoshoots equally applies for guys too. Nobody except the genetically elite or those on super "supplements" walk around at 5-6% BF (guys) or low teens for girls. It's called peaking :smile:
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
    Interesting, a good read. Bump.
  • zmeplay
    zmeplay Posts: 28 Member
    hah You are just like me. Don't do you homework and get upset when the boy/girl next to you doesn't do it to standards :)



    Those are like the worst cliff notes ever. Damnet now I'm gonna og and read the damn article at work!
    [/quote]
  • SilverLotusGirl
    SilverLotusGirl Posts: 537 Member
    That was a good article. I just wish that women and men too would focus on healthy. If you want to be thin or muscular or still a little heavy just focus on being healthy. It is true that you can't really pack on muscle and stay "skinny" without doing a lot of drastic things to really drop body fat and I feel sorry for the women who are obsessing and trying to do things that aren't possible.

    Although, she has failed to mention that quite a few groups do show women doing pull ups, women holding heavy weights, and actually showing that they are strong and aren't just muscular with low body fat.
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
    My summary: Women don't need another impossible ideal to live up to. Strong is good but the images used in the media are not necessarily promoting strong, but really are just promoting having visible muscle. To the author strength means actually DOING something that requires strength, not simply standing near a barbell, flexing muscles and showing as much skin as possible. Women don't need a "new skinny."
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
    How about "I don't give a f*#@ is the new skinny"?
  • darwinwoodka
    darwinwoodka Posts: 322 Member
    I like being strong. There's no way in hell I'll ever be skinny. But kicking *kitten* at the gym is fun.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    My summary: Women don't need another impossible ideal to live up to. Strong is good but the images used in the media are not necessarily promoting strong, but really are just promoting having visible muscle. To the author strength means actually DOING something that requires strength, not simply standing near a barbell, flexing muscles and showing as much skin as possible. Women don't need a "new skinny."

    good cliffs :smile:
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    My summary: Women don't need another impossible ideal to live up to. Strong is good but the images used in the media are not necessarily promoting strong, but really are just promoting having visible muscle. To the author strength means actually DOING something that requires strength, not simply standing near a barbell, flexing muscles and showing as much skin as possible. Women don't need a "new skinny."

    good cliffs :smile:

    Learn from this one Chris :P

    As a male, I don't really care what you women do. Just do whatever you want while minding your own business.

    Wanna run. Run.
    Wanna lift. Lift
    Wanna be bulky. Be bulky.

    I will try and give you info and support whenever I can but outside of that... do whatever the hell you want.
  • Minerva624
    Minerva624 Posts: 577 Member
    I think it's great to be strong. I'm trying to get strong but I hate when the "strong is the new skinny" mentality turns to skinny bashing. Some people are just naturally skinny or prefer to stay the way they are. Skinny has a very bad rep for many reasons, many of which I agree with, but skinny shaming is just as bad as anything else. As long as you're generally healthy, that's all that matters.
  • digitalplasma
    digitalplasma Posts: 4
    I'd like to be strong. I used to be skinny as a teenager, now I'm fat and want to shead this fat and get strong. Harder, better, faster, stronger! ;)
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Great article and something that I'd never really thought about before

    Although I was having a think about gaining back weight (fat) last week and it actually occurred to me that even if I do gain back some of the weight (fat) I've lost it isn't in any way going to be able to diminish the strength I've gained. Thinking about it that way made me feel better about it
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    Harder, better, faster, stronger! ;)

    My tag line on here :)
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
    That was a good article. I just wish that women and men too would focus on healthy. If you want to be thin or muscular or still a little heavy just focus on being healthy. It is true that you can't really pack on muscle and stay "skinny" without doing a lot of drastic things to really drop body fat and I feel sorry for the women who are obsessing and trying to do things that aren't possible.

    Although, she has failed to mention that quite a few groups do show women doing pull ups, women holding heavy weights, and actually showing that they are strong and aren't just muscular with low body fat.

    Yeah but the whole point is that you don't have to be sub 20% body fat to be strong and these images tend to only promote that body type as being strong. Lift enough heavy weights and you can be strong at any bf% even an obese person can be strong. The biased representation of only incredibly lean women as strong just gives us another unrealistic (for the majority) ideal to try and strive for
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    My summary: Women don't need another impossible ideal to live up to. Strong is good but the images used in the media are not necessarily promoting strong, but really are just promoting having visible muscle. To the author strength means actually DOING something that requires strength, not simply standing near a barbell, flexing muscles and showing as much skin as possible. Women don't need a "new skinny."

    Thanks for the cliffs.

    I have always disliked that phrase for a number of reasons. I can appreciate the sentiment of the article, especially considering I am working hard to be stronger and not necessarily to have more visible muscle.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    It looks like skinny is the new skinny only now with muscle.
  • Minerva624
    Minerva624 Posts: 577 Member
    It looks like skinny is the new skinny only now with muscle.

    tumblr_mdta80tK9r1rol1w1.gif
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    Intersesting read, definitely food for thought. We all seem so determined about body "types" that we lose sight of what we want our bodies to DO. Strong is not the new skinny. People who want to get skinny will get skinny no matter the cost (unless they discover weight training on the way, then being "skinny" becomes less important).
    Idk, body image is a tough subject, and most of us will always wish we were a little bit less or more something or other!
  • MizPassion
    MizPassion Posts: 245 Member
    Great article! I'd rather be strong physically. I also find I build more confidence when I become stronger than merely appearing slimmer.
    This was my favourite part of the article:
    "We need to expand our standards of beauty to recognize that beauty shows up in all kinds of bodies. And we need to get over this idea that the most important purpose we serve on is to be beautiful for other people. We have a right to have healthy bodies, to take up space, to have appetites, to cultivate our strengths in whatever form that may take. Our time on this planet is precious and we will never, ever get it back, so let’s stop squandering it in pursuit of meaningless ideals we will most likely never attain anyway. We deserve so much better than that."
  • Sawjer
    Sawjer Posts: 229 Member
    Strong is the new sexy.

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