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

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  • tjradd73
    tjradd73 Posts: 3,495 Member
    i CONSIDER MYSELF FAIRLY STRONG FOR HOW SMALL i AM...do i want bigger thighs...not really, but if I set a PG and that entails gaining an inch on each thigh (ie to increase LBM)...then so shall it be!! Am I trying to lose more weight....not really...but if I happen to lose a few lbs while reaching for a diff PG (ie my half marathon training I just completed) than so be it!...Am I ok with lookin petite, and then flexing my bicep for people...YOU BETCHA!!! :wink:
  • 17forbes
    17forbes Posts: 33 Member
    ” What we need to do is change the paradigm so that we value our bodies for all of the amazing things they let us do.”

    Love this blog!!
  • missym357
    missym357 Posts: 210 Member
    Thanks for pointing this piece out. I agree with the basic point of it. Tbh, the fitness industry enrages me at times because in order to look 'fit', many woman have to do things that are anything but healthy, but nobody seems willing to admit this. What is the difference between a woman netting 900 calories through reduced calorie intake and exercise to lower bodyfat and look 'strong' and a woman that is 5'10" eating 900 calories in order to look thin and willowy for a runway?? Neither one is healthy even if they are both reaching for very different looks.
  • Nikki_XC
    Nikki_XC Posts: 69
    Great read, thank you for sharing. I needed to see this.
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    Thanks for the blog recommendation :) I look forward to reading some of her other posts too. Cheers!
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
    "We don’t need a new “skinny.” We don’t need a new beauty standard, nor do we need yet another physical ideal hanging over our every thought and move like a little black cloud of doom."

    ^^ My favorite part. Great article. thanks for sharing :flowerforyou:
  • ST99000722
    ST99000722 Posts: 204 Member
    Great read , thanks !
  • Crankstr
    Crankstr Posts: 3,958 Member
    Strong is the new sexy.

    :flowerforyou:
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 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?

    Cliffnotes: "fitspo is bad."
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    Thanks for posting! I dislike that phrase too, partly because I think it's shaming "skinny" people. Some people are skinny! so what! And partly because of what the article expresses very well. And I wouldn't want my kids to feel like they need to look like skinny_model_a or muscley_model_b. (they are boys btw)
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    Another (shorter) article by a different blogger that would like to stop promoting unrealistic beauty ideals:

    http://www.radicalhateloss.com/2011/02/do-we-really-want-strong-to-be-new.html
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 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.

    I also hate skinny bashing (I'm a skinny girl), but the author of the original link posted did a very good job of staying away from skinny bashing, though.
  • clareyoung80
    clareyoung80 Posts: 177 Member
    Strong is the new skinny only if you workout in teeeeeeny tiny shorts and exercise bras and always maintain your tan. Otherwise you might as well be fat!


    I like the idea, but I agree with the article. I'd rather go with 'Healthy is just generally better overall...'
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
    Maybe I don't like the article because I am one of those people who thinks like a scientist which she basically says doesn't exist but, what I seem to be getting out of it, is that "Strong is the new skinny" is bad because people are too dumb/lazy to realize/do the work it takes to get strong. There are plenty of girls on this site that squat heavy and have slim thighs. Take a glance through my friends list if you doubt it, Heck, I'll even claim myself to be in this category, I had a thigh gap at 130 pounds with a 1RM around that weight.

    I agree that it can be misleading to show women who are cut up for photo shoots, but seriously take a look at most bodybuilding women on their off season and they still look great, and they still are strong. They still can have visible abs and slim thighs.

    I don't think the author of that article has any concept of how much muscle it takes to do something like squatting your body weight or deadlifting twice that. She seems to be under the delusion that you have to be big and bulky to accomplish such things.

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