Bulky Female Bodies

ascrit
ascrit Posts: 770 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
A friend of mine sent this to me today and I figured I would pass it along:

http://fitandfeminist.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/fear-of-a-bulky-female-body/

Obviously I am not a woman but I do think that the messages here are pretty positive and helpful.

Also, please notice the comment by "Casey" in the comments section. Yikes!
«13456

Replies

  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Yes, alot of women do believe this, I've had a couple of friends that have said this to me.

    Really, they must think I'm not very successful with my weight lifting as I've so not bulked up lol!! :laugh:
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Good article...thanks for sharing!

    I had a skinny girl at work tell me she'd like to try spinning classes, but "I don't want to get huge man-thighs"....ugh!!
    :noway:
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared... I didn't know what to say to that...lol. Mind you I started strength training only a month ago.
  • wshultz14
    wshultz14 Posts: 63 Member
    I have always liked a little weight training. I don't use free weights, but I like to us a Weider Cable and weight machine.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    If women with muscles look like men....

    do men without muscles look like women???
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    What's problematic to me is how many describe "bulky". There is a difference between being "bulky" and being "muscular". Here's thread I made on it awhile back.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/511229--bulky-vs-muscular-the-real-definition?hl=bulky+vs+muscular

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Jessica Biel is hot. 10/10 would threesome with her and her hot husband.

    That is all.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing i've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    I detest the implication that musculature and fitness are inherently masculine traits, throughout our society, and that to be feminine immediately implicates you must be slender, light and fragile-looking.

    edit; obviously not my thoughts on the article, but more generally surrounding the issue
  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    If women with muscles look like men....

    do men without muscles look like women???

    Lol! :laugh:
  • amyhoss
    amyhoss Posts: 414 Member
    If women with muscles look like men....

    do men without muscles look like women???

    Actually if you read the whole article, they do basically say that.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared... I didn't know what to say to that...lol. Mind you I started strength training only a month ago.
    Goes to show how some are really uniformed on how fitness really works. Lots of misinformation is passed on by some of the women's magazines that deal in fashion and gossip.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • WhiteRabbit1313
    WhiteRabbit1313 Posts: 1,091 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing i've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.

    ^^Lol, this, totally.
  • x311Tifa
    x311Tifa Posts: 357 Member
    OOHHHH That Casey guy in the comments is just looking to get smacked one day.. Everything he said just made my blood boil..
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing i've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.

    I find bulky women scary!!!
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing i've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.

    I find bulky women scary!!!

    BOO!
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    Yup, I have the right to take up space. I have the right to be powerful. I have the right to be able to defend myself, and viciously defend myself against sexual and physical violence.

    I also agree with the article that "feminine" and "masculine" are BS terms that defy definition. Anyone who hurls "unfeminine" at me as an insult can kindly suck my left hazelnut.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I think I have a new favorite blog.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
    I WANT to get "bulky". I WANT people to look at me and say "Dayum. Nice muscles!"

    But then again I'm a huge fan of muscles on women so I could be slightly biased.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    What's problematic to me is how many describe "bulky". There is a difference between being "bulky" and being "muscular". Here's thread I made on it awhile back.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/511229--bulky-vs-muscular-the-real-definition?hl=bulky+vs+muscular

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    THIS THIS THIS.

    I have to agree- I find it very annoying people not being able to identify the difference between what is muscular and bulky. They can be similar- and connected- but most of the time it's just not the same ball park.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing i've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.

    I find bulky women scary!!!
    Well, nothing wrong with a little scare now and then. Last semester I legit had a classmate tell me he thought it was weird if a woman was stronger than a man. As if a woman should hold herself back in deference to protecting all male egos everywhere (as if that were even possible anyway!). I told him that said a lot about his perception of himself.
  • LishieFruit89
    LishieFruit89 Posts: 1,956 Member
    Tagging to read later.

    When I told my friend I wanted to do a figure competition later this year, I was told not to get "beastly"
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Well, nothing wrong with a little scare now and then. Last semester I legit had a classmate tell me he thought it was weird if a woman was stronger than a man. As if a woman should hold herself back in deference to protecting all male egos everywhere (as if that were even possible anyway!). I told him that said a lot about his perception of himself.

    perhaps he should get his weight up then ;)
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    There's a definitional problem. Many women would love to look like Jessica Biel. But that look is not attainable by everyone. The issue some women have is with looking bigger (not "bulky" like a man) than is attractive for their height and physique. For example, if you already have disproportionately big thighs certain exercises such as spinning will make them bigger. If you're exercising for strength or a sport aesthetics may not matter to you, but for some women it does.
  • 20Grit
    20Grit Posts: 752 Member
    Tagging to read later.

    When I told my friend I wanted to do a figure competition later this year, I was told not to get "beastly"

    LOL- bring on the beast!
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    There's a definitional problem. Many women would love to look like Jessica Biel. But that look is not attainable by everyone. The issue some women have is with looking bigger (not "bulky" like a man) than is attractive for their height and physique. For example, if you already have disproportionately big thighs certain exercises such as spinning will make them bigger. If you're exercising for strength or a sport aesthetics may not matter to you, but for some women it does.
    And what we're saying is that any aesthetic that requires you to limit yourself as to what you can achieve athletically or performance-wise is broken. And the giant elephant in the room is the stupid double-standard that applies to female athletes and male athletes. Nobody criticizes male football players for being "too bulky", but you do hear that about female athletes.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    I don't have a problem with the terms "masculine" and "feminine," but I have a real problem with people labeling physical attributes that both sexes possess with those terms. And what especially pisses me off is when this sort of talk comes from women. It nearly always comes from women who don't have 1/10 of the work ethic required to get anywhere close to "bulky."

    If Jessica Biel is bulky and masculine, then sign me up.
  • KristinaB83
    KristinaB83 Posts: 440 Member
    My friend sent me a text the other day that said she didn't want me to get too bulky because then she'd get scared

    That is pretty much the dumbest thing I've ever heard. She'd get scared. Really.

    I agree with you completely!!! And it surprised me a bit coming from her because she's really smart and usually does research on things like this before she says something that assinine.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    And what we're saying is that any aesthetic that requires you to limit yourself as to what you can achieve athletically or performance-wise is broken.

    Yes. I completely agree with this. If I had to choose a fitness pro whose body is close to what I'm trying to achieve, it would be Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet. And I've had guys tell me, upon seeing her picture, that her arms are too big. Too big for what? Her arms support the work she does. It's not like she went out and tried to get huge arms. That's just what happens when you do what she does. Is she supposed to not do something she's great at because it might give her arms that some people think are "too big?" That's ridiculous.

    By the way, here is Camille, for those who don't know who I'm talking about:

    574710_3084767159684_1006065122_n-e1362419130468.jpg
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
    My friends list is polluted with bulky women who didn't heed my warnings to only lift 3lb pink weights. They disgust me. I stare at their bulky progress pictures for hours and hours, trying to ignore that tingly feeling of disgust that builds up inside of me.

Categories