I wanted to depict sculpted bodies that appear like biomorphic structures or animations. Surreal strength, androgynous femininity, so tall and strong that it triggers fragile masculinity. Softly written words cutting into the hard, shiny bodies of the bodybuilders exposing the metal they are printed on. Rounding up my usual interplay of softness and edge, hybrids of organic and anorganic making.
I wanted an almost alien illustration of strength in fighting internalised heteropatriarchal violence.
They are standing in hero poses, or in particular poses that remind me of what I have seen in various dance competitions, where the contestants put an imaginary crown on their head to signalize their win over the other contestants and their deserved crowning as queen, king, royalty. The image is broken apart through a poem on sensitivity that is cut into it, written from the perspective of the scapegoat child, that was posted on Instagram with female bodybuilders as background. The installation is essentially the physical translation of an Instagram post.
Originally bodybuilding - the epiphany of health, beauty and fitness - developed as an outgrowth of European vaudeville and circus strongmen act, so somewhat out of the freak shows a lot of the othered people were put in.
Women bodybuilders are a physical example of not following heteropatriarchal law and order and being punished for it by the agents of misogyny.
Nowadays, the judges are actively trying to “Feminize” the sport by deducting points when contestants are “too big”, meaning too muscular.
Furthermore, the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness) made several rule changes since the nineties that women must decrease their muscle mass by twenty percent to be allowed to compete (there have not been changes like this on men’s bodybuilding competitions).
IFBB’S attempts to make women more closely fit heteronormative gender expectations, as they all emphasize the need for the female bodybuilders to become less massive, makes me wonder … are we scared of strong women over here?
Seems like it! Men want women that are strong enough to be their shoulder to cry on, but not too strong to make them look weak.
They desire the physique of a bodybuilder enough to make a whole pornography website about it, but fear it just enough to forbid them from competing when they are getting close to, or are reaching the same muscularity as their male counterparts.
Funnily enough the person making these rule changes to “feminize” bodybuilding is Jim Manion, founder of NPC (National Physique Committee), head of IFBB and father of JM Manion, who has indeed been operating a network of paid software pornographic websites that were advertising over 30 000 images of over 200 female bodybuilding competitors, most often without their consent and even if, reportedly after pressuring them to it Harvey Weinstein style.
If one does not do how manager JM Manion desires, one will be destroyed the next day - aka he indefinitely ends the contract and with that your bodybuilding career.
A systemic exploitation of female athletes, while making millions of profit.
The Manions and their pals have been getting rich off of sexually exploiting women over decades, as the Washington Post investigation of October 2022 uncovers.
The Manions and their pals have been getting rich off of sexually exploiting women over decades, as the Washington Post investigation of October 2022 uncovers.
The NPC and IFBB are both private, for-profit companies with no Human Resource department to possibly report sexual harassment to, no unions to protect you against abuses of power, nor supply of health insurance - instead they end their contract with you when you get pregnant.
Are you not embarrassed, is what I’m asking?
In the documentary film “Generation Iron 2” Iris Kyle got an email that she has to prequalify to attend a certain competition wings of strength rising phoenix world championship although ms Olympia champions are supposed to be qualified for life. They are pressuring her to do some work with her that she declines, she says “sex sells” and that female bodybuilders sometimes sell muscle worship (sthenolagnia and cratolagnia - arousal from strength, where they wrestle, lick, kiss and touch another person's muscles) to get further in their career. Often the promised pro league card or better judgement at the competitions promised in return for these sexual acts, don’t become reality.
Iris Kyle retired in 2022. She is now said to be training her boyfriend for bodybuilding competitions instead. Kyle was titled “the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins the most Mr. or Ms. Olympia wins of anyone and seven overall Ms. International wins”.