Thank you so much for your insightful articles about Kim Chizevsky, her retirement from competition and the problems with women's bodybuilding recently. I have often thought that the reticence of men to accept muscular women athletes is a subset of the same mentality (or lack thereof) of men enjoying picturing women as 'blondes or air heads which often results in the oppression of intelligent women in fields like data processing and medicine.

I also truly believe (and my research seems to confirm this) that the fact that women athletes are under extreme pressure to inhibit muscularity and remain "sexy" (which often involves following a 'semi starvation' diet) may be one of the reasons why women athletes suffer FOUR TIMES as many injuries as do male athletes who are invariably better nourished! It also should be noted that osteoporosis runs rampant among women athletes - so much so that a medical 'syndrome' has been identified and named, appropriately, "The Female Athlete Triad" (amenorrhea, anorexia and osteoporosis). Men don't seem to like the idea of strong women and therein lies the problem with women's athletics in general and bodybuilding specifically. And unfortunately, women tend to bend to these standards.

Regard Kim Chizevsky who had one of the most beautiful woman's bodybuilding physiques, now 'slimming down' (read that as trashing her muscles) to conform to where men like to SEE women, in the T & A area. Progressive understanding men like yourself do help the situation but unfortunately, until WE women get out heads out of our butts and be ourselves and stand up to the flack, we are not going to make much progress. I often think we are our own worst enemies as so many of us, seem to allow men to exploit us in our daily lives.... in abortion, in the suppression of muscularity, in our accepting qualified jobs for menial pay, in us being coerced into the workplace instead of being mothers and a myriad of things.

Sue Widemark - lean, muscular and proud of it!
http://suewidemark.freeservers.com

 

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