There are four blog topics I’ve been thinking about that are all tangled together. Common threads weave through them and they are all part of the same story. Really, it’s a story about strength, gender normativity, and women’s muscular bodies.
First, Catherine wrote about the names we use to describe our bodies. Catherine’s focus is on how complicated that task is when it comes to self-description. I agree but I think it’s partly because the words I want don’t really exist. I lament that there are so many positive words for muscular and heavily built men and no such words for women. Words for larger athletic male bodies? Burly, husky, substantial, strapping, brawny, to name just a few. Note that they are not necessarily gendered but they don’t work so well for women’s bodies.
Sidebar: There have been attempts to reclaim this language.
See CampaignBrawny women wear iconic plaid in #StrengthHasNoGender campaign
Second, I wrote about dad bods, asking yet again, where are the muscular-but-gotten-slightly-softer-with-age women’s bodies, the mom bods? Women can be svelte and muscular and desirable but most really strong women are actually large. It’s why there are weight classes in lifting. But no one sings the praises of larger, athletic women’s bodies.
Okay, Nat did in this post.
Third, I’ve been wondering if we’ll ever have any idea about women’s true strength potential in sports as long as women athletes are worried about how they look and about gaining weight. I’ve written about this a lot. See, for example, Big women and strength and Bigger, better, stronger? On women and weightlifting. When even women Olympic lifters want to lose weight–see From the Olympics to the Biggest Loser? Say it ain’t so Holley— you know the forces at work are pretty powerful.
Fourth, and finally, it hit home again with my Zwift avatar. I’m large and she’s medium sized because in Zwift the men’s avatars come in small, medium, and large and the women’s only in small and medium. So even when I am racing with men who weigh the same as me their avatars are much larger! It’s extra odd because your weight is no secret in Zwift. If you’re racing your weight is a matter of public record and it’s easily determined by looking at your watts per kilo and your speed. It’s simple math.
I’ve written about this before saying, “I have one complaint about my Zwift avatar. She’s medium sized person and I’m a large sized person. That’s odd because avatar size is based on your actual kg. It turns out that in Zwift women only come in two sizes regardless of how much we weigh. We’re either small or medium. Men come in three sizes, small medium or large. Here’s an explanation of avatar sizes. So when Sarah and I ride together in Zwift we’re the same medium size. That’s weird because IRL she’s medium and I’m big.”
So like there are no words to describe my body type, there are no avatars either. The message is clear. No woman would want to look like that.
*************************
Here are some images of large, strong women, stronger and more muscular than me.
This photo is from a guest blog post called What are Women’s Bodies for, Anyway? Thanks Tracy de Boer.
And here’s a modern day image of a strong woman. Jennifer Ferguson is A BC nurse in her 40s who is one of the strongest women in the world. She deadlifts cars for fun.
Although, it won’t make you look like those wonderful ladies up there!
Interesting perspective on the language. Yes, words for men not women, something I encounter all the time editing books, but I didn’t know that about the avatar sizing. Annoying. I just know I always have to seek out L/XL men’s sizes for gloves or whatever. I think of myself as big and strong, and often comment to people that my dad couldn’t father anyone who didn’t have the shoulders to play football. Sure I wish I was more fit, and I’ll get there now that the gym I’d just joined has reopened, but I definitely see it as a positive. Especially when I’m at my book club with members a decade older than me and they struggle to move chairs for people or to carry a tray of appies and I jump in to help. (I was thinking of your book when I joined a gym the day I turned 50 in late Feb. Just a few years late!)