Posted on November 7th, 2005 by Lori Braun  •  Filed under: Health

From Tanuki:
I’ve been a fan of strong women since around 1963 or so, when the Beatles came on the music scene, around when JFK was assassinated, Vietnam was firing up. There wasn’t any official women’s bodybuilding then. Just circus performers and athletes with exceptionally powerful physiques. I’d look around my elementary school class and try to guess which girl would get buff when she got older. I imagined who would win in a fight between various pairs of girls and boys. Yes, I was a nut even then. As I got older and my hormones prompted me toward breeding, studhood, and servitude, I looked for those same girls I’d chosen as most likely to kick ass. But, they’d changed a lot. Nature and society had joined in foiling my vision of super womanhood. Man was I frustrated!

Around the time Pumping Iron was released in the mid 1970’s, a new mix of social confluences were at work. Mainly affirmative action, the breakdown of the traditional family, freedom in sex and divorce, and the consequent financial self-determination of the American woman. Women’s bodybuilding, as well as discotheques, came out of nowhere. I was happy about that, naturally. I thought it was sexy and healthy at the same time. Why shouldn’t women’s muscles be esteemed as well as men’s? I moved to California and joined Gold’s Gym (no longer owned by Joe in 1980) in Santa Monica so I could meet Gail what’s-her-name (sorry, I lusted after you and your big legs but was too shy to introduce myself), who was also a member (along with Lou F., Grant, oh, I’ve forgotten all their names. Arnold had just left). Gail what’s-her-name used to run down Ocean Blvd. One day I heard she was hit by a truck, but I think she was all right. Around that time I had to quit Gold’s.

So the FBB machine wound up to become moderately popular during the 1980’s and some women could make a modest living modeling in magazines, promoting Weider products (I worked for Joe Weider in Canoga Park for about six months in 1980). But I still saw some of the “stars” working at health food stores and gyms. I think Janice Regain worked at the Santa Monica Mall at that time, but I could be wrong about who that was.

During the 80’s, Reagan, computers, globalization, terrorism, economic downsizing, well, you know, the yuppy was born and competition replaced brotherly love in America (now called The US). Marriage and the family blew sky high, and women had to find work. Good paying work.

Now, here’s where I’m hazy (I haven’t read at all on this subject, maybe somebody can straighten me out).

It seems FBBing was split at some point between more traditional beauty and the traditional BB aesthetic, so fitness and BB contests became separate entities. I thought contest judges were reinforcing the stereotypes for a while, but, thankfully, that stopped, and really big women started to win. To me, that’s what it’s about. Building as much muscle in balanced proportion as possible, and being able to carry it gracefully. (Well, a lot of the guys weren’t/aren’t very graceful, I have to admit. But that was the ideal, anyway.)

Steroid use exploded in the 1980’s (and I imagine 1990’s), and what was a gal who wanted to devote her life to the BB aesthetic do? But to take them, too, in order to compete and make money. The square jaws, receding hairlines, etc. must’ve turned a lot of potential converts away from the BB life. Girls who could’ve had wonderful muscular development repulsed by the socially unacceptable she hulk. I really don’t have anything against “She Hulk”. I used to read the comic book, when it was good (in the mid-1970’s). I even liked she was green. Green people are interesting, in a way, just because they’re green. Same with massively buff women. If there were more green people, and massive women, I think people would get used to it. It wouldn’t be as interesting then, perhaps, but I think it would be a good thing. I think role reversal is healthy, too. I know some single fathers, and male home makers, too. I wish some massively buff woman would sweep me up and make me her little man. Whatever. I’m not holding my breath. At 51, I’m a little discouraged.

Anyway, back to Fannie. This is what I think. She very well may have died as the result of physical complications arising from, or accelerated by, the use of steroids. This site is great for it’s vigilance. Was an autopsy performed? Please report as facts arise! Even back in the day, I thought bodybuilding contests to be potentially corrupt for the individual. I think the true accomplishment of the individual bodybuilder isn’t in his or her appearance, but rather their strength, discipline, and personal well-being–which then expresses itself in the physical appearance. I don’t mean to dismiss the beauty of balance and proportion, of shape and size. Just to wonder that, as so much of our hyper-mediated world is obsessed with, and fooled by, appearances, has this same type of superficiality undermined the bodybuilder ethic and lifestyle that held such promise, particularly for females, of a strong, healthy physical self determination? Has it become a freak show instead? Well, PT Barnum made a buck or two on freak shows, so that’s not new. But it wouldn’t be healthy for society if everyone were in the circus, would it. Please have a great respect for your Self, and take care of it. It’s wrong to throw it away!

I do think genetic engineering will eventually render this topic meaningless–in so far as the physical process is concerned. I believe people will use that technology to change, and hopefully improve, the human mind and body. In the meantime, what can we do? I love strong women, and the way they look. I also want them to be whoever they wish to be, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone or infringe unfairly on another’s freedom or happiness. If Fannie and others have died or wrecked their health because of steroids, it’s more than just sad. It undermines the fragile interactive human condition. And it’s not what I had in mind all those years ago. I feel very good about the progress toward equality with men women are making all over the world. If these relatively primitive chemicals are seriously unhealthy, their use is a setback for everybody involved; the users and the people who care about them. The cause of women’s equality is also damaged, because it’s ultimately freedom and happiness, that are at stake.

I’m also not a fan of the ubiquitous breast implant. For breast cancer victims and the like it makes sense, but everyday people? They don’t look so ‘everyday’ anymore. Suddenly, and probably unwittingly, they join the freak show. Like steroids, installing liquid-filled plastic bags into your chest, is woefully primitive. It so caters to the infantile obsessions of sexually-repressed males, and their female counterparts. Please try to be as natural as possible!

So, like many elderly people, I associate this type of thing with “the way the world is going”. I also consider this “freak show” phenomenon to be a temporary regression in a generally positive improvement in social conditions for women. There have always been strong women. Many, many women have equaled and even dominated their male counterparts in countless ways. The determination of females to be as physically strong as possible isn’t new. But the personal and social symbols of such strength, the psychology of it, has exponentially grown and transformed both genders in one fell swoop. It’s a fact; women can be very strong indeed. We’re still reeling from this rapid development. Girls and women’s team sports are quickly maturing into significant socio-economic entities. Self defense skills are common. More importantly, knowledge and awareness are prevalent. What good is a strong body without the ability to appreciate and enjoy it? To put it to good purpose. To integrate one’s self into the whole while maintaining individuality–to realize that to help someone helps everyone, and to hurt someone hurts everyone.

Okay, so I’m rambling. Women are surely becoming what I’d dreamed they would. And the female BB is a wonderful example. She is really something to me (even though I’m too old and beat up to fully enjoy her, myself). I had some doubts, some cynicism, too, about the result of this female self-determination. But I somehow remain optimistic. I believe bodybuilders will eventually take a more healthful course. It may require scientific breakthroughs to happen, but I don’t think steroids will mean much in fifty years. I hope not. That’s just like one tiny step in a journey of light years to our ‘destinations’, so we’d better get going. Fannie, I guess, is already there.