Women's Bodybuilding Gender Issues

In order to examine the sociological gender issues inherent in women's bodybuilding, it is necessary to utilize the concepts of "sport' and 'woman" as symbolically-loaded social constructs. The most useful paradigm for a clear analysis of the "masculine" and 'feminine" connotations of each is that of androgyny, both on a cultural and on an individual level.

Felsher (1982) and Postow (1982) argue that sport is a "masculine" social institution revolving around the inculcation and glorification of traditionally male traits and values, such as power, aggression, and competition. Felsher and Postow also agree that when sport is conceptualized in this genderized way, it is not surprising that female participation is considered aberrant and socially unacceptable. The social construct of femininity involves all the qualities antithetical to masculine sport, including weakness, passivity, and timidity.

Hoagland (1982) goes so far as to say that the societal concept of femininity is " a label whereby one group of people are defined relative to another in such a way that dominance and submission are portrayed as part of the biological essence of those involved." (p.95). Thus, she says that non-white men, as well as all women, have been subject to the burden of "feminine" characteristics and societal expectations.

In this highly genderized society, the perceived anomaly of women participating in sports is especially pronounced with regard to bodybuilding. That is, in its emphasis

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cant with regard to women's bodybuilding because this activity involves a quintessential disregard of "masculine" and "feminine" sex role stereotypes in the search for personal freedom and fulfillment. Women's bodybuilding is precisely the sort of thing Trebilcot (1982) advocated when she spoke of the necessity for more "opportunities, encouragement, and perhaps even incentives for gender-crossing." (p.165) For a woman to engage in bodybuilding, then has implications for sport, gender, sexuality, and society at large insofar as it promotes (poly)androgyny and refutes old stereotypes and restrictions. The idea that women are biologically inferior to males (which has been used to justify social roles and oppression) has almost no hard, empirical support. Data and methods which are called objective often turn out to be far from scientifically sound (Grim, 1982). Similarly, Ferris (1980) and Felsher (1982) both cite convincing evidence for the conclusion that it is not fixed, physiological or genetic factors which are historically responsible for women's lackluster performance in sports in general and bodybuilding in particular; rather, it is the social context and resulting psychological inhibitions which are to blame. "A cultu

Category: Psychology - W