Fierce Not Freaky

Fierce not Freaky The Simultaneous Incorporation, Dismissal and Adjustment of Dominant Norms of Femininity by Female Bodybuilders in Contemporary Australia. Written by Freya Nadine Lambrechts University of Amsterdam Research Master Social Sciences GSSS 10266704 Supervised by dr. R. Spronk Second Reader; dr. C.M. Roggeband 1st of May 2018, Amsterdam 2 Acknowledgements I like to dedicate this thesis to the strong women who participated in my research. Without their collaboration this master thesis would have never existed. They surprised me with their willingness to, not only give me their time but also to share their deepest thoughts and feelings. They opened up to me, trusted me and therefore allowed me to create a deeper scientific understanding of their lives and their bodybuilding ambitions. Their openness and generosity form the beating heart of this work and therefore I am incredible grateful. I would also like to thank a few persons who made this thesis possible. First of all, my parents for their ongoing support and patience throughout my university career. Their endless optimism and the statement that ‘everything is going to be okay’ did turn out to be true in the end. Secondly, I would like to thank my friends who reminded me that there is a life outside of the academia and made me happier person on a day-to-day basis. Last, I would like to thank my supervisor dr. Rachel Spronk who took a difficult case (me) and guided me through this extensive project. 3 4 Table of contents Introduction 6 Chapter 1: The sport bodybuilding The history, organization and development of bodybuilding in Australia 15 Chapter 2: Becoming a bodybuilder The inspirations and motivations of women to participate in bodybuilding 34 Chapter 3: Bodybuilding & biowpower The influence of biopower on the female bodybuilder 57 Chapter 4: Muscular yet feminine The complex construction of muscularity, masculinity and femininity in women’s bodybuilding 78 Conclusion 103 Bibliography 108 5 Introduction ‘It’s genuinely indescribable. It is nerve-wracking, exhilarating, terrifying and simply incredible. You feel like your stomach is going to drop out of your butt when you’re waiting backstage and then when they call your name you just go: You go with all the attitude and presence you can muster’ (Sharon, a twenty-seven-year-old Bikini competitor). Bodybuilding is a sport that appeals to the imagination. The physiques that are presented on stage redefine nature, push biological boundaries and contest gendered beliefs. Women’s bodybuilding in particular, challenges dominant ideas about femininity, womanhood and the natural female body. In the last decades, bodybuilding federations have placed a limitation on the development of female muscularity and have formalized the display of femininity in order to control the contesting appearance of their female athletes. Nevertheless, the challenging character of female bodybuilders in relation to traditional gender roles remained which often led to their portrayal as ‘freaks’ in mainstream media. Yet, female athletes are not passive subjects in this and are aware of their complex relation with gender and other dominant social norms. In this thesis, I focus on how female bodybuilders use their agency to participate in their bodybuilding ambitions while simultaneously regulate the perception of themselves as women by the enactment of femininity. I therefore pose the question: How can we understand the simultaneous incorporation, dismissal and adjustment of dominant norms of femininity by female bodybuilders in contemporary Australia? I answer this question in four chapters. In the first chapter, I describe the sport of women’s bodybuilding. I show how it was developed, how it is organized and what the important judging criteria are within Australia. Moreover, I highlight the ideal body within this setting in which a special attention is paid to the fitness ideal, the gendered ideal and the role of masculinity and femininity. The second chapter answers the question; ‘why do women participate in bodybuilding?’, by highlighting three different stages in women’s bodybuilding careers; the first contact, the development of initial motives and the motives to continue their participation despite the restricting and demanding character of the sport. Together, those three stages are able to explain the complex, intertwined and multiple motives of women to involve themselves in bodybuilding. The third chapter describes the constructions of power, control and discipline, in which female bodybuilders find themselves. Special attention is paid to the incorporation of biopower, knowledge and desire. The fourth and final chapter, is focused on techniques of risk management. Here, I analyze how femininity is experienced and used by female bodybuilders to self-fulfill, redefine and reassure their sexed identity. Those four chapters combined form 6 an in-depth analysis of how female bodybuilders enact their agency to work with, reject and adjust dominant gender norms in order to legitimize their bodybuilding participation. Women’s Bodybuilding in Social Scientific Literature Former research on women’s bodybuilding has mostly been focused on the inclusion or dismissal of traditional femininity norms. Here, the question is post if women who participate in bodybuilding should be understood as transgressing normative gender boundaries or instead as merely reinforcing the current gender division (MacGrath and Chananie-Hill 2009: 236). The different perspectives that were used to answer this question created a breeding ground for discussion. Consequently, bodybuilding is now approached in three different manners; as a form of resistance, as compliance and as a combination of the two. The idea that bodybuilding is a form of resistance has been highlighted by feminist scholars in the past decades. They argue that women’s participation in bodybuilding is able to empower them in multiple ways (Brace-Govan 2004; Brady 2001; Heywoord 1998; Krane et al. 2004; Ryan 2001; Shea 2001). First of all on an individual level; female bodybuilders are actively constructing their physiques as ‘an expression of the will to self-construct, [and] to self-fulfill’ (Roussel and Griffet 2000: 140). This gives them the feeling of being in control over their own bodies (Fisher 1997). Moreover, the development of their athletic prowess increases their confidence and self-esteem. In this way, bodybuilding enables women to feel healthier, sexier and more powerful (Grogan et al. 2004; Monaghan, Bloor, Dobash and Dobash 1998). Secondly, bodybuilding is seen as a form of resistance on a societal level. The sport is considered to be an important arena in which gender norms can be challenged. The female variant of the sport creates the opportunity for women to be viewed as equals to men, instead of being inferior (Ian 1991). Moreover, female bodybuilders transcends the imaginary borders of femininity which allows them to challenge (what has been considered) the ‘natural’ female form (St. Martin and Gavey 1996). The built female body is able to highlight- and fight against- the naturalized processes that widen the gender divide in our modern society (Featherstone 1999). In addition, the development of female muscularity can be considered as a ‘semi-rebellious act’ against the Western ideal of feminine thinness (Wesely 2001: 173). It has been stated that the amount of shown rebellion is connected to the muscle size; the more muscles a woman has, the more she is resisting the norms of femininity (Guthrie and Casteinuovo 1992). However, as Dworking (2011) notes, also the more modest forms are able to push on the glass ceiling of female muscularity. It might just be a bit more gentle (MacGrath and Chananie-Hill 2009: 237). 7 In contrast, others have argued that women’s bodybuilding is a form of compliance to traditional heterosexual and normative gender roles. They acknowledge that female bodybuilders increase their physical strength and muscularity due to their participation but highlight that those developments are highly regulated. Female bodybuilders have to comply with the ideals of bodybuilding federations in order to become successful. The ideal body that is promoted is first of all is characterized by a restricted, controlled and limited amount of female muscularity. A regulation of this kind appears to contradict the aim of the sport: ‘In a sport where the aim is to build the biggest muscles one can, the competitive female bodybuilder can be penalized for being too big and not feminine enough. A similar situation would be limiting the speed at which women runners can run or the height that women high jumpers can jump lest they become unfeminine’ (Choi 2003: 73). It is the perception in which an inherent connection is made between muscularity and masculinity that stimulates the restriction on female muscularity in bodybuilding. This also becomes evident in the mandatory posing routines that are designed to limit the appearance of a gender-bending physique and place an additional emphasis on feminizing aesthetics (Scott 2011: 82). It has been argued that this reinforcement of femininity, through the rules and regulations, exemplifies the compliance of the sport (Bordo 1988; 1990). The obligatory forms of femininity are symbols of traditional womanhood and therefore do not challenge, but instead reinforce normative standards beauty (Bordo 1988; 1990). Furthermore, the feminized appearance is a way through which female bodybuilders are able to demonstrate their heterosexual

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