Amazons International # 14 -------------------------- Topics: Claude Poux: Size and Gender Bev Ward: Bio & Challenge Thomas: Videos Thomas: Amazon MUD? ****************************************************************** [Note from moderator: This message was posted to the newsgroup misc.fitness. It contains a lot of interesting observations and ideas, so I forward it to Amazons International.] ------------------------------------------------- From: poo@athena.mit.edu (Claude Poux) Date: 10 Jan 92 17:59:01 GMT > I think most people prefer a woman that is built but still retains > her femininity. Cory has an excellent shape but is not too large. > I sure hope people do not begin to judge women by men's standards > like MASS. Then it might go from bodybuilding to whoever can get > the closest to a male build. > > Am I making any sense?? > > Kevin There is an interesting discussion brewing around here about this very point that i would like to submit to the field for comment. The idea is that women bodybuilders are criticized not so much because they are getting bigger, but because in getting bigger they are approaching (and exceeding in some cases) men in size. Could it be the case that this is an example of men getting nervous about women and equality -- and in this case, equality in size? Size=power, power=men, so size=men in most people's minds. Therefore, if a woman becomes big and muscular, woman=man. But femininity is not = power = men = size in many minds -- in fact, femininity as we may think of it alludes to having a smaller physique and being submissive to man. If one thinks about it, in an "equal" relationship that is regarded as the contemporary "model", the woman is still forced to use her wits to maintain that "equality" because she, most of the time, cannot hold her own against a man as an equal in physical strength or size. Further, since time immemorial, women have been encouraged to get into shape not by getting bigger, but by trimming down. Men, on the other hand, are always encouraged to get bigger. I would think that century after century of encouraging women to get smaller has resulted, or certainly contributed, in women being smaller than men in general. And finally, one way to try to insure that women stay small, and do not become interested in getting bigger, is by suggesting that size=masculinity. There is plenty to munch on here! poo ****************************************************************** From: BWARD@bss2.umd.edu (Bev Ward) Date: 26 May 92 10:59:42 EDT Subject: Bio & Challenge I don't like labels, especially indefinite ones like Amazon. I never really know what it means in the mind of the person using it. That said, I am fairly aggressive, love a challenge, and keep in pretty good shape by working out every other day and swimming a couple of miles on alternate days. It's up to whoever reads this to make their own judgment about whether that makes me an Amazon (I'll stick with the components I've just described). When I say I love a challenge I mean both physical and mental ones. I am 27 and for many years have enjoyed the rush of a good fight. One of my biggest problems is finding opponents. I am 5'6" and 120 pounds, like to fight with other women my size or say up to 140 pounds. Finding them is a real bitch. In one of your newsletters you mentioned the AM-FEM directory. I sent away for a copy some time ago and have been disappointed by the results. Many of the contacts they list are disconnected or wrong numbers or addresses that are marked undeliverable on my returned mail. Those that I do contact seem to mostly be women who wrestle men for a fee. I have only attempted two dozen or so contacts but so far have come up empty. Any good leads that you or others could give me in linking up with other women who like to fight would be welcomed. [I've also experienced that addresses and phone numbers from the directory have been expired. I guess the AM-FEM Company would like to know, so I usually send them a letter when it happens. As for the women advertising in the AM-FEM directory, I have the impression that at least half of them only want to engage in female-female brawls, not in mixed brawls, but I haven't actually counted the ratio. -- Thomas] I've also recently posted on the net under rec.sport.pro- wrestling and alt.personals and have had a few bites that look promising. Perhaps this newsletter will lead to others so here goes. If you are female and under 140 pounds and like a good fight, write me with details of your challenge. I can be reached at BWARD@BSS2.UMD.EDU. I am open to most any kind of fight and can do some travelling. Bev ******************************************************************** From: Thomas Subject: Videos etc. If you haven't looked into Amazon videos before, this may be the time to do so. You may be familiar with the publications _Women's Physique World_ and _Women's Physique Publication_, two outstanding publications featuring female bodybuilders and other strength athletes. They also produce videos, featuring competitions, posing routines and interviews with the athletes. Now they have a special offer of a lot of compilation videos. You can reach them at WSP Box 443 Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423 USA In a previous issue of AI I recommended _Premier Productions_ as producers of high-quality fighting videos -- wrestling, boxing, plain brawls etc., female-female or mixed, featuring muscular women. Well, now they too have special offer compilation videos! You can reach them at Premier Productions P.O. Box 453 Willow Street, PA 17584 USA Then there is a new California-based company I'd like to talk about, namely _Builtmore Productions_. The founder and manager, Nersi Navab, is dedicated to "women of heroic proportions", and he's been able to get press coverage in California, in L.A. and other places. The goal of the Company is to promote model and movie careers of Amazon women, and thereby change and improve current beauty ideals. They also produce videos, that may be divided into two categories: physique/posing videos and scripted videos with a story or fantasy scenario. The scripted videos usually feature one or more aggressive, big muscular women crushing male opponents in some fantasy scenario. If you are a submissive male into muscle domination, you'll find a lot of interesting scenarios here. For example: a film noire detective story featuring an Amazon detective wiping out Al Capone-type hoods; a jungle fantasy featuring a raw jungle queen and her subjects; a modern day story about a boss attempting sexual harassment of his Amazon secretary and who comes to regret it badly; or you may enjoy the Bruise Brothers earning their name when pitted against the Twisted Sisters. Check it out, and you may refer to me. Builtmore Productions P.O. Box 571 Santa Monica, CA 90406-0571 USA ********************************************************************* From: Thomas Subject: Amazon MUD? A few years back I used to use a MUD-program on a local machine (you know, Multi-User Dungeon, the electronic adventure role playing game). That machine is long gone, and so is the MUD-program. However, now there are MUDs many places, and they're available via telnet or other remote login programs. So how about this idea: let us agree about one of these MUDs as a meeting place for Amazon personae. We can create our own characters and let them interact with each other in the game. And perhaps it would be a combat MUD, so that we can slay off some sexist pigs? :-) Now, I'd like to know if any of you people out there have any experience with MUDs. And especially if any of you are wizards or gods, because that would mean that we could create our own (sub-)MUD under Amazon rule. Let me know what you think. - Thomas ********************************************************* * Amazons International: thomasg@ulrik.uio.no * * Thomas Gramstad, editor * ********************************************************* "A Hard Woman is Good to Find" -- The Valkyries