Amazons International # 18 -------------------------- Topics: Thomas: Recommendation of PMC article Thomas: Newsgroup update Thomas: Re: Males wimping out... Diana: Bio Icehawk: Bio & lots of info! **************************************************************** From: Thomas Subject: Recommendation of article in _PostModern Culture_ I recently read a tremendously interesting article about gender roles and the conception of the body in Western culture. The article is publicly available on-line, and was published in the electronic magazine _PostModern Culture_ (PMC). The article is titled _From Abject to Object: Women's Bodybuilding_ and is written by Marcia Ian. I will quote from the article below: [1] Do muscles have gender, or are they, on the contrary, ungendered human meat? Other than the few muscles associated with their sexual organs, men and women have the same muscles. Does this make muscles neuter, or perhaps neutral? Is there some "difference" between the biceps of a male and those of a female other than, possibly, that of size? If a woman's biceps, or quadriceps, are bigger than a man's, are hers more masculine than his? In the eyes of most beholders, the more muscle a woman has, the more "masculine" she is. The same, of course, is true for men: the more muscle a man has, the more masculine he is too. Bodybuilding in a sense is a sport dedicated to wiping out "femininity," insofar as femininity has for centuries connoted softness, passivity, non-aggressivity, and physical weakness. Eradicating femininity just may be the purpose of both male and female bodybuilders. Even so, for men to wage war on femininity, whether their own or somebody else's, is nothing new. For women, however, it is. Insofar as women have for centuries obliged cultural expectations by em-bodying femininity as immanent, bodybuilding affords women the opportunity to embody instead a refusal of this embodiment, to cease somewhat to represent man's complementary (and complimentary) other. [2] At least this is how it seems to this author, who is: a forty-year old, divorced, atheistic Jewish mother of two teenaged girls; an assistant professor of British and American Literature at a the state univerity of New Jersey; a specialist in modernism, psychoanalysis and gender; and a dedicated "gym rat" who has trained hard and heavy without cease (knock on wood) for about eight years now and during graduate school even entered bodybuilding competitions. As such, I confess, I obviously have various axes to grind (pun intended) which intersect "around" the body as uniquely over-determined site of ambivalent psychosocial signification. .... I had hoped to find in the gym a communal laboratory for experimental gender-bending, perhaps a haven for the gender-bent, or at the least a democratic republic biologically based on the universality of human musculature. This laboratory, this haven, this republic, however, remains a utopic and private space, a delusion in effect, because what goes on in the gym, as in bodybuilding competition, remains the violent re-inscription of gender binarism, of difference even where there is none. As Jane Gallop pointed out, in Western culture gender is no "true" binary or antithesis but rather an algorithm of one and zero. Bodybuilding expands the equivalence "male is to female as one is to zero" to include the specious antithesis of muscle and femininity. .... [5] Would anyone advise a runner--Florence Griffith-Joyner, for example--that to run too fast would be unladylike? Would anyone warn a female long jumper not to jump too far, or a swimmer not to swim too fast? Why, then, presume to tell a bodybuilder that she may be only so muscular, but no more muscular than that, at the risk of losing both her femininity and her contest? Here is how to get the article (it's 25 k): Send a message to listserv@ncsu.edu. The message should contain exactly one line of text, namely this: get pop-cult 591 pmc-list The server will then send you the article automagically. (As you may have guessed, each PMC article is available as a separate file, and there are index files as well. To see what else is there, send a message with this line: 'index pmc-list'). You can also get the article through anonymous FTP from the archives of Amazons International: etext.archive.umich.edu They are in /pub/Politics/Amazons.Intl The files have been compressed, and have the extension .gz. In order to decompress them, you need to use GNU zip. This program is available in DOS, Macintosh and a variety of UNIX binary forms on the ftp server in the directory /gzip. Direct all questions about this archive to the archive administration at: ftp@etext.archive.umich.edu I'd be interested in discussions of Marcia Ian's article. **************************************************************** From: Thomas Subject: Newsgroup update To get a soc.amazons newsgroup we'll need at least 100 yes votes and 100 more yes votes than no votes. At this point there are 80 subscribers to AI. I'll get the thing rolling when I reach the critical mass of 100. I also need help in setting up an automatic system for counting the votes. Anybody who happen to have some experience with this, please contact me. **************************************************************** From: Thomas Subject: Re: Males wimping out / gender bending In # 17 Val wrote: > P.S. My two cents on strong women in the media -- have you seen > "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle"? I like movies where the woman has > to be defend the household and the family while the husband wimps > out with pain!! I got an association to a scene in the French film _La Femme Nikita_, a film about a young woman from a _very_ rough neighborhood who after killing a policeman is forced to join the Intelligence Organization, where she's trained to become an agent. One part of the training is karate instruction, so we see this very macho karate instructor yelling and cutting the air several times just in front of her. She just stands there totally confused looking at him. Then he tells her to hit him, "come on, HIT ME", several times. And then she just knocks him down very fast, he never knew what hit him. She also eats him again even more thoroughly later in the movie. 'Gender bending' is interesting, isn't it. I'd like to see a bodybuilding magazine with a giant woman on the front page, with two "male bimbos", two ordinary smaller guys, clinging on her shoulders. You know, a reversal of the latest Flex cover.... ******************************************************************** Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 10:01:55 CDT From: ddryan@ncsa.uiuc.edu (Diana Diehl-Dryan) Subject: Bio Wow! What a group! I'm new to Internet (or Usenet, or whatever is its proper nomenclature) and to this mailing list. I can't really tell if I would fit in here or not. I've always considered myself as an Amazon-type, but don't match with the criteria set down here. I have always considered Amazon by my own definition; its synonym, to me, is freedom. Freedom to choose behavior, rather than the necessity to fit into stereotypes. In grade school and high school, women had to fit into certain groups to be acceptable. One had to be either feminine - meaning attractive and conforming to certain norms of dress and subservient behavior toward men - or had to be able to compete with men athletically. This second group were considered inferior to the first, but heck, they could really throw a softball (on the women's team) and they knew their football, by gosh! I objected strongly to both groups. Both idealized the "masculine" as superior. Either as a group to be subservient to or as an ideal to emulate by becoming muscular, athletically excellent, etc. I was my own ideal. I dressed the way I wanted, was intellectually competent, and despised limitations superimposed on girls by gender rules (By god, they're not going to keep ME from hanging upside down on the monkey bars just because they tell me I've got to wear a dress! If they don't like looking at underpants that's their problem!) But I was not athletic -- always the last to be chosen for whatever teams, etc. I loved dance. Not because it was female, but because I loved art and the human form. I am, however, quite strong. I have always been able to move and lift things easily. I entered a male dominated profession -- veterinary medicine. There the pressure was really on to be one of the boys. Some of the women would chew tobacco, just to show they could fit in with the guys. Once again, I balked against a masculine ideal. Men tried to say that women could not manage the large animals -- until one of the women compared the statistical weight difference between a female and a bull with that of a male human and a bull. No difference. Despite being fundamentally cautious about horses, I could handle some of the men who were familiar with the species. As I've always maintained, the most important strengths are those of will and character, not of physical ability. I am proud of being physically strong, however. It bothers me that men persist in asking to carry things that I feel are no problem. ON the other hand, I refuse to fall prey to the male attitude of refusing help when I really need it -- another masculine ideal. I will accept help as needed. From any male or female. I will offer help to anyone as a human courtesy. I have to admit some slightly sexist enjoyment in my strength, however. I used to help my husband move the very large and clumsy aquariums he installs. I asked him to get some extra help, because I tend to be a worrier, and he had a really big one to install for one contract. So he got some big, muscly weight-lifter types who were willing to heft for hire. These guys didn't have a clue how to carry something without a handle. They were puffing and heaving (two of them on one end) and I had to bail them out. My husband was on my end and I ended up on the other. I was mad and amused and convinced that it took the brains to figure out leverage, not sheer strength. It was nice looking at these guys, though. : ) As to clothing and make-up? Freedom is the keyword here, too. Jeans are the rule, but I like dresses and satin, too. When *I* feel like it, not when somebody expects it. Leather is great, but as I am a pragmatic vegetarian, I prefer to stay away from leather whenever possible. Make-up is great, too. I never wear the stuff that covers my whole face. But I've always loved the dramatic. I love color. Lips, eyes, hair. Usually my hair is its own color, but once last year I dyed it a purplish-red. I loved it! I think it is perfectly acceptable to use one's face and hair as a canvas for self-expression. But I will not ascribe to any rule that says I have to have make-up on to look beautiful, or right, or acceptable. You see Freedom is the thing, not the need to emulate a norm. I like dresses, too. It's a shame only women have the freedom to wear what they want in our society. I will not think a woman unenlightened just because she likes dresses. Heck, let's face it. For a lot of us, our anatomy forces dresses or loose clothing of some kind. There are plenty of women prone to bladder and vaginal infections if they wear tight clothing all the time. That means jeans, too. Being an Amazon also means not having to balk at your own anatomy and physiology just because you're female. Anyway, high heels are definitely out. I have yet to meet anyone who feels comfortable and safe in the things. If there is someone out their who likes them (male or female) more power to them. But I'm not gonna wear the d%^*@ things. I like to arm wrestle, but I'm never going to be able to give any guy a run for his money. It's just fun. I haven't done it for a long while, though. Bottom line in this run-on bio is that I obviously don't agree with all the physical aspects I've read so far here about being an Amazon. But if you count attitude, I'm with you all the way! Diana -- computer potato Amazon. [We certainly count attitude, Diana! -- Thomas] ********************************************************************* Date: Tue, 04 Aug 92 08:12:17 EDT From: Icehawk Subject: Bio & lots of info BIO: I'm known as Icehawk for my love of cold-weather and skiing. I'm a 5'8" male bodybuilder(novice), currently weighing 155 with low bodyfat. It wasn't always that way: through most of my life I was fat and out of shape. It reached the low point in 1986 when I was 200 lbs. and had a 38" waist. I got serious about my diet then and started losing weight. Then I begin fencing in '89 and the pounds really begin to come off until I hit 135 in '90. I begin lifting seriously that year, at the same time as my Amazon s.o.(now fiance'), Lady Hawk. I've always liked the look of muscular women, particularly good arm and shoulder development, but Lady Hawk has shown me other reasons to like the company of Amazons: women who not only claim equality, but live as my equal. This camaraderie with Lady Hawk is one of the best parts of our relationship. Neither one of us is below the other - we are equals physically, mentally, spiritually, socially. Amazons aren't clinging, skinny little girls. Lady Hawk and I both want motorcycles(when we can afford them) to ride together. She and I love getting intense in the gym - we're great lifting partners. I love watching the little party girls who come to the gym in makeup and gold jewelry stare when she adds 100 lbs. on top of the weight they were using on the leg press and starts cranking out reps. I consider myself a Warrior: one who doesn't let others define him, or let a society control his actions. My fate is my choice. Like an Amazon, a Warrior sees the importance of the physical body on the soul and intellect: they are linked. Warriors and Amazons are constantly trying to improve all three aspects, and to live as a complete individual. The physicality is important because not only is it a sign to the Warrior or Amazon of their hard work, it is a symbol to others. By living a life that isn't controlled by others, we can show other people their potential, their possibility of becoming someone beyond what they are now. The IFBB and Changes in Women's Bodybuilding. Joe Weider's IFBB is really screwing up women's bodybulding. The Ms. Olympia might turn into one of those *Fitness Contests* which are just modeling contests really. Diana Dennis is listed as a competitor at the Olympia - hopefully she will be her usual built and ripped self and blow the skinnier women off the stage. Her routines are so spectacular, the only way she can lose is if Wayne Demilia's judges take her out of the competition the way they did Paula Bircumshaw at the Ms. International. Weider and Demilia are trying to turn women's bodybuilding into some T & A show, probably just to make money off of it plus because they don't want the women taking the glamour light away from their big name(read: money-making) male pros. I encourage all of you bodybuilders(male or female) to challenge this. The women bodybuilders should get together and decide the criteria for judging a contest, not Wayne and Joe. I encourage all of you to avoid Weider's magazine's and products. Robert Kennedy's *Musclemag International* gives much better coverage to all aspects of bodybuilding, and is much more respectful of women's bodybuilding. *Muscular Development* is another good, fair publication. Maybe if they get another support, another federation will be started to break Weider and the IFBB's monopoly on bodybuilding. Other Amazon Sports News: On Sept 4 - 6, in France, the Women's Freestyle Wrestling World Championships will be held. I'm not sure where, exactly. The Olympic Committee has made women's ice hockey a full, gold-medal event for the '94 Lillehammer Winter Games. Hopefully this will not be a "powder-puff" version of the game. I've seen women's hockey teams and they are good! Hard hitting but clean play. Amazons in the Media. Television news: Erica Andersch(Diamond on American Gladiators) has received the female lead in a new series called Kane. I don't know which network it will be shown on, sorry. She beat out Cory Everson for the role. The series will probably be a replacement series after the first half of the '92/'92 season is over. Speaking of the American Gladiators: anybody else out there upset there aren't any action figures of the female Gladiators? Hopefully the release of the Catwoman figure will encourage the toy companies to get it in gear, and we'll soon see Zap, Ice and the rest on the shelves. If not, maybe a letter-writing campaign? Anybody interested? Speaking of Catwoman(don't you just love my segue's!): check out the various martial arts mags. this month. They are filled with pics and articles about Kathy Long. She's a kickboxing champion and was the stunt-fighter for Michelle Pfeiffer in *Batman Returns*. She's incredible, and has shoulders to kill for/with! [I'll second that. Kathy Long looks great, just look at the willpower in those eyes. You can also enjoy the story about what happened to the guy who tried to assault her on a highway... -- Thomas] Other Amazons in the movies: In the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie *Double Impact*, 6-time Ms. Olympia Cory Everson makes her acting debut, and is AWESOME! She's ripped, she's hot, and she's an incredible actress for a first timer. It's a great movie to begin with, plus it has Van Damme, and Bolo Yeung, who is Hong Kong's answer to Schwarzenegger. I'll do a full review if Thomas requests it. [You'll see it in the next issue. -- Thomas] Amazons in comic books. She-Hulk(Marvel): the premier comic-book Amazon. This series is great. It spoofs a lot of the super-hero traditions, plus presents She-Hulk as sexy and intelligent in addition to muscular. Batman: Legend of the Dark Knight #37(DC): a single book in which Batman meets a young Amazon who is a fighter in illegal boxing matches. Great story, plus the art is fantastic. Warlock and the Infinity Team(Marvel): features a muscular Amazon named Gamora, a hot-tempered warrior who also has a sarcastic humor. The art is good, and the stories are fun. Jaguar(Impact): the story of a quiet college girl who turns into the giant, muscular Jaguar to fight evil. This series wasn't very popular, so it ends with issue #14. Look for it in the bins at your comic shop. Amazons in novels. The *Matador* trilogy by Steve Perry. Features an Amazon bodyguard in a future society. She has a bit part in the first book, *The Man Who Never Missed*, but has a larger role in *Matadora* and *The Machiavelli Interface*. A good series of books. ########################################################################## Fate is not chance; Fate is choice. -- Ray Nitzchke ICEHAWK ########################################################################## [I want to thank Icehawk for interesting thoughts and a lot of interesting information! -- Thomas] ********************************************************* * Amazons International: thomas@smaug.uio.no * * Thomas Gramstad, editor * ********************************************************* "A Hard Woman is Good to Find" -- The Valkyries