Strong is the new skinny

entropicbeauty

CLICKY

I loved this article. I wasn't skinny in high school, but I think this is a sentiment that should be out there for impressionable young girls to hear.

Lobsters25

Love it.  Thank you so, so much for sharing!

unchatenfrance

Agreed in general. BUT I feel that in articles like these even the representation of a "strong" woman is still a woman who is 1) very lean to a point which is naturally untenable for many women; and 2) very scantily clad (see the photo in the article of the girl carrying the beer barrel - a tanned, young blonde in booty shorts and knee-highs carrying a thing of beer? You might as well have her wash a car in a bikini). There are still all sorts of wrong going on here. Is the "strong" woman pictured there less obsessed with her eating and exercise regimen than the "skinny" girl? Heck no. At the end of the day the choice of images here still reinforces a certain ideal of beauty that will alienate even women who consider themselves "strong."

entropicbeauty

@unchatenfrance - while the images might portray that, I did not get that at all from the article itself and I still think the article promotes a much healthier view of life.

unchatenfrance

Yes but an image is worth a thousand words. The author chose the images herself, yes? It still betrays a skewed subconscious perception of beauty and sexuality and a perpetuation of a certain "ideal" body type. Honestly it's the sexualization of the image in question that bothers me the most.

entropicbeauty

Considering the article is written by someone who admits she was overly swayed by media and society's perception of how women should look, I guess I'm just glad she's TRYING to change her view. One baby step at a time!

manjermj

unchatenfrance said:

Agreed in general. BUT I feel that in articles like these even the representation of a "strong" woman is still a woman who is 1) very lean to a point which is naturally untenable for many women; and 2) very scantily clad (see the photo in the article of the girl carrying the beer barrel - a tanned, young blonde in booty shorts and knee-highs carrying a thing of beer? You might as well have her wash a car in a bikini). There are still all sorts of wrong going on here. Is the "strong" woman pictured there less obsessed with her eating and exercise regimen than the "skinny" girl? Heck no. At the end of the day the choice of images here still reinforces a certain ideal of beauty that will alienate even women who consider themselves "strong."

That is a common look among a lot of crossfit gyms. Most girls wear, knee high socks (for rope climbs), spandex shorts (lots of mobility) and sport bras (when it's hot and humid). The point of the picture is that girl has some pretty big biceps and is carrying a heavy barrel on her shoulder. Everyone is going to see a photo differently. I, for one, see strength and health. Not sex.