Keeping Women Down

Keeping Women Down

You don't have to venture to the gym or on the internet for more than five minutes without seeing some dumbass remarks from men who shouldn't be let out of their cages and give the rest of us a bad name. It's hard to imagine why they felt the need to crawl out from under their rock to grace us with their presence, but it's time for them to go back into hiding, post-haste. I can think one specific comment made on the photo of a friend of mine. It reads:

"Whatever you're shooting into your body to gain muscle like a man, has made you look line. Even masculine facial features. Not to mention your man-like body. Why try so hard to not look feminine? Any man that thinks this is sexy should be f*cking another man.  Just saying....Do you have to shave yet?"

Just to clarify, the woman in question is the farthest thing from looking manly. In fact, I consider her to be a petite woman. We aren't dwelling in ye olde Victorian England anymore. We live in a world where woman SHOULD be seen and most definitely be heard. Nothing can hold a beginning female back more than a troglodyte who tells her that women need to remain limp and frail creatures.

Although I have personal goals to be as huge as possible, most of the people I work with are women who simply want to look better or get stronger, my personal goals don't influence the goals of those I work with. It's extremely difficult for these women to get over years of verbal abuse from insecure men who would rather step on women instead of bettering themselves. You can look at the success stories of Michelle or Streaky to see the amazing things they achieved, but also the comments left by detractors. These comments involve such things as "muscles are gross", "eww she looks like a man", and "wow that is just not feminine at all, sorry."

Why do these things need to be said? Some men need to accept the fact that we don't live in the 1950's and women are actually real people, who are free to do with their bodies as they choose, free from societal presuppositions that are imposed on them. 

Without sounding too much like a Pinterest motivational poster, weak men absolutely demand that a woman stays weak as well. Demanding that a woman not have muscle or get strong is implying that you as a man need to exert dominance over the women in question and if you cannot exert that dominance, then she is unattractive to you. Does this sound like a strong man to you?

These are the kinds of things that drive women to count calories, slave away on treadmills, and skip healthy foods for highly processed, fat-free foods. We will never advance as a society as long as we view women as a sub-species that is not allowed to pursue their own goals in strength, competition, and healthy living. If you simply cannot accept the fact that strong women are amazing, then it's time for you to crawl back under the rock from whence you came.


Go forth and prosper, Pastor B out.