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The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

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Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#191

Post by tedunangst »

linspace wrote: post #115
kofejnik wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Steroid ladden/extreme body building one is probably not healthy. Steroids are not necessarily always bad, tho taking your body to the extremes of competitive bodybuilding probably is.

My reasoning is the following, and as someone who likes to do weight lifting I would love to be proved wrong: if steroids are not necessarily bad and we surely know they work wonders how is it possible that, in a world obsessed with looks and moving so much money in all kind of (absurd) products, they have not been legally commercialized somehow.

Just go to an "anti-aging" clinic and get testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). For $1000/month it's not hard to find a doctor who will find your test is low (below 95th percentile of a 25 year old man).

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#192

Post by nkingsy »

rmah wrote: post #145
nostromo wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... really? You've never wanted to be attractive to whatever gender you're attracted to? I find it surprising that this can be "totally foreign" to any human that's not asexual. Being the most attractive version of yourself that you can be isn't just about sex, either. It really does open doors socially and economically. Right or wrong, people enjoy the company of people who put thought and effort into their appearan…

Of course I have. But that's not what she described. From what I read it was a near obsession, consuming her thoughts on a near constant basis. THAT is what I found foreign. And of course being more attractive makes life easier. Did I say even once that it did not? That's blatantly obvious. But do you really actively think about if strangers that you happen pass on the street or in a store find you hot? This is what…

I’m not an attractive woman so I can’t say for sure, but I have been obviously “checked out” by women before, and it made an impact on my mental state. If someone were to become used to that, I’d imagine clear changes to that feedback would become noteworthy, especially in a confessional essay.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#193

Post by SuoDuanDao »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #88
rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

I was a ridiculously cute little girl and I'm pretty damn sure a lot of my social issues as a young adult were rooted in getting essentially trained to play to the crowd as a toddler. At that age, it's a form of brainwashing and it's amazingly hard to root out after you become an adult and are puzzled that your antics no longer get you adoration. (PSA: Please don't do this to your own children. It's an awful thing to…

On a tangentially related note, I've noticed that many heterosexual men imagine the comedian Felix Kjellberg (AKA Pewdiepie) must be the height of attractiveness for women, while few heterosexual women find him particularly attractive. I found this very confusing, but after a few discussions with heterosexual female friends of mine we've come to the conclusion that the kind of playfulness and disinhibition this persona consists of is looks like vivaciousness in a woman but immaturity in a man. I imagine some similar dynamics must be in play there.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#194

Post by DoreenMichele »

SuoDuanDao wrote: post #193
DoreenMichele wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a ridiculously cute little girl and I'm pretty damn sure a lot of my social issues as a young adult were rooted in getting essentially trained to play to the crowd as a toddler. At that age, it's a form of brainwashing and it's amazingly hard to root out after you become an adult and are puzzled that your antics no longer get you adoration. (PSA: Please don't do this to your own children. It's an awful thing to…

On a tangentially related note, I've noticed that many heterosexual men imagine the comedian Felix Kjellberg (AKA Pewdiepie) must be the height of attractiveness for women, while few heterosexual women find him particularly attractive. I found this very confusing, but after a few discussions with heterosexual female friends of mine we've come to the conclusion that the kind of playfulness and disinhibition this perso…

If you are heterosexual, "opposites attract." What is attractive for a woman will almost by definition not be attractive to a woman.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#195

Post by nkingsy »

throwaway2245 wrote: post #136
leshow wrote: post #120

> What was left was mostly tilapia and cod, kale, low-sodium broth, and colorless, calorie-free shirataki noodles. Sasha’s rules around food and training, handed down to him from other coaches as bodybuilding doctrine, were inscrutable to me. I found myself living in a world where green bell peppers were OK and red peppers were not I just want to say that while this is representative of what some bodybuilders do. It'…

> Anyone who is saying one bell pepper type is okay... This assumes that Sasha's only concern with food consumption is nutrition alone, where other aspects of discipline and adherence are likely to also be important. Asking for red, green and blue but specifically no brown M&Ms doesn't mean that you think brown M&Ms are fundamentally different in any way: there was another reason why Van Halen did that.

I don’t think this was one of those cases. The Italians I know have firmly held beliefs about what foods should be eaten when and why that don’t seem at all grounded in science. If the bodybuilding subculture has developed beliefs about food, they’re likely just as firmly held.

The bell peppers in particular sound like believable pseudoscience. nightshades are poisonous and if one is looking to avoid bloating, perhaps it’s a legit concern.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#196

Post by SuoDuanDao »

WalterBright wrote: post #108
ameister14 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also age - it's actually possible to lose 10kg of fat and gain 5kg of muscle in 60 days without any testosterone or whatever boosters when you're 22. I have a very, very hard time believing you can do this at age 48-50, like Josh Brolin did to play Thanos.

When I was 20 and started lifting regularly, I put on a lot of muscle very fast. But I plateaued in about 6 months and was never able to go past that. I didn't do any steriods, because a friend of mine went from "pillsbury doughboy" (his assessment) to very jacked in about 9 months. He used steroids, and was shocked to find he'd lost a couple inches in height. The doc told him it was the steroids, and even worse, he'…

I wonder whether this height-reducing effect relates to the 'manlet' jokes one sees in various places online. There does seem to be a bit of an overlap in the demographics where one would see the two.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#197

Post by WalterBright »

treis wrote: post #190
WalterBright wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, extreme dieting and taking steroids and other medications can exacerbate height loss." https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904194604576580... Googling "do people get shorter as they age steroids" yields many more references to this.

I did google that and found nothing that said that steroids would cause a healthy 20 something man to lose a couple inches in height. Your quote is quite wishy washy and not really supporting evidence to your claim.

Nevertheless, steroids are still implicated in height loss.

He took a lot of steroids (I don't know which ones), his doctor told him that was the cause, and nothing else accounted for it. Anyone considering steroids should consult with a physician first. Me, I wasn't willing to take the risk.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#198

Post by DoreenMichele »

treis wrote: post #190
WalterBright wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, extreme dieting and taking steroids and other medications can exacerbate height loss." https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904194604576580... Googling "do people get shorter as they age steroids" yields many more references to this.

I did google that and found nothing that said that steroids would cause a healthy 20 something man to lose a couple inches in height. Your quote is quite wishy washy and not really supporting evidence to your claim.

Try searching for "steroids osteoporosis." It's a known thing they can cause osteoporosis and osteoporosis can cause height loss.

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#199

Post by Noumenon72 »

jlos wrote: post #152
RealityVoid wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not OP. But, maybe, a bit, it does surprise me. Most programmers I know in real life are not neck beards and quite presentable, despite what the cliche' is like.

The traits associated with technical skills definitely bump the distribution more to the side of 'neckbeard'. So, yes, most programmers are normal (well groomed, exercise, developed social skills) but the number people who show no compelling evidence they possess a theory of mind is noticably higher and account for the tropes.

I like that "no compelling evidence they possess a theory of mind". I spent some time worrying about what "people" would think when I was young, but never "what does that individual person think?" And I never spent any time trying to be attractive because I didn't find men attractive. Reddit helped me read everyone else's minds and made me more normal, but I still don't have conversations where I'm thinking "How are they reacting to what I said?" or "What will they do if I act like this?"

Re: The Feminine Physique: On Women's Bodybuilding

#200

Post by mandevil »

rmah wrote: post #82

I usually don't read articles like this, but it was so well written that I was sort of sucked into it. What was most interesting to me was not the various controversies about body aesthetics or even health consequences. What stood out to me was the author's description in the early parts of the article of how much she seemed to crave the approval of strangers, especially men. It was thought provoking and I'm still pr…

Right. Who would count their karma points here on Hacker News and make a big deal about how many strangers anonymously clicked on the up arrow next to their post?
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