Most female weightlifters are not as “in shape” as one might think considering the amount of working out that they do. For the most part, the most powerful weightlifters do not have a typical workout physique that is equated with spending hours in the gym.
Most of these women are obese. Competitors like record breaking Zhou Lulu, Holley Mangold and Sarah Robles are three popular examples of weightlifters who do not fit the feminine physique mold. In fact they are not required to by the sport but by the average American, they do.
But these women like most women in weightlifting do not care how their femininity is measured by participating in the sport whether it be because the sport is male dominated or because they just don’t look very feminine. Should they be wearing heels while they lift 100lbs+ over their heads?
British Olympic weightlifter, Zoe Smith vehemently defended herself against a twitter bully when her femininity was questioned. Not only did she dig a grave for the poor twit where he erased his profile, but she followed up with a blog post where she said,
“You’d think that young women would commend us for doing something different with our lives, and putting 100% effort into it to make something of ourselves.
“But apparently we’re ‘weird’ for not constantly eating crap, binge drinking and wearing the shortest, tightest dresses that the high street has to offer. Sigh.”
Smith’s backlash on the twit received heavy media coverage and support from fellow weightlifters.
In an interview with Huffington Post, Zhou says “Actually I like weightlifting. So when you like something, you don’t think if it’s bad for your body shape or not feminine, I just do what I like.”
Kudos to you ladies! It’s not the 50’s, perhaps society should collectively change its viewpoint on what femininity really means.