Gender Discrimination in Body Building

Gender discrimination when introduced to public forums for discussion, always translates to mean female discrimination by men. Rarely will gender discrimination include men as recipients not perpetrators. It is no different in body building, objectivity is eroded whenever discrimination based on gender is mention, and men always are the enemy. It is on that basis that the issues of gender discrimination must be viewed in our contemporary society.

Modern activists, especially those biased towards female discrimination in professions, have in the recent past been heaping claims against body building, as a gender discriminating industry. They argue that female body builders are frequently treated in a way that in itself, is a mild form of sexism. The basis of the claim is that male body builders are judged by objective masculine standards like muscularity and physique symmetry. On the other hand, female body builders are judged using a nebulous criterion that is more descriptive then quantifying, that is by their “femininity”.

According to the critics, standards adopted for judging body building contests are constantly changed or modified as set by and for men, and then watered down to represent women. Further, female body builders face a bigger set back outside the gym in form of social discrimination. According to recent findings published by gender activists in the US, female body builders are usually mocked and generally viewed negatively by the societies in which they live. This negative treatment is based on their not conforming to and challenging traditional norms and practices that defines and ascribes ideal feminine beauty and the normal gender roles. According to the report, such norms and conventions are set and implemented by men.

The other claim dominating modern criticism of discrimination in body building is surprisingly the money. The money granted, generated and expended to sponsor body building careers, has become very strained. The world economy doesn’t favor body building right now. A recent forum for female body builders in the US ended on a high note after holding a press conference too state their stand. In the press conference, their spokesperson said that there is limited sponsorship for women body builders.

Yet for those few who benefit, little is given in reward. Female body builders are being given prize money sums that are only a quarter or even less of the sums given to the male body builders. To show the truth of their claim, the spokesperson quoted the 2005 Olympia where men competed for the prize of $550,000 in total, while women had to compete for only a total of $71,000.

Having followed the above discussion, it is possible to reach a personal conviction. These claims have been made by presumptuously biased women activist on behalf of female body builders. It is of course natural to dismiss the claims as propaganda. That is what has happened in the last decade and a half. But if one looks through and into these claims, there is a point that the women are making. Female body builders work very hard to be champions, they make thousands of sacrifices and they have the right to call for equal treatment by the industry. The above claims are as true as truth is.

The objective status review of body building will truly reveal, as discussed above, that there is gender discrimination annexed right in the heart of the industry and the blunt of it is borne by women body builders and perpetrated by the males. That is the truth. Simple.