Professional Female Bodybuilding: Self-Determination Theory Approach

Introduction "Female bodybuilders look disgusting, she looks like a man. " (Shilling & Bunsell, 2009) The above quote demonstrates the common reaction to imagery depicting the hypermesomorphic somatotype of the typical professional female bodybuilder. The sheer physical stature of such a woman elicits powerful reactions from those outside the bodybuilding subculture. Specifically, by developing the almost perfect androgynous body (Schulze, 1997), stigmatization, marginalization, and sexism are the repercussions for contravening gender physical norms (Felkar, 2012). For this reason, it may be difficult to understand why females commit to building highly muscled bodies in the face of Western culture's belief that muscularity is synonymous with masculinity (e.g., Helgeson, 1994). Although male bodybuilders typically display an exaggerated hyper-muscular somatotype that is often thought to represent a response to a crisis of masculinity (e.g., Cortese, 2007), they stay within their prescribed gender role and do not threaten the power structure of our patriarchal society. Conversely, female bodybuilders threaten the moral sensibilities of observers by stepping outside of this very power structure by abandoning the feminine physical ideology of Western culture. The salient mesomorphology does not fit into any previously defined category of woman and is argued to represent social resistance to the gendered norms of femininity (Scott, 2011). Consequently, negative commentary concerning female muscularity generally contains layers of meaning not found in expositions of muscular males (Felkar, 2012). Competitive bodybuilding is an activity where the goal is to increase the muscle mass (volume), symmetry (overall proportions), and definition (the degree to which each muscle of the body visually stands out), in order to attain success within a competitive field (Bjornestad, Oyvind, & Anderssen, 2013). During competitive events, bodybuilders are scrutinized by a judging panel to determine which physique best adheres to the pre-determined criteria defined by a governing body (Holm, 2000). The competitor who best meets these standards is declared the winner. Much debate and controversy surround competitive bodybuilding. First, this may be due to the fact that competitive bodybuilding is an aesthetic pursuit that relies on somatic form, opposed to any apparent display of functional ability. Second, despite today's fitness-oriented culture, a public disrespect hovers over the bodybuilding community, which may be a consequence of past and more recent work that describes a relationship between female bodybuilding and maladaptive behaviors, for instance, substance use, extreme exercise regimes, and disordered dietary practices (Pope, Katz, & Hudson, 1993; Scott, 2011). Physical appearance is a salient attribute upon which humans judge others (Freeman, 1988) and forms the basis for the cultural phenomena of stereotyping. Decades ago, it was noted by Goffman (1963) that possession of atypical physical attributes was the foundation for unfavorable reactions from others. According to Aoki (1996), despite carefully avoiding disparaging commentary of other minority groups, scholars have a tendency to uphold the culturally endorsed negative stereotype by assuming personality flaws in bodybuilders. For instance, Klein (1993) argues that the overdeveloped physique is synonymous with an underdeveloped 'psyche'. The literature on this topic frequently contains descriptions of female bodybuilding viewed through this pessimistic lens (see Roussel & Griffet, 2000). More recent research indicates that female bodybuilders are still assigned undesirable descriptive labels (Chananie-Hill, McGrath, & Stoll, 2012; Probert, Leberman, & Palmer, 2007). This further promotes an assumption that female bodybuilders represent a homogenous group with similar identities (Probert et al., 2007). A limited number of studies with a broader focus have briefly discussed the reasons why females participate in bodybuilding. …