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First things first. I have to say that this site is just about the coolest thing on the net. Everybody (well, nearly everybody) is knowledgable, helpful and interesting. There are always things to learn, things to look forward to reading about.
Another thing that makes SuperiorMuscle stand out is that people respect each other, more or less. As a gay bodybuilder, when I first came across this site, I thought sure that I'd find it peppered with a lot of homophobic hate speech, name calling, etc. I was blown away not to see it; even when "gay" came up as a subject, those that were uncomfortable or genuinely disintersted passed and went on to something else. Let me say that *that* kind of behavior is rare and very, very commendable. I salute all of you and thank you for operating above the normal level of suspicion and schoolyard bully namecalling.
This brings up a topic that has generated a good deal of thought and discussion among several of my BB friends at the gym (male and female, gay and straight). One guy's girlfriends said she thought bodybuilding was an inherently gay sport. She didn't mean that those who lift, build, compete or otherwise engage in bodybuilding is gay, but that, given its particular parameters, it has all the ingredients for it to be followed by gay men and/or lesbians. Her guidelines were as follows:
-- Men go to a gym to build and improve their bodies to a high level of perfection (or the desire for perfection).
-- Lifters/builders, per necessity, often wear clothing that shows off their progress/develoments (in the gym and in "real life").
-- Lifters/builders enjoy and even desire attracting attention to themselves via their developed bodies. Some go to extreme lengths to obtain such attention, mostly from straight females, but some crave it from the general population, i.e., anyone who will look and be impressed by their body.
-- Competitors enter bodybuilding contests where the main event is to mount a stage where the sole activity is to stand, wearing only a few square inches of cloth, and pints of tanning stuff and oil, so that people -- anyone -- can stare at and critique their body. This was the clencher for the girlfriend; nothing could be more tailormade to a gay physique devotee than to attend a contest, gaze upon and make decisions on a man's body. A step down from that is the gym environment -- gay guys are attracted to the same thing a straight women is attracted to, in this case, a well-built male body.
She went on to say that it drove her boyfriend crazy to have gay men look at him, and that he was a bodybuilder only for himself, his girlfriend and, when pushed to admit it, other women. But she repeatedly told him that he didn't have (couldn't possibly have!) the right to pick and choose who would look at him and make either mental judgments or vocal ones. Further, she said it was a free country and it was silly of him to think that he could look like he does (huge and cut nearly year round, plus he's considered extremely handsome) and not expect lots of people -- gay and/or straight, male and/or female -- to look at him
Such a loaded assumption couldn't lie still and everyone chimed in. Not surprisingly, a lot of straight guys disagreed, but more than a few thought it a valid statement. Same with the gay gym members. The women were almost unanimous in agreeing with the original girlfriend. Granted, we live and workout in San Francisco, a very liberal city that prides itself in the motto "live and let live". Even straight guys who, for some reason, may have some kind of beef with gay men, seem to follow the creed, so the opinions and enviroment may not be the same as what we sometimes refer to as "the real world".
Whew -- it's been quite a month on the workout floor. I would imagine that those who dip into this site have more than a few strongly-held and well-though-out opinions on this subject.
Another thing that makes SuperiorMuscle stand out is that people respect each other, more or less. As a gay bodybuilder, when I first came across this site, I thought sure that I'd find it peppered with a lot of homophobic hate speech, name calling, etc. I was blown away not to see it; even when "gay" came up as a subject, those that were uncomfortable or genuinely disintersted passed and went on to something else. Let me say that *that* kind of behavior is rare and very, very commendable. I salute all of you and thank you for operating above the normal level of suspicion and schoolyard bully namecalling.
This brings up a topic that has generated a good deal of thought and discussion among several of my BB friends at the gym (male and female, gay and straight). One guy's girlfriends said she thought bodybuilding was an inherently gay sport. She didn't mean that those who lift, build, compete or otherwise engage in bodybuilding is gay, but that, given its particular parameters, it has all the ingredients for it to be followed by gay men and/or lesbians. Her guidelines were as follows:
-- Men go to a gym to build and improve their bodies to a high level of perfection (or the desire for perfection).
-- Lifters/builders, per necessity, often wear clothing that shows off their progress/develoments (in the gym and in "real life").
-- Lifters/builders enjoy and even desire attracting attention to themselves via their developed bodies. Some go to extreme lengths to obtain such attention, mostly from straight females, but some crave it from the general population, i.e., anyone who will look and be impressed by their body.
-- Competitors enter bodybuilding contests where the main event is to mount a stage where the sole activity is to stand, wearing only a few square inches of cloth, and pints of tanning stuff and oil, so that people -- anyone -- can stare at and critique their body. This was the clencher for the girlfriend; nothing could be more tailormade to a gay physique devotee than to attend a contest, gaze upon and make decisions on a man's body. A step down from that is the gym environment -- gay guys are attracted to the same thing a straight women is attracted to, in this case, a well-built male body.
She went on to say that it drove her boyfriend crazy to have gay men look at him, and that he was a bodybuilder only for himself, his girlfriend and, when pushed to admit it, other women. But she repeatedly told him that he didn't have (couldn't possibly have!) the right to pick and choose who would look at him and make either mental judgments or vocal ones. Further, she said it was a free country and it was silly of him to think that he could look like he does (huge and cut nearly year round, plus he's considered extremely handsome) and not expect lots of people -- gay and/or straight, male and/or female -- to look at him
Such a loaded assumption couldn't lie still and everyone chimed in. Not surprisingly, a lot of straight guys disagreed, but more than a few thought it a valid statement. Same with the gay gym members. The women were almost unanimous in agreeing with the original girlfriend. Granted, we live and workout in San Francisco, a very liberal city that prides itself in the motto "live and let live". Even straight guys who, for some reason, may have some kind of beef with gay men, seem to follow the creed, so the opinions and enviroment may not be the same as what we sometimes refer to as "the real world".
Whew -- it's been quite a month on the workout floor. I would imagine that those who dip into this site have more than a few strongly-held and well-though-out opinions on this subject.
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