Wrong message about muscles.

[TexasLaura]

After reading the post "A funny compliment" in this forum, where many Cathletes are commenting on getting compliments on their hard-earned physiques, and how the compliments are more meaningful coming from women, I had to comment on a story I saw on the news last night.

A junior cheerleader from the Univ. of Georgia (Anna Watson) has been getting a lot of attention lately regarding her muscular upper body. She is being made fun of and told that she belongs on the football team, not the cheerleading squad. She has been getting so much media attention that people are saying that there is "no way" she could have attained that on her own and are accusing her of taking steroids. This has been so distressing to her and her family that she has now "scaled back" on her workouts.

I found this very distressing. This girl looks healthy and muscular, like she lifts heavy, might work out with Cathe and might have done STS. She looks like a lot of Cathletes that I have met that have beautiful, hard-earned muscles. That she has gotten so much negative attention that she has "scaled-back" her workouts sends the wrong message---and just when we were starting to appreciate that "strong is the new skinny".

I am so upset about this! (google her-Anna Watson, Cheerleader, University of Georgia)

[tralaiven]

You know, I saw this; and while I do feel bad for her and think she sounds like a great girl, I can understand why people might think she had a little "help". Her muscles are very big for a woman. I realize that everyone is different, but even when I was in the best shape of my life and lifting hard and heavy there was no way I even began to approach this kind of musculature.

[cokonkel]

GRRRR. This makes me mad. Why oh why are people offended by women with muscles? I do not get it.

[Ann Marie]

I saw this story on GMA. The girl is amazing cut! I thought she looked awesome,hard work showed, and she appeared grounded for someone so young. Inspiring for young people!

[nkhansen1]

I saw her as well, and she is huge!! I can't imagine the amount of work it took to look like that! I think people start getting critical when muscular women begin to look less feminine and more masculine in their build, which she definitely does. Though I would never aspire to her physique, I deeply respect the dedication it took to get where she is. I feel badly for her that the criticism has apparently caused her some self- doubt. Poor girl!

[mini-natty]

Originally Posted by nkhansen1

I saw her as well, and she is huge!! I can't imagine the amount of work it took to look like that! I think people start getting critical when muscular women begin to look less feminine and more masculine in their build, which she definitely does. Though I would never aspire to her physique, I deeply respect the dedication it took to get where she is. I feel badly for her that the criticism has apparently caused her some self- doubt. Poor girl!

I feel the exact same way.

Where is your pretty avatar Natalie?

[nkhansen1]

Originally Posted by mini-natty

I feel the exact same way.

Where is your pretty avatar Natalie?

Hmmmm...it has disappeared! How did that happen?! Thanks for the compliment, and for letting me know it was gone. I will put it back up.

[Jenn38]

Originally Posted by nkhansen1

I saw her as well, and she is huge!! I can't imagine the amount of work it took to look like that! I think people start getting critical when muscular women begin to look less feminine and more masculine in their build, which she definitely does. Though I would never aspire to her physique, I deeply respect the dedication it took to get where she is. I feel badly for her that the criticism has apparently caused her some self- doubt. Poor girl!

You said it best. It's not what I aspire to, but she looks awesome and she is beautiful.

[NY25]

Interesting - the article I saw did not say that at all. It indicated she had gotten fitness modeling contracts but they started demanding more and more of her physically, and she eventually decided it was getting to be too much and didn't want to do that to her body anymore, including taking legal supplements (steroids, massive protein shakes, etc). She chose to back off for her own purposes. I admire what she accomplished, but her decision to back off - not stop - her own workouts is her decision to make based on her own goals. It's no more appropriate to criticize that decision that it is to criticize the one to pursue that physique.

[Shelbygirl]

I must have read the same article as NY25 because I saw nothing at all about anyone making fun of her. What I read said she was offered some kind of fitness modeling contract, but that she had to add 50 more pounds of muscle and that she was encouraged to take steroids. She chose not to do that but decided to back off a bit instead.

Shelbygirl