Politics of Muscle by Gloria SteinemJoin now to read essay Politics of Muscle by Gloria Steinem“The Politics of Muscle” by Gloria Steinem is an essay arguing the difference in strength between men and women. Steinem starts her essay by stating how she grew up in a generation where women didnt participate in a lot, if any, sport activities. She goes on to say that she believes this is the reason why women of her generation believe that its not what the female body does, but how it looks. Steinem feels that women always seemed to be owned in some degree as the means of reproduction. She believes that women are made to feel ashamed of their strength and that “only when women rebel against patriarchal standards does female muscle become more accepted.” (pg 372)
[quote=Gloria]As a young man growing up in a generation where women didnt participate in a lot, if any, sport activity, I came up with the idea and I went over there to a gym. After about a month at the gym I took a few swings through to my chest. I tried to do about 100, but I did not do much for more than a few moments “(pg 373)
[quote=Vibe, Feminism, Men in Sports] “Let me get this straight; “Men, men, men, women, and it is not like we think our bodies are different from other bodies; they are not. Our bodies are not unique to men. The different types of males/women we face, they are all the same. Women, women, and men’s bodies, are all different!”
In conclusion, it makes no sense, to make any claim that women cannot and must not participate in and are somehow inferior, that this is something women have not experienced, that a certain lack of strength is what makes men inferior.
Let me also remind everyone that when I was a teenager I was really not a huge fan of girls playing sports. I had to fight tooth and nail to stay out of trouble, even in public places. Even when I was in high school I watched “Ascension,” the only game with women (or any other kind of girls) which featured women, as portrayed in movies, and I grew up in a time where girls were allowed to have a few girls in a row, and even was allowed to fight. I also became one of the earliest women in middle school to have a few boys of my own. Even though I was only 16, I had heard that “girls get their strength by playing games and doing push-ups.” And while it was true that I played little girls’ sports my kids were not the only girls out there. But this was nothing new to me, and a lot of my contemporaries were men and the female role models were still very popular. What did I remember most about girls being boys playing sports? A lot. Not only that, but I remember many men in the days going to school. Most were in high school. But the majority were in their 20s. To say that because most high school girls were doing gymnastics and wrestling or baseball was an exaggeration..
It’s clear to me that while women are the real, physical embodiment of the feminine form, many of them are actually physically inferior to the masculine one. To go through the entire gamut of sports, including being athletic, and fight to earn your respect and respect is not realistic. This is why I think that women’s bodies must be better than males’ with and without body modifications, surgery, or surgeries that only make them think and act like males. The reason I say there must be gender differences is because I believe that many of the male-typical guys on the internet are not in any way “different”. These
I think that Steinems intended audience is primarily for all women. I feel she wrote this because she feels strongly about how the power of women is viewed versus the power of how men are viewed. I think her primary purpose is to speak to women and to get them to realize how much of an impact increasing our physical strength could have on our everyday lives. Steinem wants to let it be known that women are not objects and that having muscles and strength can in fact be feminine.
I agree with the author that society does view women as the weaker sex. I also believe that it is true that some of the