The Problem I Have With ‘The Pornographication Of Fitness’
By admin
Today I have one of those post where it was hard to hit the publish button. I was/am hesitant to share my thoughts, however clearly, I took a breath, held it and hit the Publish button after all.
Perhaps you’ve seen this article floating around the blogosphere…
The Pornographication Of Fitness Needs To Stop
It was published just a week ago on Huffington Post and as of yesterday it has received over 100,000 Facebook shares.
The Unachievable Body
It’s a great piece, and to be honest deserves those likes.
If you’re a long time reader of LiftingRevolution then you know I hate how the media portrays women, making us feel as if we’re chasing after a body that is unobtainable and leading us to have emotions of self hate and poor confidence.
Because the bodies that are all over the media absolutely are unobtainable and unrealistic.
And that’s really the point of the article. It also goes on to stress that exercise shouldn’t be about going after this dream body, but more about being fit and healthy.
Extremely important piece of advice if you ask me.
Study after study shows that regardless of body weight, if you’re fit then you will likely have a longer, healthier life. Go team exercise!
But here’s the issue I have that leads me to disapprove of this article….
In fact, I couldn’t help but to read it without my eyes rolling and give a “yea, okay” from time to time.
Why?
Because did you see who wrote it?
Tosca Reno.
Who’s Writing About Pornography In The Fitness World?
Tosca Reno is an amazing inspiration to women… a fitness competitor, model, author of countless healthy living books (11 to be exact) and truly a force to be reckoned with in the fitness industry. As a lady in her 50s, she sets the bar high.
Really high.
But I can’t help but to think her words are simply words here.
That she wrote this not because she believes in the message but because she knows other women believe in the message.
It’s a pretty popular topic right now, and I personally feel like that’s the only reason Tosca chose to write on the subject.
- How can someone that has been on the cover of Oxygen magazine 8 times…
- How can the wife of the late magazine publisher, Robert Kennedy (who is responsible for such magazines like MuscleMag & Oxygen)…
- How can the self proclaimed fitness competitor (who not to long ago came out or retirement to compete again)…
..truly believe the words in this article?
Who Is “US”?
In the article she wrote…
“Yet most of us can’t identify with what we are looking at because we don’t believe ordinary us could ever be them.”
I love that she is trying to identify with the reader by using the word “us”. It’s important to bond and connect to your reader. We’re a sisterhood, we understand one another, right?
Not so fast.
Does anyone else feel as if this statement is equivalent to a man who says “we’re having a baby?” Trying to relate, really wanting to be able to… but it just can’t happen.
Why?
Because Tosca is one of the dream bodies on and inside the magazines. The ultimate success transformation story.
She can identify with the perfection within the pages.
She, can I say so boldly, is even one of the influencers to this issue?
Her job is exactly what she is speaking out against.
Feeling Dirty
I love that she doesn’t hide the fact that she was a fitness competitor… though she makes it seem as if it were years and years ago when in fact just 2 years ago she was training.
She talks about a time when she was standing around in a barely there suit, feeling “scandalous” and realizing that there is more to this whole fitness thing than parading around in an itty bitty bikini to show off toned muscles.
Why this time? What suddenly changed that this time she felt dirty?
Again, I can’t help but think that this story is here to help her try to relate to the reader, but not quite working.
But I will tell you something that would work…
Being In A Position To Change Things
Again, let me restate that I admire Tosca. I think her dedication to healthy living is huge and undeniable.
She’s made herself extremely successful and when I first started in this business, she was one of my role models. She was even one of my very first interviews!
Super nice lady… but I never looked up to her for being an “every day woman”. To me, she was and still is a symbol for extremely hard work, and dream bodies.
If I was to do another figure competition, I would look to Tosca for help….
If I am looking for inspiration to simply be the fittest, healthiest person I can be… hell no, she’s not who comes to mind.
It’s kind of like cooking… if you’re looking for healthy whole food recipes you go to Jaime Oliver, not Paula Dean!
But I digress….
Take A Stand And Do Something Different
Let’s talk about what would make me take this article a little more seriously:
Let’s see some every day women, not half-naked ladies and pages and pages of supplements and split bodybuilding routines going from cover to cover.
You might be thinking… what power does she have to do that?
A lot.
Now that she has taken over her late husband’s publication she is in a position to CHANGE THE WAY MEDIA DEPICTS WOMEN.
Heck, I would love to see just 1 issue of a magazine showing images of everyday women, doing workouts based on getting fit instead of getting ready for a show.
I don’t see this happening. Do you?
Flip through the pages of any of her magazines (she has now stepped up to head Robert Kennedy Publishing) and what do you see? Photo after photo after photo of touched up, toned, perfect women in scantily clad attire. Page after page of thermogenic fat burners and toning powder ads.
Why? Because that’s who Tosca’s readership is.
And that’s fine… my point is simply this…
Perhaps when it comes to being the “every day” woman and wanting to see women depicted more classy and wholesome, you should also be that way?
Tosca, you’re an amazing, strong, professional woman making a huge impact on the bodybuilding and figure competitive world… but to the “everyday” woman, perhaps you should find a new angle to try and connect?
I will leave with this… I take Tosca a lot more seriously than if this had been written by the folks at BodyRock. The leaders of truly making fitness porn.
I don’t know…
These are just my thoughts. And I would love to hear yours.
Again, I still love the overall message of the article, I just feel it would have been more powerful if it had been written a bit more honestly.
However, this is my blog home, so please keep comments tasteful.