The Women [Hardcover]

Bill Dobbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 1994

For thousands of years, the muscular male body has been an object of admiration and a primary subject of art. Women, on the other hand, have rarely been celebrated for their physical strength or muscular development. But in the late 1970s, women discovered the sport of competitive bodybuilding and began doing the same kind of muscle-specific weight training as their male counterparts.

As a result, we are seeing the emergence of a cultural phenomenon without precedent--women attempting to develop the ultimate degree of muscle size, shape, definition and proportion primarily for aesthetic, rather than athletic, purposes. The fact that many women are now both willing and able to devote themselves to creating muscular bodies is one indication of our changing perception of the potential of the female body as we begin the 21st century.

In The Women, author and photographer Bill Dobbins presents eighty full-color and duotone photographs of top female competitive bodybuilders in a stunning visual exploration of this new phenomenon, and convincingly shows that muscles on women can indeed be beautiful. The photographs, combined with an enlightening text, explore the implications of this new aesthetic for art, sport, and our overall view of the capabilities of women. An unusual and fascinating book for anyone interested in fitness, feminism, photography, or the complex issue of gender, The Women is certain to challenge many perceptions.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Having experienced a surge in popularity in the 1980s, women's bodybuilding produced a number of how-to books by stars such as Lisa Lyon, Gladys Portugues, and Rachel McLish. Dobbins's book is a gallery of 50 color and black-and-white "art" photos (read: there is some tasteful nudity) showing off the physiques of female bodybuilders in studio settings. The brief text recaps the muscles-vs.-beauty controversy in the sport and emphasizes the special obstacles women face, physically and psychologically, in the form of criticism from family and friends. This book champions the "muscles are beautiful" side. Dobbins, who coauthored The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding (LJ 9/1/85) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, has extensive photographic experience with bodybuilders, and it shows in these crisp, artful photographs. Recommended for public libraries.
Kathy Ruffle, Coll. of New Caledonia Lib., Prince George, B.C.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

For thousands of years, the muscular male body has been an object of admiration and a primary subject of art. Women, on the other hand, have rarely been celebrated for their physical strength or muscular development. But in the late 1970s, women discovered the sport of competitive bodybuilding and began doing the same kind of muscle-specific weight training as their male counterparts.

As a result, we are seeing the emergence of a cultural phenomenon without precedent - women attempting to develop the ultimate degree of muscle size, shape, definition, and proportion primarily for aesthetic, rather than athletic, purposes. The fact that so many women are now both willing and able to devote themselves to creating muscular bodies is one indication of our changing perception of the potential of the female body as we approach the 21st century.

In the Women, author and photographer Bill Dobbins presents 8 color and duotone photographs of top female competitive bodybuilders in a stunning visual exploration of this new phenomenon, and convincingly shows that muscles on women can indeed be beautiful. The photos, combined with the enlightening text, explore as well the implications of this new aesthetic for art, sport, and our overall view f the capabilities of women.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (January 9, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885183011
• ISBN-13: 978-1885183019
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,076,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most amazing book of female muscle I can imagine., May 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Women (Hardcover)

I'm a female bodybuilder and I HATE the cheesecake photos of physique women I see in the bodybulding magazines. The pictures in The Women, on the other hand, are artistic and respectful of what these female bodybuilders have achieved. I think Bill Dobbins is to women with muscle what Ansel Adams was to Yosemite, and Dobbins' photos will be the ones people still look at 50 years from now. Okay, I guess I tipped my hand..I really like the book!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very beautiful, February 28, 2000

By 

Brian Callahan "aceaceaceace" (Huntington, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Women (Hardcover)

I found the photos in this book to be quite beautiful. The women are shown as exotic, beautiful bodybuilders - not gross overly muscular freaks, nor phony "Miss America" plastic beauty queens. And for those of you that are wondering, yes there are nudes in the book. Why that detail is always ignored in reviews is beyond me. I guess they want to make you buy it before that is disclosed.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Titanic, muscular femininity!, December 10, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Women (Hardcover)

"The women" here are unprecedented in history: women with much greater muscularity and strength than many men (including me). Until the 1980s, women did not have the chance to build this huge muscularity. Yet within a few years, massively muscular female bodybuilders (FBBs) were on the scene. Are these women (1) grotesque freaks or (2) a new kind of femininity? The author thinks it's #2 and presents these photos are proof.

None of "the women" here look like men in drag. All have elements of conventional femininity: stunning faces, luxurious coiffures, slender waists, and curvaceous hips. Some model seductive lingerie. But the also have massive biceps, shoulders, and backs, as well as hard, flat, strapping chests with virtually no bosom. (As part of their exercise regiment and diet, FBBs tend to increase their chest size while dramatically losing breast mass.)

So what are "the women": half man/half woman monsters or a new kind of "muscular femininity"--elements of traditional womanhood combined with a new look of strength and power? For me, it's a "new femininity." The elements of traditional womanhood are so seductively powerful in these women that I could never call them masculine. The best description for them is "titanic." The Titans in Greek mythology were a race of massively muscular men and women--the women far more muscular than an ordinary man. Yet the Titan women still had al the traditional elements of womanhood at the same time. And that's "the women."

Two concluding observations from reading this book. First, what we look for in a woman's body depends on what we expect from them. If we expect clinging fragility, we look for a weak, delicate body. But in the age of Xenia, "muscular femininity" no longer sounds like an oxymoron. Second, if a man regards these women as freaks, it may be because he is encountering (for the first time, perhaps) a woman who is more muscular than he, threatening his sense of masculinity. As a small, quite unmuscular man, I long ago realized that not all men are muscular, nor all women weak. Ladies such as "the women" teach us that muscle alone does not define either masculinity or femininity, and they make us more accepting of people who don't meet traditional stereotypes of womanhood or manhood.

In conclusion, this book is a MUST for any man (like me) who admires and is attracted to very strong, muscular, yet feminine women. People with negative stereotypes of FBBs will have them challenged. The photos themselves are creative, artistic, dramatic, and seductive.

My favorite photo: the cover shot of the massive Nikki Fuller in a perfect combination of demure femininity and regal muscularity. A true Amazon Queen!