Kristen Stewart: What is a “muscle mom” and what does it say about our gender biases?

“Ideas about traditional femininity and what is considered sexy should be challenged.” In an interview given to Jezebel On Friday, March 29, Olga Mill, the costume designer behind Kristen Stewart’s photo shoot for Rolling Stone magazine, spoke about her creative process for the film Love lies bleedingin which the actress plays a gym manager who falls in love with a bisexual bodybuilder.

Highlights muscular women’s bodies

Olga Mill explained why she thinks Hollywood needs more “Muscle Moms”. Today, the mainstream codes of beauty and desirability promoted by Hollywood are far from giving pride of place to muscular women. On the contrary, they rather support a reductive vision of femininity, closely linked to an ideal of thinness.

As explained in a GymShark article, the concept of “muscle mom”, born on social networks, is a celebratory term that aims to reclaim a space from which women are traditionally excluded, since in the patriarchal economy sport and physical strength They are reserved for men. imagination:

From bodybuilding to weightlifting, a muscle mommy is a person who practices bodybuilding exercises with the goal of developing and maintaining muscle mass, improving strength and overall physical condition. This title is also used to symbolize empowerment and self-confidence, emphasizing women’s strength and physical ability.

It is also a way of indicating that these women do not value the opinions of men or society regarding their physical appearance, adds athlete Analis Cruz, quoted by the fitness brand: “We don’t care about stereotypes that we are ‘too big’ or ‘too strong.’ Stay true to yourself and don’t think about the approval or preferences of others. Do what makes you happy, stay faithful to what you love and what makes you feel good”.

Enough with the sexist locker room talk

For the Rolling Stone photo shoot, which sees Kristen Stewart in a sports complex, Olga Mill therefore worked around the very sexist concept of “Locker room discussions” (locker room conversations in French, or the idea that in the privacy of this space reserved for cis-straight men, witty jokes and stories of sexual conquests come out). “There is something about the power that images have in this environment because they reinvest a traditionally very sexist space” describes Olga Mill.

For Love Lies Bleeding, Olga Mill talks about how her work as a costume designer revolved around highlighting the actresses’ muscular bodies, through tailored clothing that made them equally sexy:

I think the fact that women’s bodies are very muscular is very interesting from an intellectual point of view, isn’t it? The reason this makes us so uncomfortable is because femininity has traditionally been equated with fragility and the need to be protected by a man. There’s a sexy side to lounging on a chaise lounge. Strength symbolizes much more than this. A physically strong body symbolizes “I can do things” and demonstrates discipline. It’s also, traditionally, the standard that male bodies are held to, so it almost feels like we’re invading their space, from an aesthetic point of view. Ideas about what is traditionally feminine and what is considered sexy should be questioned. Whether someone likes muscles or not, there’s no denying that this is a beautiful metaphor for a change that needs to happen.

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