When you think of bodybuilders, most people typically associate it with men, which makes sense when you consider that up until the late 19th century, the female physique was hardly considered one of strength. In fact, women's exercise was very much frowned upon, with women deemed to be frail or weak. But as women's rights, feminism, and equality grew, the concept of "strongwomen" was popularised. Today, there is a whole world of female bodybuilding, where women are proving their strength just as much as mean.
In a striking portrait series called Female Bodybuilders by Martin Schoeller, he tries to "Show the vulnerability that I see and feel in the subjects when I am with them, to get to the complex emotions behind a mask of extreme physical expression. These women mirror our modern cultural hunger for size, aggression, and attention at any cost. We are in the age of Bigness." Some of his stunning portraits are below, and the rest can be found in his book on Amazon.
