The path chosen by female bodybuilders: A tentative interpretation

This paper suggests that the process of marginalization of women bodybuilde rs can be analyzed according to two theoretical frameworks. The first is es sentially a pessimistic interpretation based on critical sociology and the concept of alienation, which discusses the limits of applying this concept to an empirical reality tin this case, female bodybuilders). The second con siders the future of female bodybuilders as being constructed through the m uscle cult. Our interpretation is comprehensive. The study stresses self-re alization and self-fulfillment in female bodybuilders and discusses their a ttachment to the bodybuilding subculture.