In addition to the more common challenges that a high-performance athlete faces, such as restrictive diets and intense training, female bodybuilders – especially those who compete in more extreme categories, such as Women’s Physique and Women’s Bodybuilding – still face the impact of their sporting careers on their love lives. Many face prejudice and difficulties in maintaining relationships.
“Athlete protects the mind. If I choose the wrong man and fall in love, I’m screwed”, reports Fernanda “Centaura” de Araújo Esteves.
In an interview with the column, the bodybuilder from Rio also points out that it is common to see muscular women attract fetishist men: “They want to see a strong woman naked, thinking she is an alien.”
“I’m just big, but I take hormones just like women in other categories. A Wellness athlete also suffers from side effects”, she adds.
Currently, the 46-year-old professional athlete and mother of four is single and explains why. “I pay my bills, I do everything myself. Why would I want someone in my life who isn’t enough to add up?”, she asks.
Despite recognizing that prejudice has diminished since joining the gym in 1995, Fernanda claims that many still see “a masculine figure” when looking at the body of a muscular woman.
Finally, she highlights a specific situation she experienced and criticizes the way some women are treated: “It has happened that I came home tired from training, didn’t want to do anything with my partner and he asked me if I was becoming a ‘dyke’ because of my physique: ‘You’re already as big as a man, now this?!’ This kind of thing gets tiring. But if the guy is tired and I want to look for him, I can’t. What is this? Woman is now a sex slave?! Society thinks that women have to be slaves in everything. Working, taking care of children… and you can’t say ‘no’. For me, it doesn’t work.”
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