Geschatte leestijd: 5 minutenSonja Bakker recently expressed surprising words in an interview for VROUW magazine regarding the fitgirl phenomenon. “What about going to the gym? Bearing children and cooking, that’s what you should do.”
Sonja Bakker vs. the Fitgirl
In an interview with VROUW magazine last weekend, Sonja Bakker commented on the fitgirl phenomenon:
VROUW: What do you think of the whole #fitgirl trend? Those girls who lose weight and train until they become all muscly?
Sonja: Then I’ll go back to basics, back to the primal era: a woman should be soft, inside and out. When I’m in the shower with a man, that man can be nice and big and sturdy, because he has to protect me. But me, the woman, I have to be soft. If I have a tight six-pack and I’m all muscly, that man will think: no child can come out of here anymore? It’s not natural.
Men always think about making babies. Having sex without having children is pointless, even sinful. Me too. When I’m in the shower with a woman, I always wonder how many children she could bear. Fortunately, a six-pack is not a permanent condition. So, I don’t see a six-pack as something that prevents me from going there and multiplying.
Sonja: A man can exert himself in the gym all he wants, but a woman should make sure she radiates femininity. That’s what I think. A woman should – literally – make tasty snacks in the kitchen.
Before I continue with the quote, yes, she really said that. It’s 2018 and Sonja Bakker is explaining the role of women: A helpless and soft womb on legs that serves the big strong man his favorite meal. And this, after I just heard Oprah Winfrey’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globes about the #metoo movement. From Oprah to Sonja turns out not to be such a smooth transition in terms of feminist vibe.
Sonja: Not completely ripped. Not lying in bed with a woman who is all muscle. I would think as a man: she’s going to do push-ups. And I would become very insecure about that.”
Sorry, but I have to interrupt Sonja there again: Only if you’re a wimp. Real men don’t get insecure about strong women. Fortunately, otherwise you would also have to advise women not to sell successful diet books. Imagine scaring men away with your success. Earning more than a man is obviously not done.
Sonja: I don’t write for the girl who wants to weigh 55 kilos and only slurps protein shakes….
You don’t have to become obese, but if a woman is 80 kilos and she goes back to 70, and she’s still a bit sturdy with nice breasts and a butt, then I say to that woman: ‘You shouldn’t lose more weight, because you won’t become prettier or more fun by doing that. You lose weight to have quality time with yourself and your surroundings, not to become thin, which doesn’t even suit you!’
‘The Fitgirl’
Such a pity. Best Sonja: Fitgirl bullying is as passé as Sonja Bakker bullying. With Sonja Bakker bullying, at least you know who’s under fire. ‘The fitgirl’, however, doesn’t exist. Sonja apparently has a very specific type of fitgirl in mind, weighing 55 kilos and addicted to protein shakes.
“‘Fitgirl’ is, however, a broad concept with which many different women can identify. From women in a running club and mothers doing aerobics DVDs with the baby in hand, to Instagram (wannabe) models and competition athletes. From girls who go to the gym twice a week for fun to women who have completed full nutrition studies. There are even women who don’t burst into laughter when you mention a Sonja Bakker diet. Within all those groups, you can then make distinctions in personal motivation and goals.
“You don’t become prettier”
Looking, for example, at the rapidly growing popularity of the bikini fitness class in competition bodybuilding, we see that for many female fitness athletes, a rock-hard six-pack doesn’t even have to be the starting point. But even when a six-pack is the goal and result of the efforts, this doesn’t necessarily say anything about ‘femininity’. Femininity is a subjective concept just like masculinity is.
“What femininity is, is first and foremost determined by a woman herself, as the Oprah in me says. And as far as men still have something to say about it; I can only speak on a personal level when I say that there are men who also find a six-pack on a woman beautiful and feminine. Beautiful and feminine enough for me to have made it my job to capture it as beautifully as possible in very beautiful pictures.
“Not Natural”
You often hear that it’s ‘not natural’ for a woman to have a six-pack. That sounds rather loaded, almost principled or religious. Almost like someone saying that it’s not natural for a woman to have rights other than being at the kitchen sink. Maybe that’s why it’s more convenient to talk about ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’.
Not that this provides a clear answer. Women naturally have, on average, more body fat than men, which means they have to create a relatively larger calorie deficit to see a six-pack. ‘On average’ is an important word here. I have photographed female models who naturally have very little body fat, whether or not linked to a low appetite. Becoming a ‘fitgirl’ in those cases mainly meant building more muscle mass instead of getting leaner. Granted, they are quite rare. For most people, there was a long road of hard work and sacrifice before that.
Less rare, but still rare, are the male models who have a six-pack without effort. For many of my male clients, too, having a six-pack is the result of great efforts and sacrifices. You never hear anyone say that it’s ‘not natural’ for a man to have a six-pack. However, if I see how hard some men have to work for a six-pack that is visible for a few days, then I wouldn’t consider it healthy if they looked like that every day.
“If you mean that the six-pack should be the result of nutrition at maintenance level, eating what you need, then a six-pack is not natural for almost anyone. For most people, they have to eat less than the body’s actual need.
Fitgirl vs. Thin girl?
What surprises me the most is that this criticism of the Fitgirl comes from someone who has made a fortune selling crash diets. In her early books, daily menus ranged from 800 to 1000 calories per day. Later, this was increased to 1000 to 1300 calories per day.
As said Sonja, ‘the fitgirl’ doesn’t exist. However, if we were to speak of the amount that ‘an average Fitgirl’ eats, then I dare to say that this is more. Just as the Fitgirl is also more than someone who just wants to lose as much fat as possible. The latter is more your target audience. The same goes for the 55 kilo girl addicted to protein shakes. True fitgirls are addicted to broccoli, grilled chicken, tuna, sweet potato, porridge, salmon, and all the other food that gives the body what it needs. A Fitgirl doesn’t just break down, but also builds up.
The main reason why I embrace the development of the fitgirl phenomenon in its entirety is that in my opinion, it offers a healthier alternative to previous beauty ideals that didn’t attach importance to a certain amount of muscle mass. The importance that ‘the fitgirl’ attaches to muscle mass means that nutrition, besides focusing on burning, periodically must also be aimed at recovery and growth. I prefer a calculated ‘bulk and cut’ to an unplanned ‘crash and burn’ with the well-known yo-yo effect as a result.
“That fitgirl rage, that lasts two years”
Sonja ends with a prediction for the future:
That fitgirl rage, that lasts two years. It will all go away soon. Believe me.
I said the same thing about Sonja Bakker in 2005.
The fitgirl phenomenon has led, among other things, to the development of a new breed: White women with buttocks (did you know Sonja, that buttocks not only contain fat but also muscles?). Personally, I think this is a mutation that will prove beneficial for the chance of reproduction. Therefore, I predict a long future for ‘the fitgirl’.
