Women Building Muscles Because of Abuse?

From time to time I stumble over girls who are into lifting (and sometimes martial arts) who were sexually or physically abused in their past.

I wonder how often this is the case and if muscles are a way to cope with their traumatic experiences, like building some kind of shield around them.

I think men that have been bullied in the youth are common in the gyms, so I wouldn't be surprised if abused women also are common in the gyms.

Just watched a video about the physical, biological and physiological factors of exercising, so I’d say it would be the most likely thing

Yea they probably do it for self defense.

I’ve often found men who were bullied because of their less than socially accepted bodies go into bodybuilding, I always assumed it was the same with women.

From time to time I stumble over girls who are into lifting (and sometimes martial arts) who were sexually or physically abused in their past.

I wonder how often this is the case and if muscles are a way to cope with their traumatic experiences, like building some kind of shield around them.

Yes, this is a very wise observation. It's about power, and about potentially being able to resist things like unwanted advances or dominance.

I met one stripper (pictured on here) who I wanted to arm wrestle. She is plenty strong but was just a big shy, at least at first. She worked out constantly for all the years she was an exotic dancer, and that was many. She is very lean and strong, and I always thought those muscles were a defense, like wearing armor when you are a knight.

Yes, in my case the abuse had a major influence. It's not shameful to share it.

I think Wendy McMasters got into Bodybuilding due to past drug and abuse issues… I think for her she said it was an escape from reality, or something along those lines.

This goes for both genders OP plenty of men get big after being abused they just stop viewing themselves as victims and never mention it.

That may very well be the stupidest thing that I've ever read in my entire life.

Sounds like you are being defensive to me. It's hardly stupid.

I think if that were truly the case, we would see a lot more muscular women out there. It might be a case of correlation versus causation.

Unfortunately, abuse is rather common.

In my experience, there seems to be a very strong connection.

Are there any sources that investigated this more?

The thread asks a good question. I dont think we´ll ever really know, for obvious reasons.

But it is quite clear that some of these women on here have had a troubled past, like depression, anorexia etc. Bakhar Nabieva, Fanny Swerkstrom, Rebecka Jansen, Slava Galagan to mention a few. You can hint they have this kind of vulnerability they try their best to hide. And building muscle is a great way to boost self esteem, even though it can be a bit too shallow.

The thread asks a good question. I dont think we´ll ever really know, for obvious reasons.

But it is quite clear that some of these women on here have had a troubled past, like depression, anorexia etc. Bakhar Nabieva, Fanny Swerkstrom, Rebecka Jansen, Slava Galagan to mention a few. You can hint they have this kind of vulnerability they try their best to hide. And building muscle is a great way to boost self esteem, even though it can be a bit too shallow.

oh yeah, I remember a vid where Bakhar said she got bullied by her peers when she was younger and that was a motivation for her to build muscle

Something tells me not a lot of people on this thread actually works out

Something tells me not a lot of people on this thread actually works out

I'm not, if you are pointing me out

Something tells me not a lot of people on this thread actually works out

I like to call it “schmoe logic”