Overview

Becoming Bikini Bodybuilders: Challenges and Rewards of Ordinary Women Stepping on Stage offers an insight into the bikini category of natural female bodybuilding by revealing benefits and challenges encountered and experienced by ordinary women who decide to become bikini bodybuilders. The prevalent perceptions often portray women bodybuilders as leading restrictive, unhealthy, and deviant lifestyles. Nina Michalikova exposes and challenges the prevailing misconceptions about bikini bodybuilders and shows that not all female athletes follow extreme training and dietary measures for prolonged periods of time to achieve their desired physique. Training for a bikini competition under the guidance of a knowledgeable coach can be an empowering experience that refutes the stereotypical images of deviant behavior with negative health consequences. By highlighting the positive aspects of bikini bodybuilding experienced by women in various areas of their life, this book breaks the stereotypes of a “typical bikini competitor” as a hyper-sexualized woman with underlying health issues. In addition to studying a little understood population of bikini athletes, the study uses an innovative methodology to examine the topic.

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9781666902235

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Reviews

"""Michalikova’s autoethnographic account on female bodybuilders is a fascinating read. Her story is not just from someone on the outside looking in; it is told from the voice of someone who has lived the life of a bikini athlete. The personal narratives add credibility to this study. The participants are from all over the world and the themes transcend different cultures. This book fills a gap in sociological literature about bikini competitors that wouldn’t be possible with other research methods."" -- LaDonna McCune, University of Central Oklahoma"

Author Information

Nina Michalikova received her Ph.D. in sociology from Texas Woman’s University in 2013 and is full professor of sociology at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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