Usually, strong women are perceived as being unattractive due to their muscular appearance, which many still consider to look to masculine. Yet, in Desert Sound Colony’s music video for ‘I Get Fixed’ featuring 20 year veteran Colette Nelson, director Callie Barlow shows the analogy between the the world of bodybuilding with that of the fashion industry. By showing Nelson’s day-to-day activities from what she eats, to tanning her perfectly taut feminine physique, complete with painted toes nails + bikini, practicing her poses + straightening her hair, you get to see for yourself how close these two worlds are to one another with their strict regimen of being perfect.
As I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think of Nelson as if she were a superhero however, as a woman, she would only be believable as such by only if she had the outrageous body proportions of a barbie doll, as female superheroes are often degraded to hypersexualized versions of a woman. Yet, had it been a male superhero, he would be applauded for being so big if not, encouraged to be bigger. For whatever reason, society still wants to feed us that if a woman’s strength is visible, she is no longer feminine + therefore, no longer attractive. But for Callie, as she tells NOWNESS, ‘There’s definitely a beauty component to the bodybuilding industry’, as Colette uses this laser machine on her face every night that’s featured in the video to keep her skin young + tight.
Nelson who moonlights as a makeup artist + spray-tanner for gym-obsessed ingénues, is said to find comfort in her routine, getting up at five every morning, + she often sleeping in her exercise clothes so that it’s easier to get up + go. But Callie goes on to explain how ‘the parallels between modeling + bodybuilding are to obvious when you have someone pushing their body in a certain way, + they are aware of their body all the time. There are definitely health risks, + some women take it too seriously. Colette is a good role model because she pushes a more healthy, well rounded lifestyle. But it’s all about beauty, it’s all about the image.’
Enjoy!
(via NOWNESS)