If you’ve been following my FB page you may have noticed that, other than the odd bit of feminist literature, I don’t share the standard ‘motivational’ pictures or memes that you will often see in fitness and weight lifting pages.

My reasons for this are very simple.

These collections of images are generally termed as ‘fitspiration’ and assigned the verbs of motivational and inspiring.  They depict women with visible muscles and very little fat mass posing in a sexually suggestive manner.  Whilst I am not by any means belittling the dedication and work that goes into creating such a physique, I would like to make the point that, yet again, instead of celebrating the achievements and performances of women, we are celebrating their ability to get other people sexually aroused.

It is one thing to take a photograph of a lean and muscular woman who is proud of what she has achieved physically, it is another to take a photograph of her posed arse in a thong.

And then photoshop it bigger, smoother, glossier.

This is porn.

It is not motivational or inspiring, it is simply depressing.

We all judge people based on their attractiveness, it is an innate, evolutionary instinct that allows us to pass the best genes onto our progeny.  This does not mean that we, women or men, should be judged solely on this single variable.  We are all multi-faceted individuals and women have fought and suffered and died in order that society recognise this basic fact.

Fitspiration and many media portrayals of women (think music videos) propagate a value system based upon allure rather than performance and create a sense of cognitive dissonance that we don’t live up to this physical ‘ideal.’  Whether we believe that it is ideal or not.

So no, you will not find this kind of imagery on my page.  What you will find, however, are pictures of women who are as diverse as they are brilliant.  Women who are awe-inspiring because they conquered their fears and achieved their goals.

That is what Darkside is about.  That is what you will find on my page.

Strength.  Power.  Community.