Muscular Women Challenge Beauty Norms at Tokyo Bar

TaiwanPlus News

In Tokyo, muscular women are pushing back against cultural beauty standards through a rising underground bar that celebrates strength and body diversity.

Transcript

00:00Fancy a nightcap in Tokyo? Consider a splash of melon, crushed over a strong drink, by an even

00:09stronger woman. Muscle Girls is a fitness-themed bar that's challenging conventional beauty standards

00:15in Japan. In Japan, people generally think that women with small breasts, a slender back, and

00:23skinny legs are attractive. But the customers who come here to Muscle Girls prefer thicker arms and

00:28legs. I still remember how my self-esteem skyrocketed when I realized deep down that it was okay

00:33to be just how I am now. A hot spot for rubberless seeking something offbeat. It's the bar staff of

00:40women with powerful physiques that manager Haligai Hitomi emphasized with most. The boys at middle

00:48school and high school told me, your legs are fat. They said it as an insult. Your legs are fat. You

00:53don't fit in your skirt. It's a common sentiment in Japan. Studies show the country has a much higher

01:01proportion of underweight women among developed nations, nearly five times that of the U.S. and

01:06Germany, the results of a culture that equates thinness with beauty.

01:14But I think that's something every Japanese girl goes through in her teens. They look at magazines

01:19and social media and think, I'm fatter than her. I'm no good. It's a lot. It's like a kind of mind

01:25control, a self-imposed mind control. This idea that skinny is beautiful. It's a curse.

01:30Against this backdrop, Muscle Girls offers a different vision of femininity when that prices

01:36strength and community. Just the fact we do weight training already sets us apart from regular

01:44Japanese women. It's a community where people who are a little unconventional can gather. I think so,

01:50and I think the others think so too. The bar is a place we all cherish.

01:53Harigai and the women at Muscle Girls have created a space where they can be themselves

02:01and embrace their buddies, community, and individuality. It's something that's proven

02:06to be a strong combination. Patrick Chen and I Chi for Taiwan Plus.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended