Inside the VERY colorful lives of female bodybuilders: Photographer captures stunning portraits of strong women – including five-year-old girl who ‘dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast’ and trains up to SIX days a week
- LA photographer Kate Biel ‘s Barbella collection shows the very colorful world of female bodybuilding
- ‘Bodybuilders are canvases that refute the self-sabotaging rhetoric that women are inherently fragile or helpless. Feminine nature begins with pain,’ she says
- Barbella will be available to view at Blade Study in New York City from February 16 to March 26
Heavy makeup, carefully selected outfits, toned muscles – it sounds like a description fit for a beauty pagent, but one photographer uses precisely that backdrop to provide a glimpse into the very colorful lives of female bodybuilders – including a five-year-old who trains up to six days a week.
Los Angeles-based photogra Kate Biel’s Barbella collection shuns traditional forms of feminine beauty and instead steers her gaze on muscular forms only a few women can achieve.
‘Bodybuilders are canvases that refute the self-sabotaging rhetoric that women are inherently fragile or helpless,’ Biel said in a statement. ‘Feminine nature begins with pain. Women are born with pain built in. The act of female bodybuilding is an act of defiance.’
In her collection, Biel showcases several adult bodybuilders – but one standout includes five-year-old Kynlee Heiman. The child, who trains between four to six days a week, is seen flexing her abs in Biel’s portraits. Biel said Kynlee dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast, and will have to ‘defy nature and simply surpass it.’
When ask if she thought she’d get criticism for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle in children, Biel brushed it off, saying: ‘As a photographer, I’m not in a place to pass judgment – only to observe and record the truth.’
Kynlee Heiman, five, poses with her hand over her eyes as she flexes her abs. Biel told DailyMail.com that Kynlee has dreams of being an Olympic gymnast and is training four to six days a week. She features in photographer Katie Biel’s Barbella collection. ‘To become an Olympian you have to defy nature and simply surpass it,’ Biel told DailyMail.com
Kate Biel’s Barbella collection takes a look at the female body from a different gaze, turning away from the traditional forms of feminine beauty to relish in the muscular forms
Bodybuilder Jessica Vetter poses topless with eccentric makeup on, as Biel shows the colorful world of the sport
Biel said her portrait collection also strives to ‘dissolve the heteronormative power structures’ surrounding bodybuilding and to ’embrace the grotesque.’
Women in the world of extreme bodybuilding are often consitered ‘grotesque’ and ‘manly’ – whereas their male counterparts are praised for being the epitome of masculinity.
‘It is one of the few impossible beauty standards the male-dominated media doesn’t openly embrace,’ she said. ‘Perhaps, due to the threat that a muscled woman can embolden against the norm.’
When asked what the definition of a strong woman was to Biel, she told DailyMail.com: ‘Strong women are emboldened women. Women that seek out their own pleasure instead of waiting for it to occur which still to this day is seen as an act of defiance.’
Barbella will be available to view at Blade Study in New York City from February 16 to March 26.
Kynlee lays on the ground in tiger face paint as she poses her strong body
Lorri Clouston-Moran and her daughter Courtney pose in bikini bottoms and jewelry while showing off their painted nails. Bodybuilding competitions often deploy similar requirements as beauty pageants: heavy makeup, carefully selected outfits, and toned muscles
Leana Kaplan poses in a bikini top.
Bodybuilder Lauren Powers scratches her eye with one of her long pink nails as she is dressed in jewels and brightly colored makeup ahead of a competition. Biel’s photo collection strives to ‘dissolve the heteronormative power structures’ surrounding bodybuilding and to ’embrace the grotesque’
‘Bodybuilders are canvases that refute the self-sabotaging rhetoric that women are inherently fragile or helpless,’ Biel said in a statement. ‘Feminine nature begins with pain. Women are born with pain built in…The act of female bodybuilding is an act of defiance’
Biel digs deeper into the notion that women can’t be hard and strong through her photo collection and questions societal standpoints placed on women, both young and old
Leana Kaplan poses with pug and a feminine hairstyle of braids with bows while she flexes her incredible arm muscles. ‘Bodybuilding is so much more than just exercise. It’s a ritual of eating, sculpting, pageantry, and spending months in top physical shape followed by the rest of the year out of shape to heal from those intense physical demands. It’s a science.’ Biel told DailyMail.com
A little intimidated? A little boy named Lev looks nervous as he flexes his own muscles next to Jessica. ‘Strong women are emboldened women. Women that seek out their own pleasure instead of waiting for it to occur which still to this day is seen as an act of defiance,’ Biel told DailyMail.com
Lauren flexes as she poses near an antique car. Barbella will be available to view at Blade Study in New York City from February 16 to March 26
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