Author Archives: feministfiguregirl

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About feministfiguregirl

I am a 51-year-old professor named Lianne McTavish who receives as much satisfaction from working out at the gym as from publishing my academic research. About eight years ago, I decided to combine my two primary identities (scholar/gym rat) to create "Feminist Figure Girl," a fictional character who both analyzes and participates in bodybuilding. I competed in my first figure show in June of 2011, and then wrote a book inspired by the process, published by SUNY Press in February 2015. In this blog I will write about and consider my ongoing research on the body, while regularly making fun of myself. I recommend that you start reading my first post from August 2010 (available on the home page), instead of backwards from the most recent one, in order to get the full FFG effect.

Guest Post: Things I Learned about Teaching … at the Gym?

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Sarah Waurechen is an early modern British historian who researches political culture, but writes about teaching – at least as of late. Check out her blog at http://sarahwaurechen.wordpress.com/ [Aside by FFG: I have written a guest post for her site in a “blog swap.” It’s called “How Teaching Has Made Me a Better Writer.”]

Ok, so I totally have imposter syndrome writing this, and here’s why. I’m 31 years old and until two years ago, I had only ever been in a gym twice. Continue reading →

Are the Obese an Endangered Species?

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Here is a joke that my LSP recently told me. The setting is a job interview. 161

Interviewer: “What would you say is your worst quality?”

Candidate: “I have to admit that I am brutally honest.”

Interviewer: “Why, I don’t think that honesty is a negative personality trait at all!”

Candidate: “I really don’t give a flying fuck what you think.” Continue reading →

How Doing a Figure Show Changed My Life, Slightly

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Overall view of the x theatre during figure medium group (with Fitbabe).

Overall view of the Maclab Theatre in downtown Edmonton, with the Figure Medium class on stage (Fitbabe is at the back, second from the left). All photos courtesy of FFG’s crappy camera.

On Saturday June 01, I finished up my cardio and headed over to the Northern Alberta Bodybuilding Championships to watch PDDs and Fitbabe compete in Figure. Continue reading →

FFG Respectfully Responds to Fat: A User’s Guide

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Lion in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Lion in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.

I am in my element, learning new things in a foreign land with people I have never met before. While attending a cultural studies conference in Chicago, I have chosen panels according to my interest rather than my expertise. Skipping the talks about art, medicine, and museums, I am listening to arguments about the politics of American comedy, the exploitation hidden within contemporary bicycle culture, the challenges of researching Klan robes, and the surprising links between mandated monogamous love and American national identity. I am also paying attention to the embodied performance of each speaker. Continue reading →