"Femininity is often mistaken with weakness. Being delicate, girly, attractive and sexy, and being able to carry my own groceries, luggage, or even lift the same weight as some men do ... I think some men feel a bit intimidated, too, which is silly."
Many societies around the world glorify thinness in a way that can lead to starvation or other eating disorders. Argentina is no different. The country has the second highest incidence of anorexia and bulimia in the world, behind Japan, according to the Argentine Association against bulimia and anorexia.
Some women in Argentina, however, choose to be different. Barbara Mazzoni, Natalia Solano, Veronica Mordcovich, Nega Ibarra and Florencia Ramirez use CrossFit to be strong and healthy. But they, too, used to have a different idea of what beauty means.
Mazzoni, 32, has been doing CrossFit for nine months at CrossFit Tuluka. Mazzoni has a young daughter and says she has always thought athletic bodies suit females better than an ultra-thin body.
“I love CrossFit,” she says. “You will get better muscular definition … and I can certainly say that my body looks better today than ever before.”
Solano is a 36-year-old mother of three. She started CrossFit two-and-a-half years ago when she was exposed to the coaching of Santiago Terbalca. Today, she trains at CrossFit Unidos.
“The first time I walked into a box, I told the coach that I did not want to get bulky,” she says. “I told him, ‘Just give me the smallest weights you have. My goal is to firm up my body, but I don’t want to get bulky.’”
Both CrossFitters say CrossFit has not only improved their bodies, but also their minds and relationships.
“The first thing I noticed was that I had a lot more energy,” Solano says. “But mostly it was my self-esteem and body image that improved greatly. Never in a million years did I think my body would look like this — it is an unexpected, beautiful gift that CrossFit gave me.”
Mazzoni agrees.
“In my life, there is before and after CrossFit. I think it changes you as an individual … the effort you put in, knowing that you did your best … it determines what kind of a person you are,” Mazzoni says. “Additionally, it has improved my golfing skills."
Mordcovich, 38, trains at CrossFit Argos. Before CrossFit, she tried spinning and aeroboxing, but was never happy with the results.
“I wanted to have a toned body, but the activities that I did weren’t helping me achieve that,” she explains.
Mordcovich says she used to shy away from the weight room because she was afraid of getting bulky. All of this changed a year ago when her boyfriend introduced her to CrossFit. It was then she started to see the results she wanted.
Ibarra started training at CrossFit Tuluka because she wanted to get fit for Capoeira (Brazilian martial arts). Training turned to coaching, which turned into competing. Ibarra has competed in the Latin America Regional in 2011 and 2012. Now a coach at CrossFit Unidos, she says CrossFit has turned her into a more positive person, impacting all areas of her life.
“I think anything is possible now,” Ibarra says.
Solano says she is proud of her strength and ignores any negativity she hears about strengths in her society. “Not all our community is prepared to understand this, so I don’t preach about it,” Solano says. “But if someone is curious about it and asks, I take the time to explain it to them.”
Ramirez, who also trains at Tuluka, says being a strong woman in Argentina can be controversial.
“When I tell men that I do CrossFit, some of them think that it is great and others think that it is not feminine, and some women think so, too," Ramirez says. "Femininity is often mistaken with weakness. Being delicate, girly, attractive and sexy, and being able to carry my own groceries, luggage or even lift the same weight as some men do ... these things are all possible. I think that some men feel a bit intimidated, too, which is silly."
But in some cases, women limit their own possibilities, Ramirez says. “Other women often tell me that they see pictures of what we do at CrossFit, or they see how my body has improved and they compliment me on these things. But when I tell them to give it a try, they usually think that they are not going to be able to do the exercises or they feel too self-conscious. This is largely caused by the fact that they have been told most of their lives that women are not meant to lift heavy things, be fast and agile ... ”
Mazzoni wants to make be a positive influence for her young daughter. “We have a pull-up bar at home and our little girl is always trying to mimic what we do there,” she says.
Solano says this topic is important for teenagers who are at the age when eating disorders arise. “Teenagers suffer with how thin they think they are supposed to be. In that sense, CrossFit shows a completely different type of body ... they encourage being fit, strong and healthy, which also leads to having a lean type of body over being thin in a languid and fragile manner.”
In Argentina, CrossFit is providing a supportive, judgment-free environment for women. “No one treats me differently here in Tuluka because I am a woman,” Ramirez says. “The WOD is the same for everyone, and the coaches and the men in my class treat me as an equal and they don’t expect less of me. They actually push me to do more, cheer me on and don’t make excuses for me.”
Ibarra hopes the idea of beauty is shifting in favor of fitter women.
“Women are becoming more interested in having fit bodies,” she says. “They are also starting to realize that they should fuel those bodies properly to achieve those goals.”
