ABSTRACT
Femininity itself may be considered as a drag performance or masquerade. The public spectacle of a woman’s body enacts an antithesis to the identification of femininity with the private and domestic body. Feminist theorists are interested in the ways that women evade or subvert that disciplining. Western-feminist cultural theorists have argued fervently about the degree of transgressiveness and agency available to women performing explicitly and knowingly to a male gaze: the ‘Madonna’ industry in cultural studies offers extended engagement with the debate. Many feminist commentators on women’s bodybuilding have remarked on the ways in which the contradiction is actively addressed in the rules and conventions of competition, and by the women themselves. Bodybuilding offers rich ground for feminist explorations about gender performance because of the clear play of ambiguities it embodies. Fan Hong offers a detailed historical survey of ideological definitions and redefinitions of women’s bodies in China: Footbinding, Feminism and Freedom.
