Exercise After Enlightenment
The Audacity of Victorian Era Women Bodybuilders
The Age of Enlightenment (c. 1685-1815) changed the course of art, philosophy and politics in Europe and the Western world at large. But the liberal aspects of Enlightenment had blatant limits, which were indicative of the era’s gender, class and cultural biases. During the successive Victorian era (c. 1820 - 1940 in the United Kingdom), women’s social, cultural and economic rights remained restricted. Examples included losing ownership of their wages and their physical property outside of land ownership. Furthermore, once they married, women lost control of the income they generated prior to their betrothal (this law was annulled in 1870 with the passing of the Married Women's Property Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 93).
While fitness, exercise and wellness routines were widely enjoyed and flourished during this era, women were confined in terms of what activities they could engage in, how they could perform them and their physical appearance during exercise sessions. Although women were permitted to engage in many sporting activities like cycling, golf and mountaineering, they had to wear very complex and restrictive clothing. A socially conservative dress code also applied to the men of the time, but their attire was more forgiving. Think about going to the gym in a three-piece dress suit or ball gown. Would you be able to obtain your highest level of performance if you were bogged down in stiff layers of fabric and lace? The clothing that women wore while working out in public back then would seem totally prohibitive in a contemporary context.
Lizzie Bramlett, an educator, blogger and vintage fashion collector, describes the first hand experience of wearing one of the Victorian women’s sportswear pieces she acquired: “I tried the suit on myself (quite scratchy..can’t imagine actually exercising in this!). It was then that I noticed how dropped the shoulder line is. And the bloomers came almost to my ankles. I’m short, but the fit and proportions were correct. After consulting several people who know much more about Victorian clothing than I, the conclusion was reached that this probably dates to around 1865 – 1870. That makes this a very early exercise dress!” (Bramlett, 2010)
Bodybuilding was a stigmatized endeavor for Victorian women. Katie Brumbach, aka the “Great Sandwina,'' is an example of how strong, muscular women were assigned a freakish and fetishized status rather than being held in accordance with the strength training accolades of male athletes. Brumbach was renowned for her feats of strength, such as lifting her husband, who weighed 165 pounds, over her head with only one arm. Writer and historian C.A. Asbrey (2019) poignantly reflects that: “Nowadays Brumbach would have been an Olympic champion, but in her day her only options were in the circus. She joined the Ringling Brothers, then The Barnum & Bailey Circus. Instead of collecting medals and being seen as a superior athlete, she snapped iron bars with her bare hands and lifted huge weights in a way which built her up as both beautiful and dramatic.”
Regardless of strict limitations and deplorable attitudes towards women’s strength training, there’s a whole trove of historical photographs of women bodybuilders from the Victorian era, indicating a rich and audacious culture of women-centered strength training. Seeing these photographs inspired me to delve into the modern history of women’s strength training, which (despite its detractors) was flourishing both in and out of the mainstream culture during the nineteenth century.
At large, Victorian fitness regimens were not all that dissimilar from our current strength, cardio and mobility training routines. There was a strong focus on full body calisthenic exercises, as well as developing upper body flexibility, posture and overall mobility. It was also a time period of expansive access to fitness, ushering in a zeitgeist that is reflective of contemporary exercise culture. The concept of home gyms, i.e. “portable gymnasiums” were popularized by a London-based orthopedic machinist named Gustav Ernst in the 1800s. Ernst’s concept and guidance (see: Ernst, 1861) for working out at home paved the way for individuals like myself who have eschewed gym culture in order to workout in the comfort and privacy of our homes.
The idea of having a gym or at least some fitness equipment at home is quite commonplace today, but it was a revolutionary cultural advancement back then. Because of the public outlook on swole women, they often had to train in private, so these home gyms were most likely a vital development for their strength training practice (Schultz, 2020).
Through the shifting lens of gender identity, we are able to look at historical depictions of muscular women in a different manner than they were perceived back then. However, despite the contemporary progress being made to include and celebrate women’s achievements in strength training, there are glaring instances of gender bias that hearken back to Victorian era ideologies. Stigmas around muscular women and gender roles in fitness and strength training still need to be dismantled. But as past and current culture dictates, women are a force to be reckoned with, and will always persevere when expressing their strength and fortitude.
References, Notes, Suggested Reading:
Asbrey, C.A. “The 19th Century Muscle Women,” 26 February 2019, caasbrey.com. https://caasbrey.com/the-19th-century-muscle-women/
Bramlett, Lizzie. “Victorian Exercise Dress and Edwardian Gymsuit,” The Vintage Traveler, 29 October 2010. https://thevintagetraveler.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/victorian-exercise-dress-and-edwardian-gymsuit/
Ernst, Gustav. 1861. “The portable gymnasium : a manual of exercises, arranged for self instruction in the use of the portable gymnasium.” Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection. https://wellcomecollection.org/works/xgukqfke
Mundasad, Smitha. “Victorian keep-fit exercises and gym regimes revealed,” BBC News, 27 September 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-28858090
Schultz, Isaac. “To Work Out Like a Victorian Woman, Grab a Corset—and Don’t Break a Sweat,” Atlas Obscura. 22 May 2020. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/work-out-like-victorian-woman
"Because of the public outlook on swole women, ..." what an epic string of words. Super fun read, thanks!
An enlightening read- for some reason I had it in my head that strength training in general was from the 1900’s