Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

Long ago, I wrote an entry about Charles Atlas and how his advertisements made me wary of muscular men because they are all bullies:

• Starling Fitness » Charles Atlas

It looks like Charles Atlas was just one in a long line of advertisements. Take this ad from Lionel Strongfort, for example:

With a name like Lionel Strongfort, how could he NOT be a virile man?! When I see ads like this, it makes me sad because I imagine guys looking at them and feeling bad for not being muscle bound. I prefer guys who look normal and I hate to see men working toward an ideal that seems less than ideal to me.

It’s ironic that I feel like this about men, but I can’t bring myself to feel like this about myself.

Advert via: vintage_ads: Before Charles Atlas… WAY before..