# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you asked your whānau or your mates what the most important part of you was, they probably wouldn't say your looks. But this might not stop you from thinking your body is in some way wrong. Body image is how you see, think and feel about your physical appearance.

# data[].attributes.headline
Transgender athletes are not the biggest threats to women's sport

# data[].attributes.subject
Transgender athletes are not the biggest threats to women's sport

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
OPINION: Since Laurel Hubbard's naming in the New Zealand Olympic team this week, there's been a flurry of discussion about the inclusion (or exclusion) of transgender women in women's sport and the need to protect women's rights.

It's fantastic to see how women's rights and women's sport are all of a sudden coming to the fore. Now that you are so interested in women's sport let's talk about the big threats facing women in sport.

It's not the inclusion of transgender women.

The biggest threat is those who say no to equal pay or to giving women opportunities in the sporting world both on and off the field. It's sports bodies who will not meet the government mandated 40 per cent gender quota on their boards by the end of the year - like New Zealand Rugby.

READ MORE:
* Impact of transgender inclusion in sport 'grossly exaggerated': Grant Robertson
* Petition targeting trans women in women's sport accepted by National MPs
* Transgender advocates take issue with ex-Olympians' testosterone claims

It's sports bodies that continue selecting male athletes who violently abuse women or those who shut women down when they try to speak up about their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in sport.

It those who do not call out the use of sexist or homophobic slurs and allowing rape culture to continue to permeate in sport.

It's those who have allowed abuse to occur against girls and women in sport for decades. It's those who make girls and women wear uniforms that are not fit for purpose.

It's sponsors and advertisers who say no to equal investment for women, and those who don't recognise the contributions of girls as well as boys.

The gender pay gap in sport is huge. Within domestic cricket it's between 88 and 100 percent. These women are doing the same job, in the same conditions, on the same day as their male counterparts. Women, like Black Fern Chelsea Alley, recently posted about how they are struggling to balance three jobs with a rugby career. She doesn't have the luxury to give 100 per cent to her sport. She can't afford it. Unlike her male counterparts.

Then there's visibility. According to Sport New Zealand, coverage of women in sport makes up approximately 15 percent of all sports coverage. That's a slight improvement from 10 years ago when it was 11 per cent. While this number is world leading, it's still poor considering half our population are women. Research from Dot Loves Data released on International Women's Day found men's rugby gets more coverage than all of women's sport combined.

Social media is also taking a toll on women in sport. Eighty per cent of elite female athletes report social media is the number one source of pressure for them to conform to traditional ideas around feminine body image. Seventy-three per cent say having that pressure to have a specific "physical appearance" is damaging to their overall health, including engaging in disordered eating practices and interruptions to their menstrual cycle. Fifty-nine per cent say social media was a source of performance related pressure, more so than they reportedly experienced from their coaches.

Then there's the harassment of women in sport. Of athletes receiving sexist and racist remarks online, female sports journalists receiving threats of rape and death for doing their jobs, and women in positions of power, including now Sport New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle having to up security following death threats.

In my case, I've received semi-regular threatening misogynistic messages, been groped, had my appearance commented on, been kissed against my will, and had men - without my consent - wave their penises in my face. It's happened both in a workplace setting, and at sporting events.

Sports media has traditionally not been a safe space for women. Last month Sky Sport faced allegations of serious sexual harassment and an independent investigator has been brought in to oversee the process. In the final show for Radio Sport in 2020 - in which the male presenters spent more time talking about pigeon racing than they did women - one woman who did go on air reported how another presenter " stalked her ".

Stuff's Dana Johannsen also wrote of her time with Radio Sport.

"In one of my first weeks on the job a well-known host flung a young producer over his shoulder and unclipped her bra in the middle of the office," she said.

"No-one said a word. Or if they did, it couldn't be heard over the guffaws. There was a suffocating blokieness about the place."

Many of those who are jumping to the defence of women and women's rights in the past few weeks are also self-selecting what women's rights they want to protect.

National MP Mark Mitchell, who recently accepted a petition from Save Women's Sport Australasia that called for more consultation on Sport New Zealand's transgender inclusion guidelines, voted against laws that directly impacted women's rights in the past. He voted against the marriage equality bill, and the domestic violence leave act, choosing to put businesses ahead of women's rights.

In the United States, the lawmakers who say they want to protect women's rights and are passing legislation to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women's sport, are the same lawmakers who have voted against women's reproductive rights.

Women's rights are important. They are important in sport and society, and it's positive to see many of us talking about them. But how about using that energy for good and being an ally for women in sport?

Speak up for equal pay. Actively sponsor and support your favourite team. Recognise the contribution of girls and women on and off the field. Encourage women to stand for boards and leadership positions. Call out sexism, rape culture and misogyny, and actively listen when women share their stories in relation to this. Read and share stories about women in sport. Encourage your daughters to pick up a rugby ball or cricket bat. Change your club or school sports uniforms so girls and women feel comfortable playing and participating.

You can make a difference. Use that dedication to women's rights in sport for good. Be a champion and help eliminate the threats facing women and girls and make sport safe and equitable for all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The biggest threat to women's sport is not the inclusion of transgender athletes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
OPINION: Since Laurel Hubbard's naming in the New Zealand Olympic team this week, there's been a flurry of discussion about the inclusion (or exclusion) of transgender women in women's sport and the need to protect women's rights. It's fantastic to see how women's rights and women's sport are all of a sudden coming to the fore.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Laura Carter lets out a guttural screech as she hoists an enormous dumbbell into the air, victorious in the lift for the first time.

Weeks of training - and several failed attempts - have led to the gleeful moment. It's affirmation she will be able to hold her ground when she steps into the ring in the women's division of Canterbury's Strongest Man competition.

Carter is one of a handful of women competing in the male-dominated event - a test of strength, endurance and speed - at the NZ Agricultural Show.

The show, held at the Canterbury Agricultural Park, will run from 8am to 5.30pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

READ MORE:
* Jayson Woods is New Zealand's strongest man
* A&P Show Strong Man events test muscle
* A 'Rock Star' ram and flying gumboots
* Weightlifting's not just for boys

The inaugural South Island round of the Strongman competition requires the women to deadlift 140 kilograms as many times as they can in one minute, complete an overhead medley - an axle press, lifting the 35kg monster dumbbell and log press - and complete a 40-metre "farmer's walk" carrying 75kg in each hand, event director Chris Latham said. A "mystery" event will test the contestants' stamina in the finale.

Other Strongman contestants have pulled jet planes, dragged trucks and flipped tyres to prove their strength.

"I'm not here to be pretty, I'm here to be strong," Carter said.

The Christchurch woman and former powerlifter turned to Strongest Man events in 2016 when her knees starting giving her too much trouble to continue relentlessly lifting. At 35kg, lifting the giant circus dumbbell wasn't so much a matter of brawn, rather a struggle to balance it correctly so it wouldn't topple sideways, she said.

"It's amazing for women to do a strength sport because it's so empowering ... whilst it's cool to see a man lift 500kgs, it's amazing to see a woman come in who could be shy and at the end of it she thinks she's badass and amazing."

Celebrating what the body can do rather than what is looks like is fundamental for her training team, the Unbreakable Warrior Women.

"Having an audience - I call it a hype squad - makes all the difference. Suddenly you can do things you couldn't before because they're screaming at you to get up and go harder, it's great."

About 100,000 attended the show last year, up 10 per cent on the year before. The 156th annual event is one of New Zealand's largest and oldest A&P Shows, dating back to the Cattle Show in Victoria Park in 1853.

Metservice is forecasting calm and sunny weather on Wednesday and Thursday, but some rain may hit the showgrounds on Friday. Thursday is set to be the warmest, with a high of 24 degrees Celsius expected.

New Zealand Agricultural Show director Geoff Bone said visitors would be spoilt for choice. Entertainment highlights include first-rate livestock and equestrian events, live music and the "opportunity to explore the latest and greatest in innovative agribusiness". Top events to add to the dairy include the Mighty Mix Dog Trial daily from 7.30am and competitive woodchopping in the arena from 9am daily.

The action in the Shearing Pavilion kicks off on Thursday with woolhandling heats from 7.30am. Machine and blade shearing heats, finals and world championship qualifiers take place from 7.30am on Friday.

Attendees can try their luck at rivalling Meghan Markle's gumboot-throwing glory at the South Island Gumboot Throwing Championship, between 10am and 2.30pm on Friday.

The smallest of miniature horses, largest kunekune and pedigree pigs, cheekiest alpacas, loudest roosters and friendliest goats will be among the 3000 livestock on display. The Canterbury A&P Association confirmed it will run a cattle section, but uncertainty about cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is expected to significantly reduce exhibitor and livestock numbers.

The association and the Ministry for Primary Industries have set up protocols to keep exhibitors' livestock separate while in pens and in the show ring.

The breed dubbed by international media as the " cutest sheep in the world", valais blacknose, are also sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Devoted breeders Sally and Lindsay Strathdee plan to showcase their flock, which have black faces, patched ears and feet, shaggy fringes and snow white fluffy fleeces. The couple's sheep make up some of New Zealand's estimated 100 purebred valais blacknose population.

Parking is available at the showgrounds for free, but visitors are recommended to take public transport if possible. Red Bus will run a service from the bus interchange directly to the showgrounds and there are three entrances to the public car park off McMahon Drive, Augustine Drive and Wigram Rd. No public parking is available from Curletts Rd.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Strongest woman and her 'hype squad' ready for Canterbury A&P Show

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Laura Carter lets out a guttural screech as she hoists an enormous dumbbell into the air, victorious in the lift for the first time. Weeks of training - and several failed attempts - have led to the gleeful moment.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On Monday morning, ESPN debuted its 2017 Body Issue cover stars, NFL running back Zeke Elliott and Danish tennis champion Caroline Wozniacki.

Their cover debuts came in the form of a GIF, posted on ESPN's official Twitter account.

You can now add "cover boy" to Zeke's resume. pic.twitter.com/DSS8r0Jzef
- ESPN (@espn) June 26, 2017

Elliott's cover, which shows the running back posing completely naked under splashing water holding a football, left many (male) Twitter users disturbed at seeing a man nude on the cover of a sports magazine:

Why 21,000,000 and counting have Dropped @espn. 💥 💥
- barstoolsailor (@steel1man) June 26, 2017

Notably, when Caroline Wozniacki 's cover was posted on Twitter, there was no outpouring of male revulsion and outrage (as seen in the tweets below).

So...naked woman = good, naked man = disgusting?

The contrasting reactions reveal a stark double standard when it comes to nudity ― even artful, athletic, partial nudity. It is still considered startling to many to see a naked man covering a magazine, when there are countless magazine covers that regularly feature naked women without public outcry.

Plus, women, regardless of their sexual identity, are used to seeing other women naked on magazine covers ― from sports magazines like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, to the likes of Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. Women's bodies are nearly always considered fair game for public consumption and art.

The straight man replies to this image are hilariouuuuuuuus! https://t.co/0y9h2Lj8WE
- mamacita (@sdlauram) June 27, 2017

More than anything, though, the reaction to Elliott's cover displays a deep, deep insecurity among men when it comes to seeing another man's naked body.

Many of the social media comments about Elliott's cover were of the "no homo" variety, as if simply scrolling through Twitter would cause men to "turn gay" for their exposure to a stripped down (heterosexual) NFL football player. As if, by not publicly decrying the cover, they would somehow be considered complicit in its consumption. As if seeing another man's body presented as beautiful, represented a threat to their own masculinity.

For his part, though, Elliott doesn't seem worried.

As he said in the video shoot for his cover: ″I think my body's just shown a true transformation from a little kid to a grown man."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fragile Men Of Twitter Cannot Handle ESPN Cover Star's Nude Photo

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On Monday morning, ESPN debuted its 2017 Body Issue cover stars, NFL running back Zeke Elliott and Danish tennis champion Caroline Wozniacki. Their cover debuts came in the form of a GIF, posted on ESPN's official Twitter account. You can now add "cover boy" to Zeke's resume.

# data[].attributes.headline
How body image influences physical activity

# data[].attributes.subject
How body image influences physical activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Association for Applied Sport Psychology: Body Image and Physical Activity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Individuals who feel better about their bodies (i.e., have positive body image) are more likely to engage in physical activity than those who have negative body image.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The women of CrossFit Dynamix are strong, tough, and supportive of each other. Learn more about the CrossFit culture as they see it: an environment that celebrates strength, success, and sisterhood. Subscribe for a new episode of AMRAP every Thursday, only on 3V.

# data[].attributes.headline
Womans rugby empowers positive body image

# data[].attributes.subject
Womans rugby empowers positive body image

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CLOSE

When I tell people that I play rugby, the most common reaction is shock. They see me at 5-foot-7, 150 pounds and wonder how I can tackle another person at a full sprint with only a mouth guard for protection.

I often get the question, "Women play rugby?" Yes, women play rugby. In fact, there is no difference in the rules between men's and women's rugby. Often men and women scrimmage together at practice.

On Tuesday night at Marion Park, I laced up my cleats to play with the local men's and women's rugby clubs. After two hours of high-intensity action in the scorching sun, I broke free using my signature move, the stiff arm, and managed to score the last try of the night.

The beauty of rugby is that anyone can play. There is a position for every body type. If you're male or female, tall or short, strong or fast, big or small, there is a place for you on the field.

Rugby is one of the fastest-growing sports in America, boosted by its recent re-emergence as an Olympic sport. There are more than 115,000 registered players in the United States, with 32,000 of those in colleges and the rest in high schools and clubs. Twenty-five percent are women, according to USA Rugby.

More: Alexa's Picks for local entertainment options, June 5-11

Sioux Falls is not new to this trend. The men's team, Crow, has been around for more than two decades and was joined by a women's club, Phantom, in 2013. Rugby also exists at the high school level, with an established local boy's team and a girl's team in the works.

This summer, you can catch the local rugby squads scrimmaging Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. at Marion Park. All are invited to come and play, regardless of experience.

I discovered my passion for this rough-and-tumble sport in college, as many ruggers do. Before college, I tried the typical sports such as soccer and volleyball, but nothing captured my heart.

During my freshman year at Gustavus Adolphus College, a friend encouraged me to attend a rugby practice, and I've never looked back. The thrill of body-slamming someone to the ground hooked me, but the camaraderie and character-building is what made me stay.

For the first time in my life, I was happy with my body. Women are constantly fretting over their figures, and before rugby, I was no exception.

Rugby taught me that it doesn't matter how much you weigh or how small your waist is. What matters is how hard you try. And it's OK to have a few extra pounds. That just means it's harder to tackle you.

Rugby players are the most accepting people I have ever met. But that doesn't mean the sport isn't demanding.

To play rugby, you must be physically fit, have confidence, be aggressive, have a good attitude and be a team player.

Rugby pushes you to the limit, both physically and mentally. There are no breaks when the ball hits the ground, and there are no pads to cushion your fall. Fitness wins games in rugby, and it's surprising how much pain a person can endure.

I have never been a fan of running, but if someone from the opposing team is chasing me with the intent to tackle, you bet I am sprinting to the try zone. The threat of bodily harm is good motivation to get in shape.

Despite the sport's tough nature, safety is a major concern. With no pads or a helmet to protect you, the tackler is responsible for bringing the ball carrier to the ground in the safest way possible. But that doesn't mean players never get hurt.

The injuries I have endured during my rugby career range from minor to more serious. They include several bloody noses, a chipped tooth, the loss of three toenails, a concussion and a sprained ankle. If you don't leave the field with a scrape or a bruise, you aren't playing hard enough.

Pro tip: A tampon is the perfect tool for stopping a bloody nose. My rugby coach in college always kept a few in his bag, just in case.

The possibility of getting injured is always there, but that's part of what makes the game thrilling. You are pushing your body to its limits, and in the end, the rewards outweigh the costs.

The best part of playing rugby is the camaraderie. Teams beat each other up on the field, but when that last whistle blows, opponents turn into friends. No matter the outcome of the game, the teams join each other for a bite and a pint afterward.

Ultimately, what rugby has taught me is that every time life tackles you to the ground, you get back up and keep fighting.
Alexa Giebink covers food and entertainment for Argus Leader Media and has been a devoted rugby player since 2012. Follow her on twitter @ArgusAGiebink
For More Info

Crow Rugby: siouxfallsrugby.com

Phantom Rugby: facebook.com/sfwomensrugby

Read or Share this story: http://www.argusleader.com/story/opinion/columnists/alexa-giebink/2017/06/08/rugby-too-rough-girls-give-me-break/377284001/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rugby too rough for girls? Give me a break

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CLOSE When I tell people that I play rugby, the most common reaction is shock. They see me at 5-foot-7, 150 pounds and wonder how I can tackle another person at a full sprint with only a mouth guard for protection. I often get the question, "Women play rugby?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Click to unmute

Plus-size ballerina Lizzy Howell fights stereotypes with dance. The 15-year-old from Milford, Delaware has been dancing for 10 years, and became an inspiration for thousands when a clip of her nailing a series of fouetté turns went viral on the internet. Besides ballet, Lizzy also practices jazz and tap dancing. She trains 4 days per week and proves that dedication beats everything. On top of that, dancing helps Howell manage anxiety from her pseudotumor cerebri (a condition that causes excess fluid around the brain). She also has become an ambassador for Dancing for You, a disability awareness campaign.

Click to unmute

Plus-size ballerina Lizzy Howell fights stereotypes with dance. The 15-year-old from Milford, Delaware has been dancing for 10 years, and became an inspiration for thousands when a clip of her nailing a series of fouetté turns went viral on the internet. Besides ballet, Lizzy also practices jazz and tap dancing. She trains 4 days per week and proves that dedication beats everything. On top of that, dancing helps Howell manage anxiety from her pseudotumor cerebri (a condition that causes excess fluid around the brain). She also has become an ambassador for Dancing for You, a disability awareness campaign.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Meet 15-Year-Old Ballerina Lizzy Who Challenges Body Stereotypes In Dance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Plus-size ballerina Lizzy Howell fights stereotypes with dance. The 15-year-old from Milford, Delaware has been dancing for 10 years, and became an inspiration for thousands when a clip of her nailing a series of fouetté turns went viral on the internet. Besides ballet, Lizzy also practices jazz and tap dancing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
OPINION: My first thought when I sat down to see the big screen Baywatch adaptation last week (aside from "What the hell am I doing here"), was "I'm worried about Zac Efron".

His skin looked papery thin, his muscles perpetually pumped, but his eyes, my god: Efron has always had a bittersweet gaze, but in Baywatch he looked damn near devastated. Even in the poster, Efron's sad eyes pierced through his taut and tanned visage in such a way that said "Please, god, let me put some condiments on my steamed chicken".

I know this because I have looked into the hungry eyes of physique bodybuilders immediately prior to competing at the Arnold Classic, at the moment when weeks of cutting sodium and water and subsisting on the bare, Soylent Green food-as-muscle-fuel diet culminates.

But unlike bodybuilders, who get to walk off stage and dive straight into a pile of donuts, action stars are expected to maintain this fragile state through training and pre-production right through the gruelling production period.
READ MORE:
* Men feel pressure about their body image too
* Why judge masculinity using outdated criteria?
* The unhealthy reason men go to the gym
It's one thing to shred when all you have to do is work out for a few hours and then let your body rest; it's quite another to endure a 16-hour location shoot and 4am starts when all you're allowed to eat is poached tilapia with some steamed broccoli.

For me, it's not that, as E. Alex Jung suggested in a similarly concerned Vulture piece, Efron is "too swoll" - in fact, as far as Hollywood action bodies go, Efron hasn't (yet) entered the arena of extreme size that his co-star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Guardians Of The Galaxy's Dave Bautista have inhabited for some time. Rather, it's that he looks so shredded.

(Shredding, ripping or cutting, for those not regularly lurking bodybuilding.com forums, is the process of shedding body fat while maintaining muscle size and tone until the muscles "pop" from beneath the skin. Bodybuilders typically only do this once a year for 12 or so weeks pre-competition. Read too much about it and you may want to recover with a nice calming shreds video.)

Efron's presence in the film made the lithe-yet-buxom bodies of his female co-stars look positively normal by comparison. This, in 2017, is the norm for male superstars: it's no longer enough to be jacked, now they have to be cut as well. Hugeness has given way to leanness.

It may be tempting to sniff at this development. Like, hooray, male stars are finally experiencing the hell their female counterparts have known for many years!

But this nightmare of extreme aesthetics is no win for gender equality. As Jung writes, "It's as though the lesson we learned from feminism was to apply similarly rigorous body standards to men, instead of examining why we applied them to women in the first place. Everybody loses!"

This baseline level of aesthetic shred goes beyond the extreme body transformations that method actors like Christian Bale and Jared Leto have long prided themselves on. Indeed, as Angelica Jade Bastien wrote for The Atlantic late last year, "method acting" has become a measure of machismo: "method acting, as it's practiced today, depends on framing less drastic techniques as feminine, and therefore inferior."

(It says something that the most revered body transformation of any actress, Linda Hamilton's Terminator 2 makeover - despite the film's crucial feminist themes - is coded by commentators in masculine terms: her jacked shoulders, her impressive and functional fitness, and the fact she could pump-load a 12-gauge shotgun with one hand. Other method actresses are, as Bastien notes, simply praised for being brave enough to "go ugly".)

But Efron and his peers are not "method acting" as hot studs. As some critics have noted, his body in Baywatch is not the supple, broad-shouldered form of an Olympic swimmer's, despite the fact his character is a two-time gold medallist. Rather, it's the end result of an expectation of extreme male hotness regardless of the role or context.

For an insight into the reality of what it takes to achieve this body, just follow Chris Pratt on Instagram. His #whatsmysnack videos have become an increasingly bleak series of missives from the land of 5 per cent bodyfat as he reveals the "meals" he has to eat each day to stay shredded enough to believably portray a Velociraptor trainer. The video about his cucumber rolls was like an Ingmar Bergman short:

The formerly husky Parks & Recreation sweetheart began his transformation when cast as a member of Seal Team 6 in Zero Dark Thirty back in 2012, unveiling his very un-Andy-Dwyer body in a selfie that sent shockwaves of thirst around the galaxy.

Since then, he's become an in-demand action stud, with the diet and training regime to go with it.

Pratt and Efron's gruelling workouts and sorrowful, dehydrated eye-bags are typical of the modern action superstar. Hell, Baywatch isn't even an action movie - now even comedy stars are expected to be cut. Efron is one of the most delightful comic presences on screens (go watch 17 Again again), so why does he need to look like he's about to show the judges his front lateral spread?

Johnson praised his younger co-star's approach to the Baywatch shoot without a shred of irony: "Athletes know how hard it is to prep, train, and diet for a competition. It's months of focused sacrifice all leading up to one particular event that takes place in one night.

"In the case of Baywatch," he added, "Zac's had to apply the diet and training strategy of an elite athlete, but he's also had the 'added bonus' of needing to maintain that look for months while we're shooting."

Dwayne, my dude, that is not actually a good thing. Perhaps it's the commie in me, but it's time the unions and guilds draw a line in the sand, as far as the studios' duty of care for their stars - both male and female - is concerned.

Orlando Bloom recently revealed, to gales of laughter, that one of his intense workouts nearly, well, killed him.

What the actual hell on earth? It may be boring to suggest it in the multi-million-dollar world of late-capitalist blockbuster moviemaking, but it's not fair or ethical to expect stars to maintain these physiques year round. (Then again, what's that joke about ethics in capitalism? "'Ethical capitalism' isn't"?)

This race to the bottom (of the fat ratio) was first chronicled by reporter Logan Hill, whose 2014 Men's Journal essay, ' Building A Bigger Action Hero', is essential, sobering reading.

"Maintaining extremely low body fat for the duration of a multimonth shoot is nearly impossible and often dangerous: The stress can make an actor ill, damage internal organs, and make him susceptible to other injuries," Hill wrote. "Even in the best-case scenario, calorie deprivation can exhaust an actor, making him light-headed, distracted, and fatigued."

It reminds me of the nightmarish preparation process the Victoria's Secret models endure, which in turn is very similar to physique bodybuilders' pre-comp regimes.

But when even bodybuilders themselves have begun to wonder if the sport has gone too far (compare the golden era of Arnie and Franco to the mindboggling hugeness of Generation Iron 2), it may be worth stepping back and asking ourselves what madness we have descended into when an extreme shred is considered standard practice for simply appearing on screen.

And Zac, if you're reading, consider this a standing invitation to come eat some high-sodium food court stir-fry and non-complex carbs sometime.

- SMH

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
We need to talk about Hollywood's extreme new male aesthetic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
OPINION: My first thought when I sat down to see the big screen Baywatch adaptation last week (aside from "What the hell am I doing here"), was "I'm worried about Zac Efron". His skin looked papery thin, his muscles perpetually pumped, but his eyes, my god: Efron has always had a bittersweet gaze, but in Baywatch he looked damn near devastated.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Caster Semenya smashed out the fastest 800m from a woman in the world this year, flexed her muscles and pretended to brush the dust from her shoulders.

Two hours later, she walked into a press conference and smashed it out of the park.

"It's all about loving one another," said the 25-year-old South African. "It's not about discriminating people. It's not about looking at people [and] how they look, how they speak, how they run.

"You know, it's not about being muscular. It's about sports. When you walk out of your apartment, you think about performing. You don't think about how your opponents look. You just want to do better. I think the advice to everybody is to go out and have fun."
READ MORE:
* Caster Semenya divides opinion in Rio Olympic debut
* Semenya prepares for controversy in Rio
And with that, Semenya made as much of a statement as anything she just achieved on the track.

She has been ridiculed, torn apart, her place in world athletics questioned at every turn.

At one stage, her legs were hitched in stirrups and she was examined by a platoon of experts to determine her sex. She's been shoeboxed as "hyperandrogenic" and "intersex" when all she considers herself to be is a woman who runs.

So many believed she should not have been allowed to compete on this night at the Rio Olympics.

Many others, including International Association of Athletics Federation president Sebastian Coe, insist she should only compete if she takes hormone-suppressing drugs.

She competed under those conditions in London four years ago and claimed silver. The Court of Arbitration for Sport told the IAAF last year to lift those restrictions, and this year she set times that threatened to bring down Jarmila Kratochvilova's world record set in 1983.

Even this win produced more questions than it answered.

Seymena won in 1:55.28s - the fastest in the world this year and a personal best - with Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi and Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya completing the podium.

Much like Semenya four years ago, when she shot to prominence after winning the 800m world championship, the silver and bronze medallists have been the subject of innuendo and suspicion about whether they are "intersex".

A reporter jumped at the start of the press conference to ask all three athletes if they had been forced to take hormone suppressants at any stage of their careers.

"Thank you for your question," Wambui said. "Let this press conference focus on today. Let's not focus on the medication."

Then Semenya firmly interjected.

"My friend, tonight is all about performance," she said. "We're not here to talk about IAAF, we're not here to talk about some speculations. Tonight is all about performance. This press conference is about the 800m that we saw here today. So, thank you."

It may not have been a topic Semenya wanted to talk about but it's an issue that will never go away.

Forever the politician, Coe continues to have a bet each way.

When asked him for comment about Semenya earlier this week, he quickly rushed away.

The IAAF has already signalled its intention to challenge the CAS ruling from last year that allowed Semenya and other athletes with high testosterone levels to compete in Rio without having to take suppressants.

Coe did talk to the Financial Times this week, saying: "Where to the best of our ability that we can, we have to create ... a level playing field. Let me make one other point really clear: she is absolutely entitled to be here. We should not be in the business of demonising athletes.

"[Semenya] is a daughter, she is a sister. We have a moral, but also a contractual, obligation to do this sensitively."

"A daughter, a sister" ... It's a soundbite he's rolled out a few times now.

The vanquished from the 800m did not want to talk about it, either, trotting out stage-managed lines about "rules being rules and there's nothing we can do about it".

Poland's Joanna Jozwik giggled her way out of addressing the question.

"I'm sorry I don't want to talk about that," she laughed.

Why's that?

"You should know."

You're a grown woman. You can say what you want.

"You mean Caster?"

Yes.

"Sorry, but this is the topic about what I don't want to speak."

In the hours after her win, there was much confusion about whether the famously media-shy Semenya would speak to the world's press.

It threatened to be a cross-examination, but one reporter ambitiously compared her to Nelson Mandela, prompting several American journalists to burst into laughter.

"I don't know," Semenya said. "Sport is always supposed to unite people. I think we are united. I think that's what we need to keep doing. I mean a lot to my people, they are proud of me. You just need to be a great leader. You just need to set a great example. For me, I cannot focus on individuals. I can only focus on the support of my people. I cannot focus on those things. Maybe, if people can just unite."

Semenya didn't just win the gold medal in the women 800 metres final. She won for every person who has ever been told they are different, they're not normal, that they should be ashamed of who they are.

The person we'd most like to speak to isn't Caster Semenya, but Mother Nature.

Do elevated testosterone levels in a female enhance athletic performance? If so, by how much? Ten per cent? Five seconds? The difference between gold and fourth?

Is it any greater benefit than the two-time 800m men's champion David Rudisha training at high altitude in Kenya? Than Kevin Durant standing at 2.13m tall?

These are questions we will never know the answer to even though the athletics world will no doubt keep asking.

The last question for Semenya on this night was if she was happier now than in 2012. She laughed and then confirmed for the first time her marriage to South African woman Violet Raseboya.

"Of course I'm happy," she smiled. "That's what happens when you get married."

- theage.com.au

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Caster Semenya has stirring words for her critics after winning women's 800m

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Caster Semenya smashed out the fastest 800m from a woman in the world this year, flexed her muscles and pretended to brush the dust from her shoulders. Two hours later, she walked into a press conference and smashed it out of the park. "It's all about loving one another," said the 25-year-old South African.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sign up for our newsletter: http://goo.gl/UwnMd Subscribe: http://goo.gl/qR0gi On today's episode of XHIT, fitness trainer Rebecca-Louise shows you how to get abs like Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, and all your favorite Victoria's Secret models! This workout will start you on your way to getting a flat stomach for the summer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lynx an Australian deodorant company released an ad starring some sexy female rugby players. Did the ad go to far? Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss the artistic merits of the ad. The Young Turks on Current TV: http://current.com/shows/the-young-turks/ The Largest Online New Show in the World.