La Méthode Lafay de musculation : une instance de façonnage anatomiquement différencié des corps des femmes et des hommes

Abstract

Within the competitive field of the physical culture, the Lafay Method has been one of the most widely followed bodybuilding programs in France for the past fifteen years. From a systematic comparison of the two manuals of 2004 and 2005 respectively intended for men and women, the present contribution reveals the differentiated muscular and anatomical shaping of women and men, promoted by Olivier Lafay. Indeed, training focuses, for women, on the plastic construction of the buttocks, thighs, belly and chest, while for men, it is a question of perfecting their athletic qualities, especially on the muscles of the upper body. These differentiations are never explained or justified and contribute to the reproduction of essentialist gender and sex norms and to the reification of women’s muscular inferiority.

Keywords

• bodybuilding
• body factory
• differentialism
• essentialism
• gender norms