So, let’s talk on a subject that manages to still stay largely unintelligently and openly discussed; that still causes strident arguments on both sides of the issue, and often ends up being a weird name-calling and shame fest in a sport where PED use (in untested powerlifting feds) is more the norm than the rare instance.
What am I talking about? You guessed it……………
The Elephant in the Room: Women and PED Use
Other women have discussed this on some levels; I am not covering all-new territory, but I think you will all admit that women openly discussing use and “outing” themselves in this arena is rare.
I wonder how many of you have never read a column by me, but are reading now, just because I might lay out my experience with and regimens of use?
No matter how un-spokenly and hiddenly prevalent PED use in women is, no matter how much we all know it is going on, it is still a strangely taboo subject.
This is odd, as PED use in women carries some lasting and sometimes negative (as society conceptualizes them) long-term changes to the female body.
Why aren’t we talking about it?
Don’t tell me it’s just because it is illegal, because I can name offhand two dozen guys who openly joke about use. It’s taken as a given with guys, it’s “normal” in strength sports to some degree.
But in women…..talk about using and immediately you get this: dick jokes, “dick-clit” jokes, “she looks like a man”, “that’s nasty”, “women should not do that”, “it’s not natural”, “that’s disgusting”, “doesn’t she know what that will do to her body”, “she sounds like a man”, etc etc.
These comments get even louder and spoken more often as a woman strays away from the Anavar standard of “allowable” drug use for women. And by “allowable” I mean the one least likely to result in masculinizing sides that are abhorred and feared by the general population, and the drug most likely to allow women to still look like women, i.e., sexually desirable and “feminine”.
Well, I think you know I am going to drag out the elephant in the room and talk about it. I am not going to tell you what drugs I have done, and when. This is not a “how-to” and it is CERTAINLY not a cautionary tale to warn women away from use.
Instead, I am going to address all the damn stigma around it, and some of the problems I see with uniformed women jumping on the “gainz train” without really knowing what they are doing.
So here goes.
Why the fuck are all you people so worried about what an individual woman chooses to do with her body?
Why is what is in her panties any concern of anyone but her own?
Because steroid use in women is “not natural”?
Is that the argument?
Well, guys, I can tell you that injecting 500cc test and dumping a near vat of Anadrol down your gullet daily is not “natural” either.
Your body makes urine too, it doesn’t mean it’s natural to drink it.
Natural is the test your body makes on its own, and I guarantee you that 95% of the guys on test are not “low test” so knock it off with that unnatural shit.
And who gives a fuck?
Always classy.
POWERLIFTING IS NOT A “NATURAL” HUMAN FUNCTION.
It’s a strength sport.
Whoever lifts the most (in correlation to body weight) wins.
In untested feds, anything goes.
You can dump bull semen in your ear canals if you think it will help.
You can run an IV of tren (I don’t advise it).
It’s and ends-justifies-the-means sport, FOR SOME.
Some of us have limits, we CHOOSE not to use certain drugs.
BUT WE CAN.
So if we choose not to, we cannot fault those who do for being “unnatural”……or for my next favorite argument about women using: having “unfair advantage”.
Women who choose to use primo, test, tren, anadrol, hgh, halo, etc., are not cheating.
They are choosing to use any and all the means allowed to them to compete. If you as a woman, or man, choose not to use these drugs, and THEN bitch about the women who DO use them “cheating” then you need to sack up and use, go join the USAPL, or realize and accept you have limits, and that may (or may not) cap your progress.
However, you would be surprised at how little advantage drugs really give some women.
Some women are just born monsters, or have great work ethic and coaches.
Some women work their asses off, and are not strong JUST BECAUSE they are using drugs you opt not to.
And, lastly (although this isn’t all of my list of gripes about those who condemn women using) is the “she will look like a man” argument.
Do some PED’s cause masculinization?
YES.
But what is masculinization in this definition?
Yep, your clit will grow if you use certain drugs, but it sure is not a functioning penis, or even close.
Yep, you’ll grow some weird hair, which tends to stop growing if you stop use.
Yep, your voice will change, again, if you use certain things, but women have voices all over the spectrum anyway, and who cares if one is a little lower than another?
NONE OF THIS MAKES A WOMAN A MAN.
Society has a rigid standard for what is “feminine” and “allowable” for women. It’s very arbitrary, culturally defined, sometimes ever-changing, and definitely a game/trap, which you’d have to kill yourself to win.
Some women could never touch drugs but gain muscle and be called “men” or “dykes”. Muscle is considered “male” in this society, as is having a lower voice. People get really scared when women get out of the boxes that society would like to keep us in.
In the end, ladies, it is YOUR CHOICE. We are already considered outsiders, “freaks” by many just because we gain muscle mass, lift with the guys, go heavy, and dedicate our lives to the gym.
Personally, I say fuck society’s arbitrary standards on what makes women “feminine” and “fuckable”. I do what I want. If no one wants to fuck me, there are sex toys for that. And trust me, yes I have used PED’s, even the “hard” ones, and YES, I occasionally still get thrown the literal bone.
What people on the internet, or who are casual onlookers, say about YOU says way more about THEM. Ignore that shit, because trust me, THEIR OPINION DOES NOT CHANGE YOUR LIFE ONE BIT.
I feel like I’m on a tangent/rant (surprise!).
Let’s get back on topic……last one, I promise…….women new to lifting and the sport jumping on gear (PED’s).
JUST DON’T.
If you have not been lifting, have little muscle mass, no experience or little experience powerlifting, YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS ON PED’S.
You need to develop your strength and size to a natural plateau, with hard work and training. Get your diet on point, eat to feed the goals you have, get a good program running, stick to it. Do a few meets.
When you start to hit walls and aren’t getting PR’s, THEN think about drugs.
THINK ABOUT THEM.
Because there are permanent sides, and most of you gals in the sport are young. You need to really decide what you want. Some drugs will stop your period…..are you planning to have kids?? These are not idle decisions.
Also, starting drugs too high and too early WILL short-circuit a natural strengthening curve.
It’s like wanting to paint your kitchen, and instead of buying a gallon of paint and seeing if that is enough, you instead decide to airdrop 5,000 gallons of paint from a helicopter onto your house.
Any decision to start drugs should start with low amounts of the safest drugs for women, ran for several cycles. You would up the dose modestly for a while BEFORE adding new drugs.
Caution is the key here.
Last thing you want to do is realize you dropped 5,000 gallons of hot pink on your house, you hate it, but now you are stuck with it.
In fact, I suggest reaching out to other women in the sport who will advise and guide you. No offense to the dudes, ‘cause some know their shit, but most men run women like men.
It’s a bad idea. Women do NOT use PED’s like men. So, if you want to take the step, think hard and find someone to help you.
Also, let’s not forget that it is ILLEGAL, so you will need to wrestle that one out with your morals and practically as well, lest you end up on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.
Jeezus h…..I feel like I am a good writer until I write at length, then I realize I just spew in a running stream of consciousness.
Sorry guys.
However, I hope this gave you something to think about.
If nothing else, I hope it challenged your assumptions about women using PED’s. We aren’t all clueless idiots who secretly want to be men.
Some of us actually know what we are doing, make informed decisions, and have decided the benefits outweigh the costs, FOR US.
And if anyone tells me I have a “dick-clit” after this, I will punch you in the taint with a pitchfork tipped in ricin.
Carry on.
Stephanie Tomlinson
Thank you for writing this! It is, as you said, a topic that desperately needs to be discussed.