My first reaction: "ARE THESE(muscles) FOR REAL?!"
They look flawless, almost as good they are fake!
I am a little jealous.
Not to that extreme that I want her body, but at least she has some visible muscles.
I have been a sloth, for almost all my life.
Recently, I've been trying to go to the gym on a regular basis, but I just can't seem to find the motivation!
How did she do that?

On the thought that if I were to confront someone with a built like hers, I suppose I would be very much intimidated.
If she is a fellow classmate, who demanded me to complete her homework on a regular basis, I would definitely oblige.

On the other hand, I would be terribly upset if my daughter would to be like her.
Every parent (I suppose), would want a feminine daughter.
In time to come, when i become a mother, I would want my daughter to be feminine and not so muscular to this point of a body builder.

Lilian is a very strong woman. Not just physically, but emotionally too.
People like me a strong stereotypes.
"We" believe that women should and must be feminine.
An outcome of being a female bodybuilder, would have to endure and undergo all the talks of people.
What Lilian has is not just a hobby, but it is also a lesson. She teaches us all that in order to pursue a dream of goal of ours, we would have to stay focused and block out all other distractions that would come out way.

Cassie Goh 101531Z

Body builders

Body builders are really persevering and passionate about their interest. It takes alot of time and effort to build up their muscles, this is something that i admire about these people. I could barely raise the dumbbell, and i gave up upon my first try (i tried it for fun!).

There's this amazing female body builder, Lilian Tan. It is shocking to hear that she has a problem with her liver. When we think of body builders, we would visualize these people as perfectly healthy and strong humans. But no, Lilian Tan used to be a frail and weak child because of her liver problem. However, despite the difficulties she faced, she took up a various range of sport activities in her secondary school years. I applaud her for her courage.

Because i cannot appreciate the art of bodybuilding, I find that bodybuilders look scary. I am amazed by the time and effort they put in to build their muscles. There is a huge fan base for the bodybuilding icons. Just as there are many people who find that bodybuilders are attractive, there are also people (like me) who feel irksome.

Nonetheless, bodybuilding is an art. Maybe i would come to appreciate these bodybuilders one day.

Seah Hui Ying

103596T

From prehistorical times, women were deemed as a group of weak and gentle people as compared to the dominant men. Men in general, were viewed to be stronger and mighty. Reating to this theory, which i think still exist in modern times, men wants to look more muscular and fit to improve their appearance. In addition, being "stronger" let them feel more dominant and confident. Thus, body building has became a popular trend even till now. However, body building is not exclusively for men. Women, although not many, has started to appreciate the art of body building. While many see it as disgusting and it does not match a woman's characteristics (Weak and gentle), the women body builders achieve high level of self satisfaction and were more than happy to build their body.

Whilst i personally do not find body building attractive (on either gender), i have not slightest doubt that some do find it a desirable attribute. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. I believe it's more about women being able to achieve individual excellence than about appearance anyway. The amount of dedication it takes for a woman to achieve that sort of musculature is astonishing . As the dietary regime is especially strict as the exercise regime, i applaud the effort that it takes for a woman to reach that level of musculature. In addition, i am greatly taken aback that a figure who people view as "weak" has mountainous courage to build her body, which sure she know would invite countless discriminations and criticism.

Gazyle Lim Tee
(106338Z)

People can't tell if she's a man or woman

When walking on the streets, many people are talking about Lilian Tan, who has muscular muscles. However, being a sportswomen, no one ever expects her to be a frail kid when she was young and was constantly being teased by her schoolmates for her incompetency in sports.



She said that she was a sickly child and had a problem with her liver. Hence, she was deemed as a weakling in school and she felt hard to be accepted.



After she reached secondary school, she took up swimming and her interest developed in this sport. She went for a two week trial membership at the gym. At first, her workouts were just running, cycling and utilising the stepper machine.



There, she saw an African American women about her size, curling a 15.8kg dumbbell with ease. Therefore, she wanted to do the same thing and had a very good progress. At that point of time, her father was unhappy with her doing such exercises as he thinks that this is a man's sport and not for women.



However, she did not give up and decided to pursue a career as a professional bodybuilder after participating a bodybuilding competition.



Hence, from this story, I feel that everyone have to put in efforts in order to achieve and find out what we exactly want for our life. Like her, she has gone through many obstacles in life. No one knew that she had such a bad childhood for her size and muscles. Lastly, I would like to say that no one is perfect and that no one can be judged by their looks. And everyone can succeed and overcome anything as long as we know what we are looking for in life.



BY Gladys Png (101897S)