Titan-Like Femininity
masculine; adjective
pertaining to or characteristic of a man or men: masculine attire.
having qualities traditionally ascribed to men, as strength and boldness.
Capturing my first powerlifting event, the atmosphere hit me like a brick wall - a cacophony of metal clanging, voices booming, and testosterone-fueled energy pulsating through the air. It was a scene dominated by titans - towering figures with muscles bulging and beards bristling. And then there was Ebony.
EbonyJane, aka @TheSlaughterHouseGymSavage, seemed like a mere drop of ink amidst the sea of brawn. Covered in tatts and exuding an air of determination, she stood out, but not in the way you might expect. Although clearly in great shape, she certainly wasn’t a titan. Dark features but too small to be intimidating. And the standard sniffing, slapping, screaming process with her was, dare I say, cuter than it was ugly.
When Ebony reached out to me to document her next competition, I said, “sure” before even finishing the message. I figured that the contrast of her feminine figure amongst the masculine giants made for a photogenic scene.
I rocked up at the impressive Hyper Centre and the scene was indeed hyper-masculine. Although Ebony had paid me to be there, I found out quickly that she was hard to intercept. Locked in on her task, she simply wanted me to capture visuals from afar. With some desperate convincing/begging, I coaxed her over to the interview screen that I’d set up in the only place I could find: right in front of the busy food van.
I’d interviewed a handful people before this point and many since - this isn’t a situation that generally comes natural to people. I’m always so impressed by a person who can smoothy articulate their thoughts on the fly and by those with the balls to present their vulnerabilities to the world.
Ebony did both of those things on a public interview screen, sandwiched in between her active comp prep. Make no mistake about it, to manage such a task requires a Titan-Like mentality and a woman with such confidence, courage and intelligence is even more intimidating than the physical titans up on that powerlifting stage.
Yes, her lifts were impressive too.
See interview below.
