Japanese 'muscle girls' challenge conventional ideals of feminine beauty

The convention of equating women’s thinness with beauty leads to malnutrition and other health problems, doctors and academics say

A dozen women in sports bras and tight shorts stood behind a U-shaped counter at an underground bar in a busy Tokyo neighbourhood, chiselled frames on full display as they crushed grapefruit in unison with their bare hands.

The music blared and neon lights flickered against a hot-pink backdrop as customers at fitness-themed bar Muscle Girls whooped and cheered in a scramble to capture the ritual on smartphones.

“Most people in Japan generally consider women with small breasts, a slender back and skinny legs as attractive,” said Hitomi Harigae, manager of the bar, which features only women performers. “The customers who come here are different.”

With its challenge to Japan’s conventional ideals of feminine beauty, the bar, which opened in mid-2020, draws about 100 customers on average each day, the majority of them foreign tourists, and has gone viral on social media.

A fee of 6,000 yen ($40) for 80 minutes covers a protein drink and all-you-can-drink beverages while staff flaunting muscle-toned physiques, put on a stage show, and others, in leopard-print bikinis, smile through pull-ups and pole-dancing.

Customers can also pay for extras, such as being slapped hard across the face or hoisted up by the thighs.

Among major developed nations, Japan has the highest share of underweight adult women, at about 9 percent, or almost five times counterparts in the United States and Germany, in terms of the body mass index, the OECD grouping says.

This year, a Japanese panel of doctors and academics studying obesity warned that the convention of equating women’s thinness with beauty leads to malnutrition and other health problems that need to be tackled.

But that “norm” is defied by the 30-odd women who work at Muscle Girls, passionate about bodybuilding and CrossFit, some of whom show off six-pack muscles that would shame many men.

For Harigae, Muscle Girls is a godsend that fosters a sense of sisterhood as the women exchange diet and training tips. Even on days off, she goes to all-you-can-eat buffets and nail salons with colleagues.

Female bodybuilding has gained popularity in Japan in recent years, with competitions held in many cities. But outside that circle, the old conventions rule, Harigae said.

“When I talk to friends from my school days, I still very much sense that they are wedded to those fixed ideas - they want to be thin,” she added.

However, those views, partially drawn from gender stereotypes, could be changing, even if slowly.

A 2023 survey by think tank Dentsu Soken showed 38.2 percent of respondents saying “Men should be manly and women should be womanly”, down from 43.7 percent in 2021.

“Beauty in women isn’t just about being thin,” said Yuka Moriya, who joined the bar in 2023, and is inspired by coworkers passionate about bodybuilding, pole dancing, or simply being physically active.

“I wish more people would appreciate the beauty of muscle,” added Moriya, a bodybuilder who aspires to win competitions and eventually become the best in Japan.