Summer gives views on bodybuilding

A lot of men in The Bahamas have branded bodybuilding as a sport dominated by gays. This stigma may be part of the reason why a lot of males, though interested, will shy away from the sport. Raymond Tucker, 45, one of the country's premier muscle men, has been competing on stage for more than 20 years. He told The Nassau Guardian how he's been able to deal with the stereotype of bodybuilding being a gay sport.

"It doesn't play with my mind much, because I know who I am. I know who God made me. I am 100 percent man, made in the image and likeness of God, and that's what separates me from having a phobia about the stigma that is out there [in relation to] the sport," Tucker said.

President of the Bahamas Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (BBFF) Danny Sumner, said that he's aware of this myth. He also said that he's been approached by people in the past who were concerned that there were too many gays in bodybuilding.

"My reaction is this - I look at it as being a part of life. Basically, I've heard talks around me as president, but I've never witnessed anyone doing anything funny around me. I've seen people talk to each other, and stuff like that, but as president I have other things to be concerned about," Sumner opined.

The BBFF President said that what people do in their personal lives is not his concern. However, if a situation ever arises where members of the BBFF are involved, that's when Sumner said he will step in. "If there is an altercation, or if there is a problem where one of my athletes comes to me and says [he/she] has been harassed by somebody, as president, I could get involved in it, and if the matter becomes a legal matter then I would turn it over to the police."

According to Sumner, Bahamians have been labeling the sport of Bodybuilding as a gay sport for years. He attributes this to an inferiority complex within Bahamian males. "Going way back from Arnold Schwarzenegger's time, and from Gordon Scott's time, people look at it that way because they look at men wearing these 'tight bikinis'. They say only women should be lookin' like that. Another thing too, during the time when they used to have those big guys who used to act in movies like Hercules, and Sampson... guys like Mark Forrish, Gordon Scott, who used to act as Tarzan... what used to happen then was that men felt like these bigger guys were getting all the women. To counter that, the men who felt like they were being [outclassed], because of their bodies being out of shape, they used to call the big guys feminine. You know, when a big guy with muscle takes his shirt off all the women flock to him. That's why a lot of men in The Bahamas try to call body builders sissies. It's just a jealousy and envy thing," Sumner explained. The irony behind this apparent homophobia is that, when compared to other sports in this country, bodybuilding may have the least number of gays participating. Core sports like track and field, where men walk around in spandex all day, softball, swimming, volleyball, and even american football, are all loaded with gay athletes, though they may not make it known publicly.

As for Tucker, though he claims to have strong faith in God, he still wanted to set the record 'Straight'.

"The stigma is out there, and people are gonna look, and draw their own conclusions, but I would want the public to know that I am 100 percent man, and there's nothing that's gonna change that. When I go out there and set my foot on the stage I represent - man. The whole man, and nothing else."