The bodybuilders defying feminine norms in South India

In idyllic settings around India’s coastal southwestern state of Kerala, the photographer Keerthana Kunnath has been photographing a small group of women training as bodybuilders.

In idyllic settings around India’s coastal southwestern state of Kerala, photographer Keerthana Kunnath has been capturing images of muscular women flexing their heroic forms. Amid foaming waves, palm fronds or rocky outcrops the women curl biceps, tense quads or exaggerate shoulders, exchanging gym clothes for a gauzy olive dress or feminine checkered bikini top and skirt. But in Kerala, where the London-based photographer is from, bodybuilding is still taboo for women, who are typically expected to adhere to traditional, feminine norms. After stumbling upon one competitor’s Instagram account, Kunnath became fascinated by the female bodybuilders who have dedicated their time to the sport and defied societal conventions — and often their family’s wishes, too. “Where we are, it’s not a very common thing,” she explained in a phone call to CNN. “I would barely call it a ‘community’ because it’s still fairly new, and there’s only a very handful of girls who are into it.” Across India, a growing number of female competitors in the sport have achieved professional status with its governing body, the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation — but only in recent years. Deepika Chowdury, a former molecular biologist, became the first Indian woman to do so in 2016. Initially interested in researching the gender-neutral martial art Kalaripayattu, which originated in Kerala, Kunnath shifted her focus after finding that the women focused on bulking instead. The bodybuilders she photographed — part of her series “Not What You Saw” — didn’t know each other well, but were aware of one another through social media and competitions. “Every time I connected with each person, and I told them I’m going to photograph that person before you, they would be like, ‘Oh my god, I know her — her body is stunning. Her thighs are crazy,’” she said with a laugh. “It felt like mutual admiration between all of them.”