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The Secret to Superhuman Strength 2021
The Secret to Superhuman Strength is a 2021 graphic memoir written by Alison Bechdel.
She recounts the "exercise epoch" in body building, fitness trends, outdoor activities, and the rise of Asian martial and healing practices. Identifying herself as a "vigorous type" and somewhat of an "exercise freak", she examines motivations behind this phenomenon, which she traces from "typical stress management" to a more "perverse fixation on muscles". Her interest began in early childhood with advertisements and workout videos featuring Charles Atlas and Jack Lalanne. She acknowledges her "ontological confusion" stemmed from "non-stop television watching" common during the baby boomer / generation x transition. The book investigates how aspirational branding and advertising of athletic and outdoor clothing influenced body image and gender identity issues.
Bechdel examines the transcendentalist movement of the romantic period and the beatnik era through connections among poets and writers of those times.
She also reflects on her relationships with her mother, father, various jobs, girlfriends, gurus, and therapists. Her conclusion states that "the only thing to transcend is the idea that there's something to transcend. Nirvana is Samsara."
The work received multiple "Best of" recognition in 2021, including The Best Graphic Book from Publishers Weekly and one of The New York Times Best Graphic Novels.
Details
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin
- ISBN
- 9780544387652
- Pages
- 240
