Bodybuilding Professors Outmuscle the Stereotype

As an assistant professor of philosophy at Washington and Lee University and a professional bodybuilder, Melina Bell is used to people judging her body of work—and her body.

Guess which form of scrutiny gives her the sweats.

“When I’m standing up there all tanned and flexed, I am free of anxiety,” she says. “It’s when I’m presenting a paper that I start to feel exposed.”

Yeah, somehow excruciating physical effort STILL sucks less than a university job interview.

Full article, with photos and interviews with heavyweights Anne Bolin, Leslie Heywood, and Jan Todd