Varya Akulova - Development of Her Strength and Ukrainian Sexism Against Her

Development of Her Strength and Ukrainian Sexism Against Her

She was born in a mining town of Ukraine called Krivói Rog, daughter of circus performers Yuriy Akulov and Larisa Akulova. When her mother Larisa was pregnant, his father made plans to have a son with great strength that would help her in the circus acts in which they worked. When her mother gave birth to a daughter, his father realized that his desires of having a strong son would not become real.

As days went on, Yuriy thought "Why could a girl not have as much great strength as a man?" He solved it that the goal was possible, as the months went on Varya already had greater strength and resistance that most babies her age in arms and legs. When she was three years old in 1995 she joined the circus as gymnast and acrobat. When she was five years old, she already did weight-lifting maneuvers and was revised by doctors to verify the normal growth of her bones and lungs. When she was six years old she could carry her father on her back and could easily lift two kettlebells (Russian weights) from the floor; this helped her win a lot of weight-lifting events. When she was twelve years old, she could lift both of her parents on her back and simultaneously lift two kettleballs from the floor. The family started making appearances in some cities in the Ukraine. They made acrobatic stunts for the public. Many of those present applauded without enthusiasm. Some people opposed them. Once a man in the multitude got fed up with her parents and he told them she had to be brought up to the kitchen so she could know how to cook for her future husband. A man argued that if she kept weight-lifting at 16 years old she would look like a man. Some newspapers in Ukraine wrote negative articles claiming it was bad for a girl to train in athletics. A man from the crowd yelled during a street performance, "No man would marry with a woman that strong." Many people told the family that it was right for a boy to be that strong but a girl had to learn to weave and cook food.