Diana The Valkyrie Has Shutdown

Diana The Valkyrie was a website devoted to women’s bodybuilding and the female muscle fandom. Launched in 1997, it was a time when the internet was different. Large video sharing and social media companies did not exist. The means of communication on the internet was either through forums, chatrooms, and e-mail. The forums and chatrooms are gradually becoming obsolete with social media platforms. Forums still have a presence, but not like it was in the 1990s to mid-2000s. Diana the Valkyrie had stories, chatrooms, and reporting on women’s bodybuilding, The website lasted a total of 27 years, yet it is unclear what the circumstances were for shutdown. According to online users the webmaster passed away. The identity of this individual is not known. Other sites such as Girls With Muscle.com and Saradas.org claimed the first name of the webmaster is David. Allegedly, he was based in the UK and was a software engineer. All of this cannot be confirmed. What is known is a message was posted to the website’s twitter page. All that was said is that the website was ending. Various websites, blogs, and forums emerged focusing on women’s bodybuilding and the muscular woman’s physique. Diana the Valkyrie was a special harbinger to the women’s bodybuilding fan sites.

Getting images or video was difficult in regards to muscular women. A fan would either have to get a copy of Women’s Physique World or wait for an ESPN broadcast. Stories and art would either have to be sought out from LH Art. A person writing such stories would not get these passed through by a publisher. The internet allowed people to share their writings without the need of a publication company. Art dealers probably would not buy art that focuses only on female muscle. Diana the Valkyrie allowed for fans to spread female muscle to a larger audience.

Diana the Valkyrie at its height also had video clips and an expanding members area. A newsletter was also part of Diana the Valkyrie. The website would even have a booth at women’s bodybuilding expos. Most of the time their booths were at the Janta or Arnold Classic Overtime, activity in the chat rooms declined. The collection of stories still remained consistent. The stories had various genres from female muscle growth, mixed wrestling, or action adventure. Diana The Valkyrie also had an art section. The drawings and some CGI was part of multiple galleries. While most would brush the website off as a fetish place, it showed creativity within the fandom. Writers of female muscle fiction had a place to share stories. The unfortunate aspect is that Diana the Valkyrie did not expand more into social media. The Facebook page was inactive and the Twitter account did not update often. It was a missed opportunity to grow the website even bigger.

The Valkyries are fictional characters of Norse mythology. They are warrior women typically armed with spears and on horseback. They get to decide a warrior’s fate and are tasked with carrying the dead to Valhalla. Normally websites would use Amazons in their title. Valkyrie was being used to emphasize that the modern sportswoman is tough. The warrior woman has been present in both history and myths. The female bodybuilder carries on that archetype. They are not doing battle, but embrace a warrior value of physical fitness competition.

Knowing the mythological background makes a reader understand why the name was selected. The connotation is related to formidability and might. The modern sportswomen displays these attributes in competition. Valkyries were not depicted as muscular in most art of the past. They share that similar attribute to Amazons related to art history. This changed in the late 20th century. Valkyries and Amazons were depicted with more muscular bodies in current media. The website mascot Sandra was powerfully built. Sandra was a more contemporary representation of Valkyrie than a mythological one. Although the aesthetics differ, the warrior spirt remains. Diana the Valkyrie was a website that appreciated the image of strong women.

The end of the website demonstrates the need for archiving. Preservation of drawings, text, and webpages is essential for keeping the history alive. Fans must save material. Those webmasters, writers, and artists should make an effort to historical preservation of the modern sportswoman. The feelings of nostalgia overcome some fans. Those who grew up with Diana the Valkyrie recall it was their first exposure to female muscle. It was the spark that got them to seek out more. Fans could interact in different way. Before social media, there were chatrooms. The website was created during the Kim Chizevsky era, the Lenda Murray return, and the Iris Kyle decade of dominance. It was there when the Ms. Olympia was absent. Diana the Valkyrie was at least operation to see it return with Andrea Shaw being the new champion. With the webmaster deceased, the status of the servers remains unknown. Some of the stories can be accessed through The Way Back Machine website. Others will most likely be lost. Diana the Valkyrie will have a fond place in the hearts of fans. Those who were active on Diana the Valkyrie will be inspired to start websites of their own.