To many on the outside, strength sports seem like a masculinity-obsessed, all-male freak show. But what I found when I entered the strength sports world was completely the opposite of anyone’s perception. There were men of all ages, races, sizes, and capabilities, of course, and there were so many other kinds of people, too. While there are certainly gyms that are majority male and cishet, I found there are many spaces that are commanded by diverse groups of people with an even larger diversity of bodies. Queer and trans people — and I’m not talking about just gay men — account for a not-so-insignificant amount of this diversity. And the popularity of strength sports continues to grow steadily amongst LGBTQ+ people all over the world.