Female bodybuilding
Henry McGhee, described as the "primary architect of competitive female bodybuilding", was an employee of the Downtown Canton YMCA, carried a strong belief that women should share the opportunity to display their physiques and the results of their weight training the way men had done for years.
Bentley picked up her third consecutive victory in the Frank Zane Invitational on June 28, ahead of Rachel McLish, Lynn Conkwright, Suzy Green, Patsy Chapman, and Georgia Miller Fudge.
The contestants had to send in resumes and pictures and were hand-picked by Snyder based on their potential to be fitness role models for the average American woman.
Lori Bowen, winner of the 1984 Pro World Championship, appeared in a widely broadcast commercial for Miller Lite beer with Rodney Dangerfield.
Competitors prominently featured in the film were Kris Alexander, Lori Bowen, Lydia Cheng, Carla Dunlap, Bev Francis, and Rachel McLish.
This "rivalry" brought to light the true dilemma of Women's Bodybuilding and exposed the root of all the controversy (aesthetics vs size) which was the focal point at that time, and which still continues today.
The 1989 Ms. International was noteworthy for the fact that the original winner, Tonya Knight, was later disqualified for using a surrogate for her drug test at the 1988 Ms. Olympia contest.
The announcement of her victory met with so much booing from those who prefer size over aesthetics that Arnold Schwarzenegger had to step on stage to address the audience, saying "the hell with the judges".
Bircumshaw was the same height as Schreiner and possessed a similar level of symmetry and definition, but carried significantly more muscle, weighing in at 162 pounds.
Advertising in Muscle & Fitness for the 1992 Ms. Olympia featured Schreiner prominently, relegating two-time defending champion Murray to a small "also competing" notice.
Nevertheless, Murray also apparently met the "femininity" requirements, and managed to retain her title; Schreiner finished sixth, and promptly retired from competition.
The reason for this was twofold: diuretics are more deadly than steroids, performance-enhancing substances and growth hormones, along with the IFBB being granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee from 1998 to 2001.
[8][9][10][11][12] At the 1998 EFBB British Championships, Joanna Thomas won the lightweight and overall title, becoming the youngest woman in the world to ever to win an IFBB pro card at the age of 21.
[15] The backlash following the announcement led to a flurry of activity, with the contest being rescheduled as part of the Women's Extravaganza (promoted by Kenny Kassel and Bob Bonham) in Secaucus, New Jersey on October 2.
According to Bill Dobbins, she retired due to gender discrimination guidelines set up by the IFBB that advocated for more "femininity" and less "muscularity" in the sport.
At the 2002 International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness (IFBB) General Nutrition Centers (GNC) Show of Strength Pro Women's Bodybuilding contest, which was held as part of the 2002 GNC Show of Strength & World Expo, Yaxeni won the heavyweight and overall titles, which qualified her for the 2003 IFBB Ms. Olympia, while Valentina won the lightweight title.
Some of the most seasoned professional female bodybuilders, such as Valentina Chepiga, Iris Kyle, Vickie Gates (who did not finish the contest due to an injury), Yaxeni Oriquen, Gayle Moher, Fannie Barrios, Beth Roberts, etc., attended.
Iris Kyle, a top pro competitor since 1999, defeated Murray in a close battle in the heavyweight class, and bested lightweight winner Dayana Cadeau for the overall title.
It read, "For aesthetics and health reasons, the IFBB Professional Division requests that female athletes in Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure decrease the amount of muscularity by a factor of 20%.
[24] The 2005 contest season saw another double winner, as Yaxeni Oriquen-Garcia won her third Ms. International title, then edged out defending champion Iris Kyle to win the Ms. Olympia.
Later in that same episode, according to head IFBB judge, Sandy Ranalli, she stated that Iris was placed 7th due to "distortions" in her shoulders and glutes that the other competitors didn't have.
At the 2015 Rising Phoenix World Championships, Margaret "Margie" Martin, who was a dark horse contestant who placed 10th at the 2014 Ms. Olympia, won the first Ms.
At the 2018 Rising Phoenix World Championships, Alina Popa dethroned Helle Trevino, along with beating Margie Martin and win her first Ms.
In Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise Chris Shilling and Tanya Bunsell state that all of these rule changes reflect the IFBB's attempts to make women more closely fit gender expectations, as they all emphasize the need for the female bodybuilders to become less massive.
In the documentary film Generation Iron 2, Iris Kyle, who stated she wanted to compete at the 2016 Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships, received an email from a show promoter that she had to requalify to attend.
[54][55] In a 2016 article for IronMag Blog, Mike Arnold, anabolic researcher and consultant, endorsed anabolic-androgenic steroids, specifically Oxandrolone, Primobolan and Methasterone, as the most effective choice for female bodybuilders who need more muscle than what peptides and Selective androgen receptor modulator drugs can provide.
[61] In a 2010 article for IronMag Blog, Anthony Roberts, fitness journalist, talking about a female bodybuilder's drug program, noted that on season drug intake for female bodybuilders include oxandrolone, around 10 mgs, stanozolol, around 10 mgs, clenbuterol, growth hormone, with usually about 2IU's a day, thyroid hormone (precontest phase), mesterolone, a 25-50mgs a day dosage and metenolone acetate.
He stated that female bodybuilders differ from figure and fitness contestants in their off season drug intake in that typically their doses are only slightly higher, but much more experimental with what they use.
[66] In 2022, in an interview on Physical World with Ahn Si-hyeon, Iris Kyle admitted that after her first two amateur bodybuilding contests she competed in, she began taking performance-enhancing substances (PEDs).
[67] According to the 2008 MSNBC documentary Hooked: Muscle Women, the IFBB Pro League does not routinely drug test athletes who compete in the federation.
