User:Emmakent/Female bodybuilding

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Female body building is the compoenent in bodybuilding competitions where women and men show off the hard wokr, determination, and dicipline that they did to compete in a physical critique show. Body building competitions have two different main componenets, there is BIKINI and WELLNESS and FIGURE both very different but very body exhausting competitions that women can compete in. Women participating in bodybuilding competitons began in the late 1970's when it became more acctepatbel for women to be building physiques that are not as frail and thin, and women can look mucsular. Although, women still struggle with acceptance wihtin the fitness community, but this was the starting point of taking away the taboo.

Origin
Let's start with looking at the origin of women in bodybuilding. The contest fromtas of men's events during the 1950's to mid 1970's had often been supplemented with either womens beauty contest or bikini shows. Physique contests for women date back to at least the mid 1960s with contestens like Miss Physique and Miss Americana and listened as the groundbreakerd for womens bodybuilding. Miss Americana won two national tities in one year: Miss Body Beautiful U.S.A. in 1972, promoted by Dan Lourie and Miss Americana in 1972, promoted by Joe Weider. Mr. Olympia, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a judge at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York when Maria Elena Alberici (aka) Maria Lauren won Miss Americana. It was not until the late 1970s, after the advent of the feminist movement and female powerlifting events that women were seen as capable of competing in their own bodybuilding competitions.

History
1977-1979: Prior to 1977, bodybuilding had been considered strictly a male-oriented sport. 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. The first official female bodybuilding competition was held in Canton, Ohio, in November 1977 and was called the Ohio Regional Women's Physique Championship. It was judged strictly as a bodybuilding contest and was the first event of its kind for women. Gina LaSpina, the champion, is considered the first recognized winner of a woman's bodybuilding contest. On August 18, 1979, promoter George Snyder organized a "female bodybuilding" contest known as The Best in the World contest, which was the first IFBB-sanctioned event for women that awarded prize money to the top finishers, with the winner receiving $2,500. It was considered the forerunner for the Ms. Olympia competition. Although sanctioned as a bodybuilding contest, women were required to appear on stage in high heels. Although these early events were regarded as bodybuilding contests, the women wore high-heeled shoes, and did not clench their fists while posing. Additionally, they were not allowed to use the three so-called "men's poses" — the double biceps, crab, and lat spread. The contests were generally held by promoters acting independently; the sport still lacked a governing body. That would change in 1980.

1980-1989: The 1980s is when female bodybuilding first took off. The early 1980s signified a transition from the fashionably thin "twiggy" body to one carrying slightly more muscle mass. The National Physique Committee (NPC) held the first women's Nationals in 1980. Since its inception, this has been the top amateur level competition for women in the US. Laura Combes won the inaugural contest. The first World Couples Championship was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 8. The winning couple was Stacey Bentley and Chris Dickerson, with April Nicotra and Robby Robinson in second. 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. In 1980, the first Ms. Olympia (initially known as the "Miss" Olympia), the most prestigious contest for professional female bodybuilders, was held. Initially, the contest was promoted by George Snyder. 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. The first winner was Rachel McLish, who had also won the NPC's USA Championship earlier in the year. In 1985, a movie called Pumping Iron II: The Women was released. This film documented the preparation of several women for the 1983 Caesars Palace World Cup Championship. Competitors prominently featured in the film were Kris Alexander, Lori Bowen, Lydia Cheng, Carla Dunlap, Bev Francis, and Rachel McLish. At the time, Francis was actually a powerlifter, though she soon made a successful transition to bodybuilding, becoming one of the leading competitors of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The main theme of the movie pitted the sultry and curvaceous Rachel McLish, the current champion; against the super-muscular Bev Francis. 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. In 1985, the National Women's and Mixed Pairs Bodybuilding Championships were held in Detroit, Michigan by promoter/bodybuilder Gema Wheeler (Long). It was the first amateur bodybuilding event televised internationally by ESPN Sports.

2000-2010: The first change was that Ms. Olympia contest would no longer be held as a separate contest, instead became part of the "Olympia Weekend" in Las Vegas and held the day before the men's show. The second chnage was when heavyweight and lightweight classes were added. And the third chnage was the new judging guidelines for presentations were introduced. The judges stated that the women would be judged on healthy appreance, face, makeup, and skin tone, hense why women use self/spray tan before shows, to show off the muscle defintion better. .

Present Day: In the present day, female bodybuilding has become more prominent in the fitness community more than ever. With the help of TIKTOK women have been able to docuemnt their journys and share with the world how difficult it is to train for a bodybuidling competition. For example we have creators like Pappy.ifbb, BailBrownFit, Tori.vfit, and many many more women. All these women are sharing their journeys and what comes along with it. The good, the bad, the hard, and the easy so women and men and others can understand that even though it may look easy it is not at all.

Women are still fighting to fit in
For more than 15 years, J.M. Manion, whose father, Jim, has been running amateur and professional bodybuilding contests for decades, shot the photos and operated a network of paid soft-core pornography websites that at one point advertised “over 30,000 images” of competitors in the sportIn present day women in the bodybuidling industry are still dealing with probelms. For example, women have been struggling far more with being sxualised during the competitions than ever before. Interviews with dozens of competitors, judges, officials and others connected to the sport reveal the systematic exploitation of female athletes often rendered vulnerable by extreme dieting and workouts, lack of financial stability and a drive to win. The Post found that some women believed their scores depended on their willingness to pose for sexual photos or to please the sport’s leading judges, promoters and managers, almost all of whom are male. Mandy Henderson, a former sheriff's deputy in Califronia, detailed in an interview with the washington post how the pressure was exerted on women. She agreed to nude photography with the expectation of winning a pro card, which allows athletes to move from amateur competitions to the professional league. A pro card can mean more money, sponsorships, and the chance to compete in the headlining competitions: the Arnold Classic and the Olympia. At an amateur contest in 2009, she said in the interview that '"she placed fourth and was surprised that it was taking so long for her to earn her pro card. When she asked why, she said, a prominent judge told her: “Because you didn’t come to my room last night."' Aly Garcia, a bikini competitor, said she refused to do the nude photos, and had to fend off advances from judges and promoters as gently as she could to keep her career alive. She abandoned the sport in 2017 when she concluded that she would never get a top win if she didn’t have sex with the power brokers. “This is the only way I’m going to hit my goal?” she thought. “Guess I’m not going to hit my goal.” The women told The Post that nude photo shoots were often held a day or two before the weekend competitions, and they believed that their odds of winning depended on their state of undress. The events were so regular, a former judge and top Manion lieutenant, Lee Thompson, told The Post, that they were called “Thursday shower nights.” The effort to recruit women to pose provocatively extended beyond the Manions. Multiple women described close associates of the family who introduced them to J.M. and encouraged them to do whatever he asked, saying that it would launch their careers from amateur status to professionals. Earning a coveted pro card could make bodybuilding less of an expensive hobby and more of an income-generating career. The women said the network of enablers allowed sexual harassment to thrive in plain sight. They described judges and promoters requesting private visits to their hotel rooms and sponsors making sexual passes. So, women are still strugiling to this day to find acceptance within the female bodybuilding space, and have everyone accept them as equal competitors.

References

Divisions Explained- Women’s Bikini, Wellness, Figure, Physique & Bodybuilding

Female bodybuilding

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/women-bodybuilding-ifbb-pro-porn/