[AlexG]

I think you're thinking of Ben Weider, the brother of Joe Weider.

His goal for as long as I can recall was to get BBing into the Olympics as one of its offically accepted sports.

I might add, he passed away this past Saturday, at the age of 85.

Source: Ben Weider dies at 85

Source: Ben Weider, Bodybuilding Pioneer and Napoleonic Scholar Dies in Montreal

9.  Nice idea, but I doubt the IOC would be interested – in fact, I recall reading that the IFBB tried to get BBing included but were turned-down – ironically, one of the reasons was that new Olympic sports must have full gender equality, and the IFBB did not nclude the women's division in its application.  AlexG will, I'm sure, be able to confirm.

“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.”
~ Mark Twain / Samuel Clemens (1907)

[alex]

It's really no mystery why Female Bodybuilding is a vanishing sport.  All you have to do is go to youtube, look at the videos from late 80's and early 90's and then look the videos of the most recent competitors.

Steroids fucked everything up.  Even the most hardcore bodybuilders of the earlier time looked feminine and beautiful.  Athletes like Hannie Van Akken, Sandy Riddell, Bev Francis, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, etc… 

Today most of what we see are horribly disfigured faces with clear maleish features.  It's really hard to sell THAT for the mainstream customers. 

[cpbell0033944]

It's really no mystery why Female Bodybuilding is a vanishing sport.  All you have to do is go to youtube, look at the videos from late 80's and early 90's and then look the videos of the most recent competitors.

Steroids fucked everything up.   Even the most hardcore bodybuilders of the earlier time looked feminine and beautiful.  Athletes like Hannie Van Akken, Sandy Riddell, Bev Francis, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, etc… 

Today most of what we see are horribly disfigured faces with clear maleish features.  It's really hard to sell THAT for the mainstream customers. 

All too true.

[btx]

It's really no mystery why Female Bodybuilding is a vanishing sport.  All you have to do is go to youtube, look at the videos from late 80's and early 90's and then look the videos of the most recent competitors.

Steroids fucked everything up.  Even the most hardcore bodybuilders of the earlier time looked feminine and beautiful.  Athletes like Hannie Van Akken, Sandy Riddell, Bev Francis, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, etc… 

Today most of what we see are horribly disfigured faces with clear maleish features.  It's really hard to sell THAT for the mainstream customers. 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but all the women you listed were juicers. Lenda Murray admitted her use a few years ago. To put it bluntly, the women were better looking back then because the sport could attract women from different venues. Some were all around athletes who started lifting weights to recover from injuries. Others had been cheerleaders, even models. As the sport narrowed, the quality and strength of the drugs might have changed, but essentially the hardest of the hardcore remained committed to the sport and top prize went to winning physiques irregardless of feminine symmetry or facial quality. I think it's impossible to create a completely drug free sport (there have been attempts to have natural contests that never seemed to get coverage)So what's needed is judging criteria that emphasizes feminine symmetry and overall quality. That would at the least moderate the drug use.

BTX

[Lingster]

Another point to raise is that competition-shape FBBs are expected to be insanely shredded now, versus 20 years ago.  A lot of women go through that process once and then can never bear to do it again.  So the population of competitive FBBs is smaller.

[cpbell0033944]

Another point to raise is that competition-shape FBBs are expected to be insanely shredded now, versus 20 years ago.  A lot of women go through that process once and then can never bear to do it again.  So the population of competitive FBBs is smaller.

Yet more evidence for the idea that judging criteria need overhauling.

[cpbell0033944]

If anyone wants to know what I consider a fantastic FBBing physique AND ideal conditioning, take a look at this:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ntEGBexOYcE

[alex]

Another point to raise is that competition-shape FBBs are expected to be insanely shredded now, versus 20 years ago.  A lot of women go through that process once and then can never bear to do it again.  So the population of competitive FBBs is smaller.

I agree with you on this.  If you ask me, when women become too shredded, they lose a lot of their femininity. Just my opinion. Maybe that's one of the reasons I find earlier FBB's much more attractive.

If anyone wants to know what I consider a fantastic FBBing physique AND ideal conditioning, take a look at this:

That's a great example of a beautiful and feminine bodybuilder.  May she R.I.P..

[sdc8372]

Here's my two cents on this subject.

Women's bodybuilding needs to come back to some form of sanity. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing I don't like about large strong and sexy looking women that are in shape. The thing that concerns me the most is the extremely low body fat and the apparent high use of muscle enhancing drugs.

Being a fan of FBB's from the late 70's early 80's the women from that time period would have difficulty winning in the fitness categories of today. I believe they had a better look overall than many of the women that compete today. (Thinking of Rachel McLish.)

Several points brought up in previous posts are correct in the ultra ripped state that many women need to achieve in order to even have a shot at winning a contest. This is putting the women that want to compete in a dangerous situation since the female body was never meant to achieve that low of a body fat percentage. I won't even get into all of the plastic surgery that many women resort to in order to still appear feminine while achieving the low body fat needed.

Shearing away from the main stream bodybuilding federations is not going to help the women remain a viable sport form. The one thing that seems to make the most sense to me; make judging standards uniform and sensible for what a woman's body is capable of doing. Do not attempt to make the women's standards very similar to the men's standards. Even though we, as a nation, have attempted to say women and men are the same, they are not.

Perhaps what needs to occur is something similar to title IX in college sports. The male sports complex may need to be forced to allow the women to compete and have the competitions supported in part from revenues generated by the male side of the sport. This could even be extended to other professional sports leagues such as the NFL or MLB. Probably the two most successful women's sports are pro golf and the women's league of basketball. At least those two sports are shown on TV with some regularity.

[khuddle]

It's really no mystery why Female Bodybuilding is a vanishing sport.  All you have to do is go to youtube, look at the videos from late 80's and early 90's and then look the videos of the most recent competitors.

Steroids fucked everything up.   Even the most hardcore bodybuilders of the earlier time looked feminine and beautiful.  Athletes like Hannie Van Akken, Sandy Riddell, Bev Francis, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, etc… 

Today most of what we see are horribly disfigured faces with clear maleish features.  It's really hard to sell THAT for the mainstream customers. 

I'm not sure that your argument is all that accurate. I have been following the sport since its inception in '79, and the era where the women appeared to be competing at their biggest was the mid to late 1990s.
The 1999 MS O, for example, showcased some of the most GIGANTIC women I have ever seen (I was in attendance) — Kim C, Vicky Gates, Lesa Lewis, Andrulla Blanchette, Tazzie Colomb and Brenda Raganot were all MASSIVE. The women competing today are VASTLY smaller by comparison.

IMO, I think what has hurt the sport is the most is the lack of up and coming young talent. We have seen the same tired old athletes for the last decade (in some cases the last TWO decades). Time to throw out the old guard and bring in the new. 

[Author]

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