The History Of Female Bodybuilding

Female bodybuilding can be said to have evolved from the late 19th-century European vaudeville and circus strongwoman acts. It can also be said to be an outgrowth of men's bodybuilding.

Originally, in men's bodybuilding from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, women also spice up the show by performing beauty contests or bikini shows. These shows were not bodybuilding per se but it was a kind of introduction of women into the bodybuilding scene.

Women's physique contests started around the 1960s; then, contests like Miss Physique, Miss Body Beautiful USA, WBBG, Miss Americana, and IFBB Maria Elena Alberici. These contests won two national titles in one year; they were listed in the Women's Bodybuilding Almanac.

Actual female bodybuilding came into existence after the feminist movement in the late 1970s and the female powerlifting events. It was after these events that women were considered fit enough to start their bodybuilding competitions.

Women's Bodybuilding From 1977–1979​

Initially, bodybuilding was considered a man's sport until Henry McGhee, an employee at the Downtown Canton YMCA, argued that women should be given the same opportunities as men. The first official women's bodybuilding was done in Canton Ohio in November 1977.

It was called the Ohio Regional Women's Physique Championship. Their event was judged like a standard bodybuilding contest and Gina LaSpina emerged the champion of that competition. She is also recognized as the first female bodybuilder champion.

In 1978, McGhee organized another female bodybuilding event, the National Women's Physique Championship. He also launched the United States Women's Physique Association (USWPA). The USWPA however became inactive in 1980.

George Synder organized a female bodybuilding contest on August 18, 1979. This contest was known as the Best in the World Contest; it was also the first IFBB-approved event for women. In that event, the winner was awarded $2,500.

In 1978, Doris Barrilleaux founded the Superior Physique Association (SPA). This association was the first female bodybuilding organization that was coordinated by a woman and established for women. Doris began publishing the SPA News which contained information about women's contests, training and diets.

SPA held its first contest in 1979 and 13 women participated. The winner of the show was Laura Combes. Also, the IFBB women's committee was formed in 1979 and Christine Zane was the first head of the committee.

Some other contests appeared in 1979 among which are the following:

• The second U.S Women's National Physique
• The first IFBB Women's World BodyBuilding Championship
• The Best In The World contest
• The Robby Robinson Classic

All these were the events that were considered female bodybuilding events during this period.

Women Bodybuilding From 1980–1989​

The 1980s was the beginning of actual female bodybuilding. All these while women have been performing with heels as though they were in a pageant. Now women were performing to show their muscles.

The National Physique Committee (NPC) held its first women's national event in 1980. Since it was founded, this has been a top amateur-level competition for women in the US. Also, the first World Couples Championship was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 8.

In 1980, the Ms Olympia competition, the most honoured female bodybuilding contest was held for the first time. The first winner of the competition was Rachel McLish who also happened to be the winner of the NPC's USA Championship earlier that year.

That same year, the American Federation of Women Bodybuilders was founded. This signified that the female bodybuilding shows and events have come to stay.

In 1981, another prestigious contest was founded, the Women's Pro World Championship, Lynn Conkwright won that competition. This competition was held yearly all through up until 1989. Rachel McLish also won this competition in 1982. Women's bodybuilding became recognized by the 1982 IFBB Congress in Bruges Belgium.

In 1985, a movie was released; it was titled Pumping Iron II:The Women. This movie was a documentary of several women training for the 1983 Caesars Palace World Cup Championship. In 1985, the National Women's and Mixed Pairs Bodybuilding Championships Swede was held in Detroit, Michigan.

In 1986, the Ms International contest was introduced. In 1987, the Amateur Athletic Union was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Women's Bodybuilding From 1990–1999​

Earlier, before competitors could participate in Ms Olympia, they must have performed well in other lesser competitions.

However, when the Women's Pro World contest was cancelled in 1990, only the Ms International was left as the Ms Olympia qualifier. As a result, the IFBB allowed any woman with a Pro Card to enter the Ms Olympia competition.
In 1991, another professional women's bodybuilding competition was introduced, the Jan Tana Classic.

The event was named after its promoter who sells tanning products. The event lasted all through to 2003, fell out for a while and was later revived in 2007.

The 1991 Ms Olympia competition was the first to appear on live TV. In 1992, there were matters arising regarding drug abuse. And there are IFBB rules that state that competitors should not be too big.

So that year's contest was won by Anja Schreiner who had a more aesthetically pleasing body than muscles. Because of this incident, the judging rules were reviewed. In 1994, the Canada Pro Cup was added. Coupled with the Grand Prix events in 1996. These events also become qualifiers for Ms Olympia. The Period between the 1990s and the mid-1990s was known as the "Dorian Era" also known as the"drug years".

In 1999, the Ms Olympia event was cancelled due to insufficient funds. However, last-minute sponsorship came from different sources with the biggest being $50,000 from Flex magazine. So the competition was rescheduled and it was held that same year.

Women's Bodybuilding From 2000–2010​

Starting from 2000, the IFBB effected some changes in the Ms Olympia competition. The first is that Ms Olympia will no longer be held as a separate entity, instead, it will be held a day before the men's show.

The second change was that heavyweight and lightweight were added. The third change was that the presentation guidelines were introduced. Women would be judged based on their appearance, face, makeup and skin tone.

Three pro contests were held in 2000 but only the Ms International was proclaimed an overall winner. The Jan Classic and Ms Olympia had just weight winners.

The 2001 pro schedule started with Vickie Gates winning the Ms International title. However, that year's Ms Olympia featured a new winner, Juliette Bergman (aged 42). Juliette Bergman has not competed since the 1989 Pro World Championship, but she won the 2001 Ms Olympia.



In 2002, Lenda Murray and Bergman won the 2002 and 2003 lightweight and heavyweight classes respectively.

In 2002, Iris Kyle won the Ms Olympia title from Murray. Kyle was the second woman to win the Ms International and Ms Olympia titles in the same year.

The 20% rule was introduced in 2004 by the IFBB chairman Jim Manion. It was targeted at female bodybuilders; it stated that female bodybuilders should decrease their muscularity by 20% for health and aesthetic reasons. However, in April 2005, the weight class system introduced in 2000 was abolished.

Women's Bodybuilding From 2010–2014​

Iris Kyle who was a female bodybuilder of the U.S. Army Military Police continued her winning streak in both the Ms International and Ms Olympia in 2009, 2010, and 2011.

She sustained an injury on her leg and so she couldn't compete in the 2012 Ms International. She however continued in the 2012 Ms Olympia and won, making it her 7th win in a row. She reclaimed her Ms International title in 2013. She competed in the 2013 Ms Olympia and won making it her 9th overall win. She has the highest number of Olympia wins both among male and female bodybuilders.

In 2012, Venezuelan Adriana Martin was the winner of the National Physique Committee's South Florida Bikini Championship.

On June 7, 2013, it was announced that the Ms International women's bodybuilding will be replaced by the men's Arnold Classic 212 professional bodybuilding competition.

In 2014, Iris Kyle participated in Ms Olympia and won her 10th overall Olympia title. She beat her former record of 10 consecutive Olympia wins. She also beat the record of Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman's 8 consecutive wins. This made her the only bodybuilder both male and female to have the most consecutive wins. She announced her retirement after that win. The 2014 Ms Olympia was the last before it was relaunched in 2020.

Women's Bodybuilding From 2015–present​

In 2021, Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships were announced as the replacement for Ms Olympia. It was announced by Hofit Sharon, the winner of the Miss Bikini 2021 competition. The Wing of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships adopted all of the Ms Olympia qualification system.

Margie Martin won the best poser title award on August 22, 2015 for the Wings of Strength Rising Phoenix World Championships.