Strong and Hard Women

by Tanya Bunsell

  The chapter has also highlighted the importance of friendships and how they are intimately connected to, and forged during, the research process. Furthermore, I have argued that it would be naive to utilize ethnographic methods and try to retain an ‘objective’ space from which to analyse and observe ‘the phenomena’, as ourselves, our bodies and our emotions are entangled within the project itself.

  Researching female bodybuilders 25

  Ethnography is a deeply emotional affair; ‘we can and do feel joy, pain, hurt, excitement, anger, love, confusion, satisfaction, loss, happiness and sadness’

  (Coffey 1999: 158). We are not autonomous, objective robots, but human beings with feelings, emotions and bodily sensations. Indeed, how would it be possible to analyse the lives and experiences of female bodybuilders and to ignore my own lived experiences and emotions throughout the process? During the research I have frequently felt guilty, burdened, exhausted, frustrated and confused, but these feelings have been matched by the positive feelings of curiosity, anticipation, excitement, energy, enrapture, bliss, vibrancy and laughter. Ultimately the only way to comprehend this bizarre world, as I have argued throughout this chapter, was to become drenched and saturated in a subculture that has to be experienced as a sentient affair so as to be understood.

  3 The history of female

  bodybuilding

  This muscular feebleness inspires in women an instinctive disgust of strenuous exercise; it draws them towards amusements and sedentary occupations. One could add that the separation of their hips makes walking more painful for women… This habitual feeling of weakness inspires less confidence… and as a woman finds herself less able to exist on her own, the more she needs to attract the attentions of others, to strengthen herself using those around her whom she judges most capable of protecting her.

  (Barthze, quoted in Cabanis 1956, I: 278).

  The quote above, from an important eighteenth-century French physician, captures the prominent medical discourse of the Enlightenment period in Western society – highlighting women’s supposed weakness, fragility, vanity and male-dependence. Furthermore, it provides a glimpse into one of the patriarchal ideologies surrounding women’s bodies that have been used throughout time to justify gender inequalities and legitimize women’s subservient status. Historically, women, in Western society, have been positioned as opposite and inferior to their male counterparts on the grounds of their corporeality (see Shildrick and Price 1999; Kristeva 1980; Jordanova 1989; Spelman 1982; Braidotti 1994; de Beauvoir 1949; Weitz 2003; Martin 2001). Bloch (1987: 1) states that this thread of misogyny reaches back to the Old Testament, as well as to Ancient Greece, and extends through the medieval period: the evidence can be found in ‘ecclesiastical writing, letters, sermons, theological tracts, discussions and compilations of canon law; scientific works, as part and parcel of biological, gynaecological, and medical knowledge; and philosophy’. Moreover, it has been argued that these oppressive ideas placed around women’s bodies actually become culturally inscribed onto the body itself via normalized oppressive practices in the guise of femininity, such as corsets (Eco 1986; Summers 2001; Bordo 1993); ceruse (lead-based makeup) in the Elizabethan era and vermillion rouge (a mixture of mercury and sulphur) in the eighteenth century (Henig 1996; Newman 2000); Belladonna eyedrops (Henig 1996; Donohoe 2006); and more recently, cosmetic surgery such as breast implants (Jeffreys 2005; Saul 2003; Greer 2000).

  Set against this backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that the body has been an important, if not the main, site of contention for feminists in their struggles

  The history of female bodybuilding 27

  against a male-dominated society. Second-wave feminists in particular have argued that women often discover their lack of power and control when they seek to exert autonomy over their sexuality, health and bodies. However, as Foucault (1980: 95) acknowledges, ‘where there is power there is resistance’. Following on from this, Grosz (1994: 40) points out:

  As well as being the site of knowledge-power, the body is thus also a site of resistance, for it exerts a recalcitrance, and always entails the possibility of a counter strategic re-inscription, for it is capable of being self-marked, self-represented in alternative ways.

  The body, then, has – at least for some – the potential to rebel and challenge social control, cultural reproduction and social order. In this way, bodies that oppose and transgress the current hegemonic Western bodily ideal of the young, slim and ‘unmarked’ have the potential to create ‘new bodies [and] new pleasures’

  (Foucault 1981: 157; see also Lloyd 1996; Bartky 1988). This, in turn, provides the potential to release women from an antagonistic relationship with their bodies (Lloyd 1996; Bordo 1988).

  It is within this context that female bodybuilders have been heralded by some feminists as resisting hegemonic norms, designing their bodies to their own ideals and creating their own space. Their bodies are perceived by these feminists as being sites of power both symbolically and physically, and as sites of resistance (Tate 1999; Hargreaves 1986). If it is indeed the case that female bodybuilding is possessed of liberatory potential, however, it is a subject that has been underinvestigated. This chapter begins the process of addressing this oversight by chronicling the rise of female bodybuilding.

  The birth of female bodybuilding

  This is the first era in all of human history in which women have developed hyper-muscularity for primarily aesthetic purposes. This concept is so totally revolutionary and culturally dangerous that even the physique federations themselves have grave reservations about the idea. Sure, the sport faces its challenges, but you can’t have a revolution if everyone agrees with you in the beginning.

  (Dobbins, cited in Kaye 2005: 155)

  ‘Amazons’, strong women, circus women, female wrestlers, boxers and weightlifters, whilst rare, have been documented throughout history (see Huxtable 2004; Graves 1992; Todd 2000; Bouissaic 1976; Hargreaves 1994; Roark 1991).

  However, hypermuscular women who purposely build their bodies and then proudly expose these male signifiers are a relatively new phenomenon. In contrast to men’s bodybuilding competitions, which increased in popularity in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, women’s bodybuilding per se was still to be recognized.

  The only way in which women could participate at these bodybuilding events

  28 The history of female bodybuilding

  was in a supplementary beauty contest or bikini show (Lowe 1998). Wennerstrom (1984: 76) suggests, though, that these sideline beauty pageants laid the foundations for women’s bodybuilding competitions in the future. Nevertheless, it was not until the late 1970s, against the backdrop of the second-wave feminist movement, Title IX, the rise in fitness consumerism and the relative success of female powerlifting, that female bodybuilding competitions were finally born.

  The history of female bodybuilding has been a relatively neglected area of research and thus, like the sport itself, is fraught with inconsistencies. Yet from its conception to the present day, women’s bodybuilding has been plagued by the same core issue: how muscular can a woman become and still retain her ‘femininity’? Hence, the corporeality of the female bodybuilder is a contested terrain. This physical landscape is staked out by and between the governing bodies of female bodybuilding and the women themselves, causing controversy and ideological conflict. In the remainder of this section I describe, in chronological order, some of the momentous events which shook and in some ways shifted the paradigmatic view of female bodybuilders, exposing the tensions between ‘femininity’ and muscularity and revealing the dyadic/interlocking relationship between personal agency and structure (Bolin 2011).

  Despite ‘female bodybuilding arising at a time of great political and social gains for women’ (Scott-Dixon 2006: 4), the first widely acknowledged bodybuilding contests still resembled beauty pageants. Female competitors wore high heels with their bikinis and were forbidden from clenching their fists and using other masculine poses such as t
he ‘crab’, ‘double biceps’ or ‘lateral spread’. In 1977, Henry McGhee, under the aegis of the United States Women’s Physique Association (USWPA), founded the first, notorious female bodybuilding compe-

  tition,1 with the intention of using the same judging criteria used in male bodybuilding competitions: assessing muscle size, symmetry and presentation poses (Wennerstrom 1984). McGhee claimed that the purpose of the USWPA was to overcome ‘the limited, beauty queen stereotype of what the American women should look like’. However, critics argue that despite the assertion that it was a ‘bodybuilding’ competition, the first prize was given to a relatively slender woman with small, stringy muscles. A similar tale of events occurred in 1979, when another association was created for female bodybuilders. George Synder established the ‘Best in the World’ contests under the International Federation for Bodybuilding (IFBB), with the aim of creating a fitness role model for the average American female. However, not only were the women handpicked by Synder himself; they were also chosen and awarded for ‘attractiveness and sex appeal over fitness and muscles’ (Huxtable 2004: 2).

  Doris Barrilleaux, who had previously competed at one of Henry McGhee’s events, established the Superior Physique Association (SPA) in 1978: this was

  ‘the first women’s bodybuilding organization run for women and by women’

  (Lowe 1998: 59). However, SPA, like the USWPA before it, disintegrated and was terminated in 1980 due to its inability to compete against the Weider Brothers, who had established the IFBB organization.2 It was not until 1979, when Lisa

  Lyon’s more athletic physique (and charismatic personality) won the first IFBB

  The history of female bodybuilding 29

  Women’s World BodyBuilding Championship, that women’s built bodies began to challenge hegemonic notions of femininity and cause a stir in society (Huxtable 2004; Wennerstrom 2000). Lyon’s concept of the developed female body was comparable to the dominant strand of feminism at the time. Female bodybuilding, she declared, was about ‘redefining the whole idea of femininity. You don’t have to be soft; you don’t have to be weak. You can be strong, you can be muscular…

  you can make that visual statement and at the same time be feminine’ (cited in Huxtable 2004: 4).

  The 1980s: the golden era of female bodybuilding

  In wider society, the early 1980s signified a transition from the fashionably thin

  ‘Twiggy’ body to one carrying slightly more muscle mass. The female ideal of beauty during this period was dubbed as ‘taut, toned and coming on strong’

  (Corliss 1982: 72). This valued body type continued into the 1990s, led by Hollywood role models such as Linda Hamilton (in ‘Terminator II’), Demi Moore (‘GI Jane’/’Disclosure’), Angela Bassett (‘What’s Love Got to Do with It’) and Holly Hunter (‘The Piano’) (Dobbins 1994; Heywood 1998). Within this context, women’s weight training began to flourish. For female bodybuilders, this decade has often been regarded as the golden years and the height of female bodybuilding. In 1980, the most prestigious event for female bodybuilders – ‘Ms Olympia’, sanctioned by the IFBB – took place (Dobbins 1994). As bodybuilding was so new, the guidelines for contestants were ambiguous and no one really knew what was expected (Lowe 1998). The line-up comprised a mixture of abilities and female body types, ranging from the lightly ‘toned’ physique to ground-breaking muscular physiques: ‘Cammie [Lusko] and Auby [Paulick] showed for one of the first times in history real female muscle – not curvy humps of hard flesh, but rippled, vein-splayed muscle’ (Gaines and Butler 1983: 66). Rachel McLish’s thin, ‘toned’ physique won the competition, and she consequently became known as the most famous women’s bodybuilding competitor in the early 1980s. As bodybuilding progressed, the level of training increased, and in turn the sport slowly began to favour more muscular physiques. However, the public – and, indeed, the bodybuilding community itself – were not yet ready for an overtly muscular appearance which would transgress traditional beliefs about what men and women should look like. This is demonstrated by the iconic movie released in 1985 called ‘Pumping Iron II: The Women’.3 This film documentary followed the lives of several female competitors leading up to and including the 1983 Caesars Palace World Cup Championship Competition. The film pits the incredibly muscular Bev Francis (a world-champion powerlifter turned bodybuilder) against the slim, hyperfeminine reigning champion, Rachel McLish (Moore 1997).

  Holmlund (1989) claims that the film was ultimately a marketing strategy by its director George Butler to promote female bodybuilding, albeit in a limited, heterosexual and eroticized manner. ‘Pumping Iron II: The Women’ does, however, highlight the controversial judging of female bodybuilding and questions about ‘femininity’, ‘muscularity’ and ‘what makes a woman’. In the film,

  30 The history of female bodybuilding

  Ben Weider (chairman of the IFBB) states, for example, that female bodybuilders must be judged differently to their male counterparts, as ‘women are women, men are men, there’s a difference and thank God for that difference’. He directs the judges before the contest: ‘[we are looking for] a woman who has a certain amount of aesthetic femininity, but yet has that muscle tone to show that she is an athlete’. In response, a male judge comments: ‘that’s like being told there is a certain point beyond which women can’t go in this sport… It’s as though the US

  Ski Federation told women they can only ski so fast’.

  The competition resulted in the articulate, graceful Carla Dunlap winning the trophy. Whilst her body was more muscular than McLish’s, in no way was it comparable to that of Bev Francis, who was placed eighth. Francis was told ‘to get feminine or get out of bodybuilding’ (Pearl 1989: 51, cited in Mansfield and McGinn 1994: 61). In 1984, Cory Everson (dubbed the ‘Female Arnold Schwarzenegger’), weighing 150 pounds, set the new muscular standard.

  She went on to win the Ms. Olympia competition for six consecutive years before retiring undefeated as a professional. During her reign, the results of the show were even proclaimed on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) channel. Other competitors were pictured in magazines and participated in television advertisements. Whilst women’s bodybuilding had become increasingly publicized, it was still not regarded as a ‘true sport’, but rather as a fascinating spectacle (Huxtable 2004). Ms. International competitions, second in importance

  only to Ms. Olympia, were founded in 1986.4

  Contentious issues in the 1990s: inconsistencies and

  contradictions in placing

  The start of the 1990s was still troubled by contentious and conflicting judging.

  The Ms. Olympia 1991 competition, which was the first to be televised live, saw the hardcore physiques of Bev Francis and Lenda Murray battling it out

  to win first place.5 As a consequence of the increased muscle mass and fears that the women were becoming too ‘masculine’, and initiated by Ben Weider, in the 1992 Ms. International contest the IFBB enforced a series of ‘femininity’ rules.6 These included the rule that ‘competitors should not be too big’ and presented guidelines stating that women should look ‘feminine’ and not emaci-ated. Directions to the judges stated that they ‘must bear in mind that he or she is judging a women’s bodybuilding competition and is looking for the ideal feminine physique… the most important aspect is shape, a feminine shape, and controlling the development of muscle – it must not be carried to excess, where it resembles the massive muscularity of the male physique’ (Huxtable 2004; Lowe 1998). The winner of the competition was the marketable, blue-eyed and blonde-haired Anja Schreiner, who weighed just 130 pounds at 5ft 7. The judge’s decision was met with outcry from the audience, whose favourite competitor –

  Paula Bircumshaw, who weighed 162 pounds at 5ft 7, with similar symmetry and definition to Schreiner – was placed in eighth position. Bircumshaw, furious

  The history of female bodybuilding 31

  with her placing, gave the judges the finger and was consequently banne
d from competing the next year.

  Following the unpopularity of the judges’ 1992 decision, the rules were yet again rewritten to allow competitors to be judged as physique contestants and not just on aesthetics. Lenda Murray was adjudged to have the ideal combination of both femininity and muscularity and went on to win Ms. Olympia five times in a row.

  Her main challenger during this time was deemed to be Laura Creavalle, who came second in Ms. Olympia on two occasions and won the Ms. International crown three times consecutively. During the early and mid-1990s other professional bodybuilding shows were established, including the Canada Pro Cup and the Grand Prix events in both Prague and Slovakia. In 1996 Kim Chizevsky won the Ms. Olympia title from Lenda Murray, introducing a harder and more ‘shredded’ look than had previously existed. She retained the crown for another three years before losing her title in 2000.

  More controversy and changes in 2000

  In the year 2000, the IFBB decided to amalgamate the men’s and women’s Olympia contests into the ‘Olympia Weekend’, which from then on would be held in Las Vegas. The judging guidelines were also updated, stating that female bodybuilders would be scored on their appearance, including face, make-up and skin tone alongside ‘symmetry, presentation, separations, and muscularity BUT NOT TO

  THE EXTREME’.7 Furthermore, female competitors would also be assessed on

  ‘whether or not they carry themselves in a graceful manner while walking to and from their position on stage’. The year 2000 was the only time that weight divisions were incorporated into Ms. Olympia, allowing Andrulla Blanchette (British) to win the lightweight category and Valentina Chepiga to win the heavyweight medal.

  Juliette Bergmann won Ms. Olympia in the following year, before Lenda Murray returned to win in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, Iris Kyle’s extremely muscular physique allowed her to become the new reigning champion. However, in 2005 a new and controversial ruling was passed by the IFBB, named the ‘20% Solution’. The IFBB