A Look at Some Controversies Surrounding Women’s Bodybuilding
The early 90’s were full of controversy for women body builders. For instance, the Ms. Olympia contest of 1991 became the first ever aired live on TV. In this contest, the legendary Lenda Murray had faced a fierce challenge from Bev Francis, the runner-up to the title in 1990. Francis had previously been a powerlifter and had only converted to body building in the mid 1980’s, gradually, she refined her supreme physique in line with contest judging standards for body builders. To make matters worse for Lenda, Bev entered the 1991 Ms. Olympia larger and more defined than in all other years previously. By the night show Bev was leading and Lenda needed all of the votes she could get for the first place. When Lenda finally retained the title by one point over Bev, the contest became the most controversial to date. The 1992 contest of the Ms. International…