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Is Iris Kyle the reason women's bodybuilding became less popular?

Apr 11, 2021 - permalink

I wrote a tweet sometime ago about how crazy it is that Alina Popa never won an Olympia, and some followers mentioned Iris Kyle in a less favorable way. One even suggested that perhaps it was her look that made women's bodybuilding die out for awhile. I do remember the likes of Lenda Murray criticizing how far Iris Kyle went, and, to be fair, I don't hear many female bodybuilders point to Iris Kyle as an influence. You'd sooner hear Lenda and Cory Everson mentioned before her.

So what do you think? While I'm sure the actual reasons are much more complicated, do you think Iris Kyle and her 10 Olympia-rule is one of them?

Apr 11, 2021 - edited Apr 11, 2021 - permalink

No. Yes. There are a loaded bar of reasons, but come on, Iris went away, came back with the best body, went away, came back... and repeat.

Apr 11, 2021 - permalink

Personally, I can't say either way, but I do think her facial features (not her body, mind you) might've turned people off to FBB. And yes, some folks may have grown tired of her continued reign as Ms. Olympia, thinking someone else should've won the title long before her 10th win.

Apr 11, 2021 - permalink

Here's a question to add to the thread, what does Ms Olympia mean to you?

Apr 11, 2021 - permalink

Well, that's simple. It's just a competition like the Super Bowl, World Cup, Stanley Cup, or Indy 500, no more or less.

If the players involved promise to lead to something exciting, I'm all for it. If not, I focus my attention elsewhere.

Apr 12, 2021 - edited Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

I do remember the likes of Lenda Murray criticizing how far Iris Kyle went

Rachel McLish bitched about the 90s/00s FBB. It's funny how that repeats because when Rachel herself competed, people were judgmental of Bev Francis.

Iris Kyle has no blame, she did what she felt was necessary to win. It's society that cannot cope with women doing what they want instead of fitting into stereotypical ideas of what women should look like and how they should behave

Here's a question to add to the thread, what does Ms Olympia mean to you?

New images, new vids

fp909
Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

i think you have to include, in general, that the rapid upsizing of womens bb in the 90s was not matched by the general public's ability to accept it, especially since it was airing on ESPN frequently. times have changed, and though the most jacked women still get the same kind of thoughts, millions of people are fawning over wellness/figure girls and crossfit chicks who are WAY more developed than the late 80s/early 90s crowd. i just saw some 90s stage footage and was floored by how slim they were in comparison to the average figure competitor now.

Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

There comes a point when the women start to look like drag queens....thats what turns people away.

[deleted]
Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

There comes a point when the women start to look like drag queens....thats what turns people away.

Bingo!

If a lot of people were grossed out by Linda Hamilton's Terminator 2 biceps, imagine how they feel about the steroid queens.

Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

The sharp , worn out and unhealthy facial features of many fbbs aren't even the direct result of the steroids but rather of the extremely low fat levels during competition. If it weren't for the low fat most of those women would look way more feminine.

Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

Definitely. It's why there's been more emphasis on Physique and why women's Bodybuilding kept dying out more and more. Let's be honest, what are you going to go for more of? This?

Or this?

It's a no brainer if you ask me. And to be fair, Iris still doesn't look great at all even today after being retired for years. 🤷‍♂️

Apr 12, 2021 - edited Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

----Here's a question to add to the thread, what does Ms Olympia mean to you?

Could care less.Stopped following competitions in the mid to late 80s.Same story since contests began--subjective judging

Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

Sorry but I can't put the decline in popularity all on one person.

fp909
Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

i haven't been into competitions in years. the politics, the seemingly unfair results at times and the toll on the women is not that interesting to me anymore. i don't care if they bodybuild, of course, but i like to see them physically and mentally healthy.

right now what's turning me off is everyone shilling product on social media lol i know everyone is trying ot make a quick buck because times are tough but man, stop trying to sell me mediocre protein powder

fp909
Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

I wrote a tweet sometime ago about how crazy it is that Alina Popa never won an Olympia, and some followers mentioned Iris Kyle in a less favorable way. One even suggested that perhaps it was her look that made women's bodybuilding die out for awhile. I do remember the likes of Lenda Murray criticizing how far Iris Kyle went, and, to be fair, I don't hear many female bodybuilders point to Iris Kyle as an influence. You'd sooner hear Lenda and Cory Everson mentioned before her.

So what do you think? While I'm sure the actual reasons are much more complicated, do you think Iris Kyle and her 10 Olympia-rule is one of them?

to me, Lenda Murray is a much more beautiful woman, roids or not. the diet face and roids didn't help iris' case.

so sure, she won 10 in a row but at what cost? Lenda looks AMAZING right now. who would you believe was older? Because Lenda is 13 years older and looks younger than Iris.

Apr 12, 2021 - edited Apr 12, 2021 - permalink

Definitely. It's why there's been more emphasis on Physique and why women's Bodybuilding kept dying out more and more. Let's be honest, what are you going to go for more of? This?

Or this?

It's a no brainer if you ask me. And to be fair, Iris still doesn't look great at all even today after being retired for years. 🤷‍♂️

They look fairly similar save for face and complexion.

Kyle is fuller and has more vascularity, though. The implants are a bit much.

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

They look fairly similar save for face and complexion.

Kyle is fuller and has more vascularity, though. The implants are a bit much.

Except one huge difference: the latter is clearly way more feminine. I know I am a little bias because someone like Dani Reardon who has an amazing balance of muscularity, femininity, and girl next door charm doesn't come along very often. But people are still going to gravitate more towards someone like Dani over someone like Iris.

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

It sounds sexist, but beauty plays a key role in how female muscle is viewed. Juliana Malacarne, Nicole Wilkins, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, Monica Brant, Trish Stratus...all of those people I named would be viewed as hot. Iris Kyle doesn't fit the bill and that might have played a factor in the decline and near-extinction of the female bodybuilding division.

Andrea Shaw, the current Ms. Olympia, is built but GORGEOUS. This will play a factor in how the division moves forward, whether fair or not.

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

It sounds sexist, but beauty plays a key role in how female muscle is viewed. Juliana Malacarne, Nicole Wilkins, Cory Everson, Lenda Murray, Monica Brant, Trish Stratus...all of those people I named would be viewed as hot. Iris Kyle doesn't fit the bill and that might have played a factor in the decline and near-extinction of the female bodybuilding division.

Andrea Shaw, the current Ms. Olympia, is built but GORGEOUS. This will play a factor in how the division moves forward, whether fair or not.

I don't think it's sexist to say that. Sex appeal is imbued in all sports, some more than others. NBA player, Gilbert Arenas talks about how he was told to present himself a certain way to appeal to women and gay men. That included hiking up his shorts to show off his legs, lifting up his shirt when wiping off sweat to show off his abs, and tucking in his shorts a certain way to show off his butt. Sure enough, he says he became more popular.

Men and women, gay or straight, like to look at beautiful people. Bodybuilding is no different.

Apr 13, 2021 - edited Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

Damn how would you feel if Iris Kyle read this? Pinning the downfall of the sport on one person is a little extreme to say the least. Obviously there were many reasons. Competitions are more so about connects and its very common to see people with amazing physiques place lower than they should. If you arent well liked well then your chances of placing well obviously go down. I dont really vibe with the rules of these comps because the dried out look isnt really for me plus imo it looks unhealthy and it actually is unhealthy. Theres very few people that can look insanely shredded and still look healthy in the face. The body gets put under a ton of stress with that low of an amount of body fat. And i am sure many people feel the same way about not liking the dry look so thats why it isnt glorified.

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

Damn how would you feel if Iris Kyle read this? Pinning the downfall of the sport on one person is a little extreme to say the least. Obviously there were many reasons. Competitions are more so about connects and its very common to see people with amazing physiques place lower than they should. If you arent well liked well then your chances of placing well obviously go down. I dont really vibe with the rules of these comps because the dried out look isnt really for me plus imo it looks unhealthy and it actually is unhealthy. The body gets put under a ton of stress with that low of an amount of body fat. And i am sure many people feel the same way about not liking the dry look so thats why it isnt glorified.

Nah, I get you. If anything, I know the reason why women's bodybuilding suffered is way more complicated than just "Iris ruined it!" I mainly bring this up because I was kind of shocked to learn that bodybuilding fans and even some industry folks aren't big on her.

To your point about the dried out look, yeah it is cutting it dangerously close getting that lean. Ladies like Heather Armbrust I thought looked great despite having some softness. They carried it well and looked elite!

Apr 13, 2021 - edited Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

Heather Armbrust definitely was top tier in her comps and she still looks great to this date. I will agree to that for sure!

fp909
Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

it could also be the same issue as: Tom Brady, LeBron James, Alabama, other sports dynasties that just got boring after a while, and while it's kind of cool to witness those kind of streaks...the rest of the sport suffers. I haven't been interested in college football in the last few years because it's the same 3-4 teams in the playoff and Alabama wins half of the time. It's almost predetermined.

So not really fault on Iris the person, but fault on the nature of sports and people. it's possible that she pushed it so far so quickly that the sport wasn't ready to catch up.

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

it could also be the same issue as: Tom Brady, LeBron James, Alabama, other sports dynasties that just got boring after a while, and while it's kind of cool to witness those kind of streaks...the rest of the sport suffers. I haven't been interested in college football in the last few years because it's the same 3-4 teams in the playoff and Alabama wins half of the time. It's almost predetermined.

So not really fault on Iris the person, but fault on the nature of sports and people. it's possible that she pushed it so far so quickly that the sport wasn't ready to catch up.

That's another thing I've heard. But I can't blame the judges for always picking her. Who else on that stage has great conditioning like Iris?

Apr 13, 2021 - permalink

One way to look at it would be to ask whether the other women had to up their game because Iris was so dominant? Or did Iris put the other women off?

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