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What would make women's bodybuilding popular?

Jul 29, 2021 - edited Jul 29, 2021 - permalink

I think the best way to make fbb "popular" again, at least insofar as it was in the 90s, is to put bodybuilding competitions back on TV again. Put the men on, and then the women. Because if you put back on men's bodybuilding, then you have no choice but to put women's bodybuilding on, because if you don't, especially in this hyper-sensitive day and age where the media and public opinion are all clamoring for women's equality and empowerment, you will look sexist and unfair. In this respect, MMA is rather brilliant in how they're able to market their athletes, especially the women -- that's why Amanda Nunes, a muscular lesbian, is in a Modelo commercial, and no one questions it (even though I'm wondering wtf does Amanda Nunes have anything to do with selling beer?). Also, have celebrities like Arnold and The Rock (because we know The Rock goes to BB contests) as guest hosts for these competitions. Do all of these things and I all but guarantee we'll see the mainstream, if not fully embrace, then at least nudged toward accepting fbbs and bodybuilding in general.

Jul 29, 2021 - permalink

I think the best way to make fbb "popular" again, at least insofar as it was in the 90s, is to put bodybuilding competitions back on TV again. Put the men on, and then the women. Because if you put back on men's bodybuilding, then you have no choice but to put women's bodybuilding on, because if you don't, especially in this hyper-sensitive day and age where the media and public opinion are all clamoring for women's equality and empowerment, you will look sexist and unfair. In this respect, MMA is rather brilliant in how they're able to market their athletes, especially the women -- that's why Amanda Nunes, a muscular lesbian, is in a Modelo commercial, and no one questions it (even though I'm wondering wtf does Amanda Nunes have anything to do with selling beer?). Also, have celebrities like Arnold and The Rock (because we know The Rock goes to BB contests) as guest hosts for these competitions. Do all of these things and I all but guarantee we'll see the mainstream, if not fully embrace, then at least nudged toward accepting fbbs and bodybuilding in general.

The Rock does have Athleticon, if that's still happening. So who knows - maybe your plan may actually come to fruition.

fp909
Jul 29, 2021 - permalink

Idk if his Titan show is still going but they’ve had some pretty built women by default and that’s been a great way to get them airtime. Also Brooke ence in the tag show and ninja warrior if people are still watching that.

I think it would have a lot more success streaming. I wish Natasha Aughey was a bit more receptive of flexing and a bit more entertaining as a streamer because she could be a great bridge

Jul 30, 2021 - edited Jul 30, 2021 - permalink

The Rock does have Athleticon, if that's still happening. So who knows - maybe your plan may actually come to fruition.

I looked into that and it does look interesting and maybe promising, so we'll see. It would be awesome if The Rock could simply say, right out in the open, that he supports women who bodybuild. He is the most powerful influencer today, with millions of male and female fans -- for him to say something like that would do a tremendous favor toward "normalizing" fbbs. (What's he got to lose by saying it? He won't lose fans, and he'll stir up the conversation to the masses who basically heed to The Rock's every word.)

The main thing I think is to have bodybuilding competitions back on TV. With the amount of money WoS has, I certainly hope they can negotiate to bring it back on TV (why they haven't done it yet is beyond me - the owner is a multi-millonaire). When female bodybuilding was on TV back in the 90s, they were perceived in similar ways as the MMA fighters are perceived today. Fbbs were on game shows, talk shows, magazine covers, had their own TV programs etc. I don't mean to denigrate MMA but because they're on TV (and Dana White is a marketing genius), it's normalized; despite the fact that these women are in many ways more "masculine" than even some fbbs, it's mostly fine to the general public (heard more than a few times where normal guys complimented favorably the rougher looking women as "beasts" and "badass"). Hence why Ronda Rousey was in the FF movie, or why Amanda Nunes is in beer commercials, even though it's nonsensical for her to be in such commercials (what average beer consumer looks up to a muscular lesbian who can fight? At least Conor McGregor slanging Proper 12 made sense, on a stereotypical level). It's mind-boggling that homosexuals and even transexuals are becoming more and more accepted into the mainstream -- but not female bodybuilders? Strategized TV exposure and the ensuing public education from such exposure would do a lot to remedy that. It's all in the careful marketing and crafting of public opinion, something Dana White and Vince McMahon would agree with.

cgsweat
Jul 30, 2021 - permalink

It would be awesome if The Rock could simply say, right out in the open, that he supports women who bodybuild. He is the most powerful influencer today, with millions of male and female fans -- for him to say something like that would do a tremendous favor toward "normalizing" fbbs.

His manager, Dany Garcia, is a bodybuilder herself. So he does support it, just kind of discreetly. Yeah it would be nice if he was more vocal about it.

Jul 30, 2021 - permalink

Theres a bit of a difference between danny garcia and the roided out monsters at the top of FBB. Fact is as long as that os the standard...it wont be popular mainstream. Just gunna have to accept it

Jul 30, 2021 - edited Jul 30, 2021 - permalink

His manager, Dany Garcia, is a bodybuilder herself. So he does support it, just kind of discreetly. Yeah it would be nice if he was more vocal about it.

Really? Did not know that (also didn't realize she was his ex-wife). It would be more than nice of him to say it - it would be a very powerful gesture (in fact, more celebrities should step up and declare it if they love fbbs -- if memory serves me correctly, Jean Claude Van Damme and Gregory Hines were two such notable celebrities who loved women with muscles).

And in today's culture, where not a week goes by where we don't hear the media reinforcing the notion of women as "fierce" and "strong," now is a great time to capitalize on this wave of women empowerment -- sure we're biased, but speaking as an fbb fan, what better way can a woman be empowered physically than through bodybuilding? Especially now with the Olympics going on, the theme of empowering women is at a fever pitch; just check out this commercial put out by Dick's Sporting Goods as a prime example of it. It's a powerful pro-female athlete commercial. Now imagine replacing the athletes here with female bodybuilders, and the commercial takes on a completely new meaning.

Some other ways to market fbbs to the public: feature them with children. I haven't seen one pic or video where a kid, whether it be boy or girl, wasn't amazed by meeting a female bodybuilder. They look as if they just met a superheroine in real life. That's because they haven't yet been molded and conformed to a society that pressures and tells them how a woman should and should not look like.

Another way is to feature older women who bodybuild. Just look at the IG of Ernestine Shepherd (@shepherdernestine) or Joan MacDonald (@trainwithjoan). These women are very elderly and very muscular for their age, and yet Ernestine has over 50K followers, and Joan has 1.4 MILLION followers. Not to mention endless compliments from female fans who admire both of these women. Still have yet to see a comment saying these women are trying to look like men: that's because you can't talk shit about these elderly muscular women without looking like a complete asshole or douchebag. Now if these women were to be featured in a documentary where they espouse the benefits of weight training, and perhaps meet female bodybuilders on camera and have them say to these fbbs something along the lines like "You look terrific! I wish I started at your age," well who's going to protest them?

Jul 30, 2021 - permalink

I think the best way to make fbb "popular" again, at least insofar as it was in the 90s, is to put bodybuilding competitions back on TV again. Put the men on, and then the women. Because if you put back on men's bodybuilding, then you have no choice but to put women's bodybuilding on, because if you don't, especially in this hyper-sensitive day and age where the media and public opinion are all clamoring for women's equality and empowerment, you will look sexist and unfair. In this respect, MMA is rather brilliant in how they're able to market their athletes, especially the women -- that's why Amanda Nunes, a muscular lesbian, is in a Modelo commercial, and no one questions it (even though I'm wondering wtf does Amanda Nunes have anything to do with selling beer?). Also, have celebrities like Arnold and The Rock (because we know The Rock goes to BB contests) as guest hosts for these competitions. Do all of these things and I all but guarantee we'll see the mainstream, if not fully embrace, then at least nudged toward accepting fbbs and bodybuilding in general.

Television is a business and while the business model has changed a lot since the 1990s, one of the core truths remains: someone has to pay for that airtime. Speaking U.S. only, controversy (drama), and interesting are the 2 things that sell. Consumers like talent, too, but talent plus controversy moves the meter.

TV viewers have so many options today. Back in the 1980s, bodybuilding was interesting because of the novelty value on TV. There were also major corporate sponsors who paid for the broadcasts.

Aug 20, 2021 - permalink

It is popular in South America and eastern Europe.

Thread locked by cgsweat.
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