''Women's Physique World'' was a magazine covering

female bodybuilding Female bodybuilding is the female component of competitive bodybuilding. It began in the late 1970s, when women began to take part in bodybuilding competitions.

and

fitness and figure competition Fitness and figure competition is a class of physique-exhibition events mainly for women but also men. While bearing a close resemblance to bodybuilding, its emphasis is on muscle ''definition'', not size. The class was introduced when bodybuildi ...

, published from 1984 to 2006.

History and profile

The first issue was dated Fall 1984, and featured Lori Walkup on the cover. Subsequently, the magazine was published with varying frequency, ranging from two to six issues annually. ''Women's Physique World'' also produced

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

style videos that featured the women posing in non-contest settings in

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

s, dresses, and other outfits. Most of the videos feature bodybuilders or fitness and figure competitors, but athletes from sports such as

arm wrestling Arm wrestling (also spelled "armwrestling") is a sport in which two participants, facing each other with their bent elbows placed on a flat surface (usually a table) and hands firmly gripped, each attempt to "pin" their opponent's hand by forcing ...

and

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

were occasionally featured. The videos often included footage of the subjects performing gym workouts, as well as interview segments. ''Women's Physique World'' also produced a number of contest videos. These typically featured NPC level shows, though the magazine also produced the video for the 1999 Ms. Olympia contest. Human sexuality scholar Cindy Patton observed that the female bodybuilders in ''Women's Physique World'' are shown as "fresh-faced girls who seem to have accidentally produced their specialized shape".

References

External links

Official website
1984 establishments in New Jersey 2006 disestablishments in New Jersey Defunct women's magazines published in the United States Female bodybuilding magazines Fitness magazines Magazines established in 1984 Magazines disestablished in 2006 Magazines published in New Jersey Sports magazines published in the United States Works about women's sports {{bodybuilding-stub