What the first ladies bodybuilders looked like: Photos of Wonder Women of the Last Century

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by many significant events, and one of these was the departure from the stereotype of a weak and dependent woman. In different countries, there were ladies who were no longer satisfied with the famous German rule of three Ks: "Kinder, Kuche, Kirche" (children, kitchen, church). Thanks to the first athletes, strong, independent personalities began to enter fashion, who, if necessary, could stand up for themselves. The fact that now sometimes you want to return a little femininity to the weaker sex is another question, in the early 1900s the very idea that a woman can be beautiful and strong at the same time was truly revolutionary, so such ladies most often caused surprise and interest, but delight - not always.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

American feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman became one of the first ladies who, instead of embroidery, took up lifting weights and swinging biceps. Social work has become the main occupation for her, and the woman has shown by her example all her life that the mistress of the house does not have to be a fragile unearthly creature. It is clear that peasant women and factory workers were never like that, but aristocracy and physical strength for women at the beginning of the 20th century were concepts that contradict each other. So even an attempt to unite these incompatible things in the thoughts of ordinary people can be considered a great merit.

"Lady Hercules" or "The Great Sandwina"

Austrian strongwoman Katie Brumbach went down in history as the first lady to receive the title of the most powerful woman in the world. Katie was born in Vienna into a family of circus performers. Both her father and her mother performed with strength exercises, so in this case it was clear where the girl had real heroic strength from from an early age. Already a teenager, she was like a father - under two meters tall, physically incredibly developed. Later, the girl began performing under the pseudonyms "Lady Hercules" and "The Great Sandwina". The artist, despite her gigantic growth, found herself a mate, and the couple performed together for many years. The main trick of the giantess was to raise her beloved husband over the head. He, although he was not a dwarf either, seemed slender compared to his faithful. Naturally, the audience was delighted with such a couple. The couple demonstrated this trick even in old age.

Kate Williams - Volcano

In Britain in those same years there was no equal to the strong woman who performed under the name of "Vulkana". This pseudonym hid a girl, Kate Williams, who in her youth fled from her strict father-preacher to be with her beloved. Her chosen one, a circus artist, married Kate, and the young people began performing together. It turned out that the fugitive, if inferior to her husband in strength, is only slightly. The couple created a successful attraction "Atlas and Volcano", with which they traveled around the Old and New World. In old photographs popular at the beginning of the 20th century, Vulkana is captured as an incredibly strong, but at the same time touchingly beautiful woman. She has done a lot to promote healthy lifestyles, encouraging women to exercise and give up corsets.

Charmion

One of the most popular strongwomen of her time was Lavery Vali. The woman became famous under the name "Charmion" (Charmion). The girl was born in Sacramento and became a famous gymnast and athlete. It is she who is considered the pioneer of female bodybuilding, since the beauty of a strong body has become her hallmark. Lavery was the first in many ways and, like any pioneer, was often criticized. In those days, her speeches and photographs, in principle, slightly crossed the line of what is permissible in a decent society. Performing on stage, Charmion very effectively demonstrated at first her figure, pulled into clothes of the Victorian era, and then, climbing on a trapeze to the very ceiling, she even more effectively got rid of unnecessary details of the toilet and remained in a circus costume - tight leotards. This number with a striptease so captivated the famous inventor Thomas Edison that in 1901 he even shot a short film "Undressing on a Trapeze." It is clear that the artist had a scandalous reputation and wild success. She also admired society with her photographs. This woman was the first to show the muscles of an almost completely naked torso, and she also did it in a very artistic and beautiful way.

Mildred Burke

This incredibly feminine beauty in her youth never dreamed of such an unusual career. The girl worked as a waitress in her native Kansas, was going to get married and become an exemplary wife and mother, but one day, together with her fiance, she accidentally dropped in on the performance of visiting strongmen. From that moment on, Mildred could no longer dream of anything else. Having entered the wrestling section, the girl showed such success there that she soon became a champion in this sport. Considering that she would have had to look for other women for sparring in the 30s for a long time, she fought only with men. History has preserved for us the results of her sports career - out of two hundred fights in her life, Mildred Burke lost only once.