History of BBWorld Part XI

In the aftermath of Schmidt-Nielsen’s findings and in the face of public sentiment, in the early 1970s pharmaceutical companies shifted their focus from refining MBOL and similar compounds to developing new drugs specifically for the purposes of improving longevity and quality of life. Medical studies comparing the internal conditions of average men and their larger female counterparts would direct the focus of these research efforts, with particular focus given to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoarthritis. Though the circulatory and musculoskeletal augmentation studies of the 1940s provided a good starting basis for many of these efforts, most companies had to dedicate the bulk of their resources to these efforts (in an attempt to be the first to bring these new drugs to market), effectively resulting in stagnation in the area of steroid research.

This stall would beget a similar stall in the pursuit of the HMW title; though the famous and wealthy of the globe continued to push the envelope, it was becoming apparent that even the most recently developed steroids had their limits, and with no new advancements on the horizon, many became more cautious in the sizes they attempted to achieve. This was reflected in the trends surrounding the passing of the title throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1968 Raquel Welch became the first 600-lb woman, and in 1977 Farrah Fawcett became the first 650-lb woman; this weight increase of roughly 5.5 pounds per year was consistent with Marilyn Monroe’s rate of gain throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, indicating that the chase for the title remained heated in these years. Indeed, this era continued to include challengers from around the globe, one notable example being Seeta bint Fahd Al Damir, wife of King Khalid of the newly oil-rich Saudi Arabia. If the 5.5 lb/year trend had continued, 1986 would have seen the first 700-lb woman; however, the heaviest woman of that year would be Cindy Crawford at 682 lbs.

This slowdown corresponded with a reduction in competitors for the title, attributed to the greater risk of immobility resulting from a continued commitment to gaining; given that the last new steroid to market was over a decade old at that point (MBOL-G7 in 1974), most were beginning to hit their limit on what they could personally achieve with medical augmentation. International noblewomen who were likely to lose reputation if they became immobile therefore began to bow out of the race, leaving mainly American celebrities; since the fame and reputation of these women depended fundamentally on their size, most continued to push forward regardless of the risk. By the time Anna Nicole Smith became the first 700-lb HMW in 1994, the title pursuit was almost exclusively the purview of the Hollywood elite, and even so, many of them began to abandon the pursuit as reports of actresses going too far and rendering themselves immobile became increasingly commonplace. However, this was only one of the three major developments in the feminine beauty ideal in the 1990s.

The second was the rise of third-wave feminism; originating out of the riot grrrl punk subculture and spurred on by Anita Hill’s testimony describing her experience being sexually harassed by Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, the third-wave feminists sought to combat harmful male attitudes, abolish gender stereotypes, and embrace diversity and individualism in women. The last two points were particularly relevant to the continued redefinition of the beauty standard- the interplay of these ideas with the now-established thin acceptance movement meant that women’s attitudes began to shift toward celebrating body diversity over the continual pursuit of the largest possible body. The blossoming of the Internet allowed this message to reach a global audience through blogs and forums; along with the near-stagnation of (and thus loss of interest in) the HMW title, this provided a new avenue for women with lingering doubts about their size to embrace the beauty of their individuality. Indeed, this may have been the turning point that definitively switched global attitudes over to the reformed beauty ideal were it not for the final development bookending the 1990s.