A former male bodybuilder made a return to the competition circuit this weekend – as a transgender woman.
Chris Tina Foxx Bruce, 42, entered the Border States Classic Bodybuilding competition in San Diego, California, on Saturday after a 20-year impasse, during which she has undergone hormonal therapy, breast implants and facial surgery.
The tournament marks the first bodybuilding competition for Ms Bruce since 1993 and she told the Huffington Post that she had to lose 40 lbs of bodyweight to be accepted into the female category.
“It’s not like any guy can walk up there and put a bikini on,” she said, adding that training was “much more difficult” than that of a man, because female hormones made weight gain more likely.
However, other female bodybuilders were critical, saying that Ms Bruce had it too easy. Fellow competitor Laurie Delaney said: “This just isn’t a normal man walking the street who has now decided to become a female. This is a bodybuilding male.”
“Chris has had the opportunity to descend, if you will, while other females have had to ascend to that same level.”