The AP is reporting that Nathan’s has added a women’s event to the 2011 International Hot Dog Eating Contest that will take place on Monday, July 4, in Coney Island, N.Y.

Sonya Thomas, known in competitive eating circles as the Black Widow, will headline the women’s competition.

“Serena Williams didn’t have to beat Roger Federer to win the Wimbledon title, and we don’t think Sonya Thomas should have to beat Joey Chestnut,” said master of ceremonies George Shea.

Thomas did beat Chestnut once, eating 181 chicken wings to his 169 during the National Buffalo Wing Festival in Buffalo last September, according to the AP report.

Thomas set a women’s world record on July 4, 2009, when she stuffed 41 hot dogs into her 105-pound body in 10 minutes. She will face off against eight other women, including Juliet Lee, who also weighs 105 pounds.

“To me, this excitement is similar to when women were given the right to vote,” says challenger Larell Marie Mele, a 133-pounder from Long Pond, Pa.

The winner of the women’s competition will receive a bright pink belt sponsored by Pepto-Bismol. The winner of the men’s competition gets the Nathan’s mustard belt.

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