How can "I" be part of the problem if I don't go about doing anything to actually support them. I simply stated my opinion of it (and it is the very first time I've ever voiced this opinion anywhere).
I don't believe there is a problem... the illusion of a problem lies in all the heads of those who do not like what they see. Your opinion on them stems from your own developed view of how women "ought" to look; "your" standards of femininity. NOT theirs. As a matter of fact, I don't think those women care whether or not they look feminine. They're athletes and sport/competition knows no gender.
Like I said, take away the aspect of winning, and you take away their drive, and quite possibly the need for rhoides. But if you're going to take away women's bodybuilding because their masculine appearance offends you, you might as well do away with all women's sports because there are alot more men (and women) out there who feel women should not be in sports or competition period (but they'd never admit it out loud to anyone). I've dated a few men in the past who admitted they think women shouldn't even work out because it's not-feminine to be strong. UGH!
It is not a woman's obligation to try to please everyone ... opinions vary too greatly. People should only have themselves to please. And if female bodybuilders are happy at what they do, they have my blessings. Doesn't mean I have to like what they look like.
I remember looking at an article on hamstrings an seeing a pic of a bodbybuilder's hamstrings, accompanied by a wide-looking super-muscular back. The pic was taken from the next down. My reaction was, "This guy's got some sick hamstring development". I checked out the other pics and then went back to that one. MuscleMag usually has a small caption of the bodybuilder's name.
Well, imagine my shock when that "guy" turned out to be Ms. Olympia, Iris Kyle. At first I thought it was a typo. But, upon a closer look at the pick, I saw the blue bikini straps, tied behind her neck.
8-time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney said it best. This is supposed to be
FEMALE bodybuilding. If it weren't for their long hair and breast implants (which often look like rocks), you wouldn't know these ladies were ladies.
This isn't about pleasing everyone. If you see a female bodybuilder and the first thing you think is "that's a big DUDE", there's a major problem.
With that said, some people just don't dig any semblance of muscle on a woman. I remember back in 2000, when buying a magazine, these two kids (either in their teen or early 20s) were talking about how "manly" the girl on the cover was, using a mimicking deep voice to lob their insults. One of them commented, "I don't like chicks like that; she could, like, break me in half". The real stunner to me was that the "chick" in question was Monica Brant-Peckham, a fitness competitor.
Then, there's the Entertainment Tonight show, which features some "fitness models" at a photo shoot. The mother of an old college buddy thought one of the girls "looked like a man". That girl was Stacey Lynn Boetto. Granted, her face does get a bit drawn, when she's lean and she looked considerably bigger on that show, than she appears in the magazine (she looks tiny in the pubs, except for those ridiculously-large implants), but I've never considered her to be manly-looking.
For the fitness/figure girls, it may just be the low bodyfat thing. What would also help is it many of them (at least the Caucasian ones) didn't have those strawberry-red faces, when they aren't tanned.
