Thread: femininity

I didn't think we had any women bodybuilders on this site.

female "bodybuilding" is close to dead in my opinion, and I agree I would not really classify any females on this site as "bodybuilders", the one's that compete do so in fitness and figure and they are very feminine. (at least the ones I know of)

agreed. i competed once 10 years ago. it was technically an npc drug tested bodybuilding contest. no fitness or figure going on then. but the women on stage looked like what today's figure/fitness women look like.

my all time favorite physique is debbie kruck. she has more muscle than many fitness competitors but not approaching bb as it's come to be...

here's a sample of debbie's physique

one more. you can see she has some very real muscle on her without pushing the limits on "feminine" (at least in my book)

one more thing - i did a sociology paper on "the social perception of women bodybuilders" when i was in college. i was able to get a few of the pros to talk to me on the phone. i sent letters first and then followed up. nikki fuller was very helpful (and had the highest pitched voice!) so maybe you can try that if you have enough time.

I agree with the others. Most of us ladies don't want to look like Lenda Murray although we do admire her accomplishments!

I think our own Venus (Sheri Stewart) has a beautiful bod

Venus' body in that picture is perfect I think. Even in Debbies' 2nd picture the large vein in her bicep isn't very appealing to me - though she still looks great.

Originally posted by butterfly
I think our own Venus (Sheri Stewart) has a beautiful bod

I second that notion, beautiful....

ja .. i must admit venus has a stunning figure.. but i would not want to look like debbie. way too muscular. the perfect body IMO belongs to a chick called gerda marie in the latest Sa sport illustrated swimsuit edition .. thats my goal.

There is a lot of difference between the types of women depending on what they are participating in.

Runway Models: Thin, little muscle mass and long limbs. Designed to drape clothing on. SI Models usually have a little more muscle tone but not much.

Fitness Models: IE Musclemag, etc...more weight, large proportions but higher bodyfat levels. Designed to have big boobs and round butts.

Figure/Fitness Competitors: Medium muscle mass, low bodyfat levels, longer joints and more athletic looking overall. Designed to perform athletic moves like gymnastics (figure people are normally former fitness competitors) and be flexible.

Bodybuilders: Large muscle mass, low bodyfat levels but well proportioned (for the most part). Designed to stand stationary and hold poses but not high levels of functionality.


Which one is most feminine? Depends on your definition of feminine. I don't think more muscle makes a women less feminine, in fact I think it is attractive. My ideal person is a fitness/figure competitor who has the sleek physique but also can use it to its potential. I think Kelly Ryan is totally hot and having met her IRL I can tell you she is very feminine looking up close.

There is a lady bodybuilder from San Angelo, she's been getting alot of local press because she did well in Vegas about 2-3 months ago.Her name is Bonnie Priest she has a website if you want to see some pics you can also folow her diet adn training. In my opinion, the pictures in the paper and on her website make her look like a man.
I've heard, don't know if it's true, that she has to wear wigs because she's been on the stuff so much her hair has all fallen out. Her and her husband own a gym in San Angelo.

Originally posted by ponyboy



Which one is most feminine? Depends on your definition of feminine. I don't think more muscle makes a women less feminine, in fact I think it is attractive. My ideal person is a fitness/figure competitor who has the sleek physique but also can use it to its potential. I think Kelly Ryan is totally hot and having met her IRL I can tell you she is very feminine looking up close.

I agree with ponyboy here - everyone has their own programmed ideas about what is feminine and what is masculine. I think sometimes, since women's bodybuilding is a more recent phenomenon than men's, that there is a harsher stigma out there that defines a more massive, heavily muscled body on a woman as somehow being less feminine or unfeminine.

While it seems like male bodybuilders get wider acceptance, there are still lots of people out there who look at a Ronnie Coleman and go "yuck - too much muscle! It looks sick!" and don't identify that look as anything but hyper-masculine. Then there are always the comments about male bodybuilders trying to make up for inadequacies in other areas...like their height, their insecurities about their own manhood, and....uh...personal equipment. Like any stereotype, there is sometimes a degree of individual truth in those statements, but often no more than what is acted out in other ways by other men.

This also seems to happen with women, only more drastically. I've heard guys look at female bodybuilders and immediately say they must be "lesbian" simply because they look massive enough to kick their butts. Yet, there are guys out there who are attracted to women bodybuilders and don't see the "look" as masculine at all but as the development of the woman's own muscle potential.

The funny thing is that we sometimes ourselves encourage the stereotypes by maybe attaching too much attitude about how "feminine" or "masculine" our look should be - I remember Lee Haney saying once that he pictured his body the way that a man "should be"...then laughed and said that it was "maybe a little extreme."

The emphasis should be on whether the bodybuilder is healthy or not rather than try to attach a prescribed definition of masculinity or femininity on those who try to achieve something for themselves.

Two of my male students wrote on a recent essay exam question about how we stereotype about incidents where they were playing basketball and soccer with their buds and a girl wanted to play. Both students admitted they rolled their eyes at the idea....an immediate assumption that a feminine girl couldn't play at their level. In both cases, the guys finished their essay admitting that the young woman kicked butt on the B-Ball court and the soccer field and helped change their opinions about what a woman could do. Did that woman's ability to play those sports well make her "less feminine?"Of course not - but roll back the clock about 30 years, and you can bet she'd be called a "lesbian girl's PE teacher in the making!"

Originally posted by butterfly
I agree with the others. Most of us ladies don't want to look like Lenda Murray although we do admire her accomplishments!

I think our own Venus (Sheri Stewart) has a beautiful bod

wow,,, who is this girl,, she is flyyy !!!!!!!