When you're lean, your face looks like that. My own experience - I've been training in the same gym at the same time of day for the last 4 yrs. For the most part I have a group of friends (mostly guys) who I hang out w/ but don't directly train with. I generally don't get any comments when I'm off-season, but when I get to within 4 weeks of my competition date, let me tell you about the attention I get. Weirdly, particularly from guys in their 20s. I'm 46. I also get a lot of questions from the girls who I don't normally talk to, who all say "I want to look like you, just not as big."
Another example of perception - I was out at a club w/ some friends (who don't compete) in Vegas on Olympia weekend last year - 1 week out from my own competition. Sure, being out all night didn't really help me in terms of how bloated & tired I looked the next day, but it was one of those MUST DO nights. But anyway, we were out at this club and I got ALOT of attention from the guys at the club, but MUCH MORE from the women. Every time I got off the dancefloor I had more of them stop me and start asking diet & training question than you would believe.
The thing is that the look is DIFFERENT. Because the mainstream is pretty much uninformed and FAT is the norm, they all assume it must be roids because they all have no idea how to get their bodyfat below 25 % cuz they can't fathom the idea of giving up liquor and snacks and stick to regular training & cardio, and view their goals in terms of I MUST LOSE 20 lb BY NEXT WEEK! In other words, its not a lifestyle for them, so its completely foreign. Therefore it must be ok to make comments about. Its not polite to make comments about chubby people, but the minute you're in shape, you're judged against the measuring stick of "the hottest model you ever saw in a magazine". Which is fine, except the goals are completely different. BB is a visual sport, so it is judged subjectively and on criteria that is completely different for different people in terms of what they find attractive, even "attractive" is not really the criteria of judging. Aesthetic, yes, "attractive", or more specifically "fuckable" is really what drives people's perception of women.
The difference between Iris & Lenda, personally I think is more in their natural facial features. I kinda view Lenda as more of a model face while Iris is more of an athlete face. The context is sort of like Hope Solo, the US Women's Olympic Soccer team goalie who has been competing on Dancing w/ the Stars. She looks wonderfully athletic, and then they dress her up like a dancer. She hits as not a model but rather an athlete dressed up - she still looks great but not w/ the same 'ease' of looking great as someone like Nicole Sherzinger.
Outside of that, again, if you cover up their faces, IMO they look about on par w/ Iris' physique probably being the more 'perfect' across the board.
