ABSTRACT: Why do women work out? The reasons are plentiful: the pursuit of physical fitness; improved health; improved self-esteem; the strength and assurance to defend oneself. All good reasons. Why then, on the road to health and fitness, do some women become compelled to go further and compete as female bodybuilders? Why does one choose to become "less feminine" -- to work her body to the point that she, physically, begins to look "more masculine?"
My paper will explore that issue. I will explore the definitions of "feminine" and "masculine" and whether our definitions are accurate. I will also examine these definitions in a social context. After all, are the images the media sells us of waif thin models with no discernable curves, any more feminine than the physique of a bodybuilder? Are these two images not just different extremes on the same spectrum?