Again, that’s related to dieting not muscles. Competition rewards the lowest body fat % that you can achieve, and it makes your faces drawn and gaunt. I think it looks hideous. But it has nothing to do with how large your muscles are.
Whatever you do, don’t google “barbie barbell”.
Competition level women bodybuilders? I would say no.
Women who lift heavy but don’t take the necessary legal or illegal supplements needed to get big and bulky? Good stuff. I like strength in a women, but too much muscle mass is a turn off. Just enough is great. In fact, too little is a turn off too. Nothing turns me off faster than a jiggly arm on a woman, well except for 16" biceps.
I second this succint opinion. There’s a few competitors at my gym and I find them rather unattractive, regardless of sex.
Now that is hot. She doesn’t look freaky, she just seems very strong. A definite turn on.
edit: just found her myspace page and it says she is 16… so hot in a non-sexual way… 
She’s not my type, but I’d say she’s hot. Not too overmuscled at all.
What ever could your point be? Have you ever seen them on TV? Seen one in real life?
Abhorrent?
Really?
Steroids have many beneficial uses, and their negative effects have been greatly over hyped by the media.
Even if you come down on the side that says we shouldn’t use them, it’s hardly abhorrent to talk about their responsible use.
Or do you mean that at that site you’ll find rampant and open discussion about how to ABUSE steroids? That’s something completely different.
Anyway. . .to the OP. . .I don’t know how “attractive” I find it. Mainly because it looks too mannish to me. I think that having a romp with some of them might be fun, just for the variety. I’ve looked at “fat chick porn” in the past, too, but I don’t find them “attractive”.
I do like athletic and toned, though.
So, no on the 18’s then? 
I’m going to try and see if I can show that not all female bodybuilders are created equal. As with many endeavors, bodybuilding can be taken to varying lengths and in varying directions.
I think that, for female bodybuilders, the true watershed comes with the decision to take or not take testosterone and/or human growth hormone, which leads to clear masculinization (e.g. receding hairline, jaw widening, etc.). Steroids, when taken, have their own side effects, but don’t always detract from a woman’s facial beauty … it’s a more hit-and-miss thing. Of course, the desirability or undesirability of any athlete will be up to the eye of the beholder … and all of the women of which I am going to post pictures have many fans and admirers.
I will not hot-link the sites, so that thread viewers will not inadvertently click open a pic. There is no nudity or pop-ups, but I wouldn’t consider these pics work-appropriate as there are many bikini shots. The URLs will work if pasted into the Address Bar, and the space between the two forward slashes is removed (turn http:/ / into http://)
The first set is of bodybuilder Nekole Hamrick, who won the heavyweight portion of the contest mentioned in the OP (the IFBB North Americans). She demonstrates that a winning physique can be built without resorting to the “skeletal” face and non-feminine proportion. There is a big difference, IMHO, between a muscular female body (of which Nekole is an excellent example) and a muscular male body. They don’t blend together for me … I can clearly note the different proportion and shapes between the two forms.
http:/ /farm2.static.flickr.com/1183/1305835737_b860c436db_o.jpg
http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/genex/contests/2007/northamericans/522677.jpg
http:/ /www.hardfitness.com/competitions/northamericans2007/npcbodybuilding/heavyweight/nekolehamrick/finals/images/DSC_4590.jpg
http:/ /www.hardfitness.com/competitions/northamericans2007/npcbodybuilding/heavyweight/nekolehamrick/finals/images/DSC_4595.jpg
http:/ /www.hardfitness.com/competitions/northamericans2007/npcbodybuilding/heavyweight/nekolehamrick/finals/images/DSC_4612.jpg
http:/ /www.hardfitness.com/competitions/northamericans2007/npcbodybuilding/heavyweight/nekolehamrick/finals/images/DSC_4628.jpg
The following pics are of of pro competitor Tazzie Colomb. She won the most recent pro contest, the Europa, a few weeks ago. The first picture is from the 2007 Europa; the others are from the mid-90s. The changes in both her physique and facial features/hairline are apparent. She is the kind of athlete I think that turns a lot of men off to female bodybuilders. I do not mean that pejoratively … I appreciate her physique quite a lot, and she is a hometown girl made good.
http:/ /www.hardfitness.com/competitions/europa2007/probodybuilding/proheavyweight/tazziecolomb/finals/images/DSC_9862.jpg
http:/ /www.raymartin.net/rmclubs/0-intros/tcolomb110/club01/images/1799.004b.jpg
http:/ /www.raymartin.net/common/themes/hardpad/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&afid=&hid=RM
http:/ /www.raymartin.net/common/themes/hardpad/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&afid=&hid=RM
The folowing pics, from a 2004 show, are of Brazilian competitor Renee Toney. She has taken her physique to a level that feminine proportions are lost.
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0281.jpg
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0088.jpg
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0111.jpg
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0154.jpg
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0247.jpg
http:/ /www.femuscle.org/galleries/WPF04/FO_04MsUniverse_0292.jpg
The next to sets of pics are of amateur bodybuilder Jennifer Abrams and figure competitor Elissa Schlicter (who was an amateur bodybuilder in the 90s). Like Nekole Hamrick above, these two women represent a less extreme direction in physical development. Abrams has borne two children during her competitive career. Schlicter is 47 years old, and IMHO her exercise regimen has helped her look a lot younger.
http:/ /wpw.net/common/themes/wpw/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&hid=WP
http:/ /wpw.net/common/themes/wpw/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&hid=WP
http:/ /wpw.net/common/themes/wpw/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&hid=WP
http:/ /wpw.net/common/themes/wpw/x.asp?c=/newfindex.html&hid=WP
http:/ /wpw.net/wpwclubs/0-intros/jabrams681/club02/images/ja2.011b.jpg
http:/ /wpw.net/wpwclubs/0-intros/lschlichter705/club01/images/ls1.021b.jpg
http:/ /wpw.net/wpwclubs/0-intros/lschlichter705/club04/images/ls4.012b.jpg
Gee, you think?
I cannot, no matter how hard I squint or strain the limits of my imagination, see that as anything other than a heavily-muscled, poorly-endowed man in a bikini.
bordelond, that didn’t help the yes crowd’s case in my opinion. My reactions went from repulsed to disgusted to horrified. I can understand having a furry kink more than people thinking that’s attractive.
Heh. You know, looking at some of those photos, it really reminds one how much lighting, pose—and the presence or absence of whatever that hideous oil is that they use for competitions effects how a person looks.
Witness, for example, how the aforementioned Jennifer Abrams looks here and here, as opposed to here and here.
Just to be clear … do all five of these athletes belong in the very same “GROSS!” bucket? Or are some distinctly “grosser” than others? For me, Schlicter is very different from Toney, for example. It would be very interesting to if others regarded them as having basically the same physique.
I didn’t figure it would change anyone’s minds about women like Colomb or Toney. I thought the other three would be seen as clearly less masculine, and perhaps more pleasing to the eye to some viewers, especially since they don’t have the “skeletal” face.
I couldn’t help but laugh because it looks like over-muscled man trying to be sexy in a bikini.
Being used to this type of physique seems to make a difference. To me, her face is essentially the same in all four pics. That’s one of the reasons I picked her as an example … her face doesn’t get all that drawn for competition.
I mentally ignore the Pro-Tan and the oil … it’s necessary for the harsh competition lighting, and it’s gone soon enough.
Yeah, even among rabid female bodybuilding fans, Renee Toney is a controversial figure. Most FBB aficionados will point to her and say “now that’s going too far!” while fawning over women like Colomb.
I’m curious about OneChance’s opinion of the five women I posted pics of above. To lay my own cards on the table, my line is drawn at obvious signs of testosterone and HGH use. I also am attracted to definition more than sheer size, though I can appreciate the determination necessary to development pro-level muscularity.
Trunk, read my Photoshop remark in the context of the photos posted. Some of them have clearly been altered, like the one with Victoria Pratt.
Trunk, meet Renee Toney, meet body builder, meet steroid abuse.
Steroids do have their useful medicinal uses but I think body building falls outside of this category.
Also, what do you define as “responsible use” and the abuse of steroids?
Out of further curiosity, I’ll post some pictures of figure competitors, who are docked considerably in competition for possessing too much muscle. I am curious if these women, too, are considered disgusting:
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/082707/196006.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/071907/477788.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/082707/482771.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/082107/IMG_8293.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/080907/465766.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/080907/IMG_4275.jpg
- http:/ /tour.ftvideo.com/content/free_samples/080907/IMG_4184.jpg
This is a whole different world from full-blown bodybuilding, admittedly. But these women train very hard to acheive their physiques all the same.
It is annoying having to copy and paste and fix the space in the address, so I only checked out the first two. Other than the horrid tans, they look ok to me.