01.04.2005:Women Who Look Like Men Out of Vogue in Bodybuilding

This is the headline of an article this week in Tacaoma Washington.

More from this article, full article at newstribune.com:

Women who look like men are out of vogue in bodybuilding.

If it weren't for the mostly empty bikini tops and makeup, it would be hard to tell who's male and who's female in a lineup of recent champions.

The hyper-masculine look has driven women who would like to compete but still keep their curves--and not wreck their health with steroids--out of the sport, said Sandy Riedinger, the Kentucky state chairman of the National Physique Committee, which sets the rules for how bodies are judged.

So to win them back, NPC and other industry groups have given women new goals.