Just a question...

I admit, I tuned in to the premier of "Dancing with the Stars" this evening. I have somehow been sucked in to the silliness.

I do have one question, however. Why is an athletic woman labeled "masculine?" Why is being "fit" masculine? Why can't being fit be a feminine quality? Why can't we just describe her as "athletic?"

Olympian volleyball player Misty May Treanor is one of the "celebrity" contestants on the show this year. She is an Olympic athlete and she thus has a well-toned, trim, muscular build. Instead of describing her as fit, or toned, or athletic, she was described in her introductory video clip as being very "masculine," simply because she has muscles. Apparently women can't have muscles. In 2008, even Gold medal-winning athletes, beautiful women who have husbands and children and complete lives outside their sport are still "masculine" because they play sports.

I don't know, but it just annoyed me. I guess it is just another of the many examples of unnecessary labeling and gender stereotyping that continue to permeate our culture.