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One of the reasons this misguided view formed is when men lift weights, they tend to gain a lot of muscle quickly. Women assume this will also happen to them. Bodybuilding magazines help strengthen this misconception with photos of very muscular female bodybuilders and fitness models. What the ordinary female gym-goer doesn't know is female bodybuilders work hard and over a long period of time for their muscles. They will typically supplement their weight lifting and diet with different substances and therefore, tend to look more muscular and may be seen as "manly."
These effects will not happen for the natural female athlete without specific training geared towards those results. If you don't want big muscles, you won't have them. Women simply don't have the natural testosterone.
According to Bill Kreamer in Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, women have about 15 to 20 times less testosterone than men. It is physically impossible for a woman to become as muscular as a man without putting intense effort toward that goal. Time plays an important role as well - gaining that type of muscle is not an overnight thing. As a female, even if you worked out every single day of the week and trained as heavily as you could, you still would not be able to gain the same amount of muscle as a man. Most female bodybuilders have to take additional substances to assist them in their muscle building efforts. It is a difficult and long process that people train their entire lives for, so don't worry about extraordinary muscle growth from lifting a couple of weights.
Now, having dispelled the myth that you will miraculously grow bulky muscles from weight lifting, here is the ultimate benefit of weight lifting: body re-engineering power. By strategically training for your desired result, you can make your body look however you want. Weight lifting, ironically, can help you lose weight by increasing your muscle mass and in turn, your resting metabolic rate. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so more muscle means burning more calories doing nothing.
Furthermore, lifting weights burns calories while you are actively doing it and for a few hours after. Although cardio is integral to losing weight, it is not wise for it to be your only form of exercise. Lifting weights will not make you bulky, but instead will give you an all around better body composition and allow you to keep your curve without the jiggle.
