# Female Bodybuilders...Hot or Not? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 1, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760 "2007-09-01T23:22:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/1 "2007-09-01T23:22:01Z")
There’s a bodybuilder convention or something in town this weekend, and we’ve had several participants in the store as customers…really short Spanish-speaking men, and guys with tans that look so strange in this day and age. One of the female bodybuilders was across the hall, buying a cookie, and we were amused to see the reaction she was getting from the guys just walking through the mall. She was not dressed so unusually that you would notice her from afar, and she was on the short side. She was wearing a tank top and short shorts, but the most noticeable thing about her was the definition in her arms…guy arms like that just catch the eye. No chest to speak of,…just pecs or delts,whatever those chest muscles are called…very much a guy chest. And she wasn’t especially attractive, not ugly…just average, with average blonde hair. But the men…stopping, staring…one group of older teen boys must have doubled back about three times to take another look. There are plenty of women walking around dressed similarly who don’t even get glanced at, so all the attention seemed odd to us. And we wondered…are they staring at her because they are attracted to a heavily muscled girl and find it sexy, or because she looked odd and they found it…odd. Is the thought of a female bodybuiler attractive to most men, or just the idea that here stands a woman who would eagerly strip down to a tiny bathing suit and pose for you, as my coworker thinks? Do men stare because of the freak quotient, or do they really find this pleasing to look at? We have had absolutely stunning women walk through the mall and get not a second glance, but this kind of plain woman gets a crowd because of her shoulders and arms. Unless, of course, all the men in the vicinity were fans of the sport and recognized her as a star of some kind…that thought just occurred to me. (I never recognize the major league ball players or rap stars who stroll through the mall, but they attract a crowd, and that I notice) But in general…is this a hot look? And why? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/2 "2007-09-01T23:31:35Z")
I’ve seen several very fit women who are also very attractive. Humans seem to select for physically healthy mates (by instinct?), & strength **is** a qualification for that. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/3 "2007-09-01T23:32:24Z")
Eh, I’ve seen a couple that are pretty hot, but its not really the bodybuilding that makes it. Gotta have a pretty face, nice smile/teeth, great hair and look generally healthy. Don’t need to lift weights for any of that. The really gnarly ones with huge bulging muscles are pretty nasty, I think. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2007, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/4 "2007-09-01T23:52:39Z")
It depends. Are we talking about [Nicole Bass](http://www.popstarsplus.com/images/NicoleBassPicture.jpg) or [Jen Heath](http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/raJenHeath/image009.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![OneChance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/74df32/32.png) [@OneChance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneChance)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/5 "2007-09-02T00:07:58Z")
That’s too general of a question. If I said I was attracted to women with muscles, that doesn’t mean I like every woman with any amount of muscle. Like if you were attracted to tall guys. Does that mean you like every single tall guy? And what you consider “heavily muscled” is probably just lightly muscled because you haven’t been around a lot of muscular people. IMO, here’s heavily muscled and very attractive: [http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/JodyMay/dscf1276.jpg](http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/JodyMay/dscf1276.jpg) Here’s lightly muscled and very attractive: [http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/SummerAthlete/dsc08928.jpg](http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/SummerAthlete/dsc08928.jpg) Here’s heavily muscled, which I find impressive but not particularly attractive: [http://www.amgprofiles.com/Jana/Pics/Jana7006.jpg](http://www.amgprofiles.com/Jana/Pics/Jana7006.jpg) And here’s mainstream muscular that I think is just toned: [http://www.181st.net/celebrity-galleries/Jessica-Biel/pictures/Jessica-Biel\_sex.jpg](http://www.181st.net/celebrity-galleries/Jessica-Biel/pictures/Jessica-Biel_sex.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/6 "2007-09-02T00:27:01Z")
A female firefighter in my town decided to get heavily into bodybuilding, and because we worked out at the same, I got to see her transformation up close. This is all in my opinion, of course, but in my mind she started out as kinda plain, and as the body fat came off and the muscles developed, she went smoking hot for a month or so. Then when the bulk started building up, she went the other way fast. Her neck and thighs got thick, and she started looking more and more masculine. She does get looked at a lot, but more as a curiosity than as an attractive woman. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/7 "2007-09-02T00:34:02Z")
[QUOTE=OneChance] That’s too general of a question. If I said I was attracted to women with muscles, that doesn’t mean I like every woman with any amount of muscle. Like if you were attracted to tall guys. Does that mean you like every single tall guy? And what you consider “heavily muscled” is probably just lightly muscled because you haven’t been around a lot of muscular people. IMO, here’s heavily muscled and very attractive: [http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/JodyMay/dscf1276.jpg](http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/JodyMay/dscf1276.jpg) Here’s lightly muscled and very attractive: [http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/SummerAthlete/dsc08928.jpg](http://www.herbiceps.com/free/pics/SummerAthlete/dsc08928.jpg) Here’s heavily muscled, which I find impressive but not particularly attractive: [http://www.amgprofiles.com/Jana/Pics/Jana7006.jpg](http://www.amgprofiles.com/Jana/Pics/Jana7006.jpg) And here’s mainstream muscular that I think is just toned: [http://www.181st.net/celebrity-galleries/Jessica-Biel/pictures/Jessica-Biel\_sex.jpg](http://www.181st.net/celebrity-galleries/Jessica-Biel/pictures/Jessica-Biel_sex.jpg) [/QUOTE] All of those are repulsive in my opinion. I like fit women but generally petite and somewhat rounded. I just can’t take a masculine looking woman as a potential date under any circumstances. I guess there must be a line that I could stand between plain fit and bulging muscles but she would probably need to be smoking hot to begin with anyway if she wants to go that route. I take part of that back. I just looked at the last one and she may be pretty. She is not repulsive and may look semi-good in person. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/8 "2007-09-02T00:38:16Z")
I find female bodybuilders very unattractive. I would probably stare though just because it is out of the ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/9 "2007-09-02T00:40:15Z")
Definitely not hot. That third link in Shag’s post is going to give me nightmares. Thanks buddy… ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/10 "2007-09-02T01:01:43Z")
Generally very unattractive, I like curves blah blah etc… ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/11 "2007-09-02T01:08:08Z")
Not, not, a thousand times, not. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/12 "2007-09-02T01:24:05Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I take part of that back. I just looked at the last one and she may be pretty. She is not repulsive and may look semi-good in person. [/QUOTE] That’s Jessica Biel, a Hollywood starlet mostly known for not being a stick. She doesn’t look as muscular in most photos as she does there but [she’s obviously in good shape](http://www.jessica-biel.com.ar/pictures/jessica-biel.jpg). I’ll leave it to the straight male population of the SDMB to elaborate on that description if they so choose. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/13 "2007-09-02T01:37:30Z")
They scare me. ---
**Author:** ![633squadron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/ee59a6/32.png) [@633squadron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/633squadron)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/14 "2007-09-02T01:44:59Z")
[QUOTE=kittenblue] But in general…is this a hot look? And why? [/QUOTE] Can’t say there are any generalities. I’ve been strength training for years, so I’ve run into many female bodybuilders. Some look hot, some look strange. I think muscles make pleasing curves, and of course hypertrophied pectorals add to a woman’s, uh, “assets”. I also think some women overdo it. But so do some men. What I find particularly ugly is the “ripped” look competitive bodybuilders put on for competitions. It’s done with a combination of high protein diets that burn out fat, and reduction in water intake. I find it both ugly and unhealthy. Attractiveness is all mental, anyway, IMHO. The sexiest part of a woman’s body is her… hmmm, well, her mind is certainly in the top 3. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/15 "2007-09-02T01:54:24Z")
Totally depends on the woman. Besides Nicole Bass, I don’t think any of the women linked to in this thread are ugly, though the third girl in **OneChance** ’s post isn’t all that attractive. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/16 "2007-09-02T02:02:26Z")
Love 'em. The more muscular the better. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/17 "2007-09-02T02:22:32Z")
I don’t like them. But I don’t like male body builders either. I like a more natural look for both men and women. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/18 "2007-09-02T02:44:25Z")
Definitely not my thing at all. Anything more toned or muscular than the above linked Jessica Biel and Jen Heath pics is too much for me. Personally I found the first pic in **OneChance’s** post to be the most jarring. Cute face yes, but her arms look like they were taken right off a man. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/19 "2007-09-02T02:46:29Z")
A female body-builder is one ugly woman. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2007, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760/20 "2007-09-02T02:47:30Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] A female body-builder is one ugly woman. Period. [/QUOTE] Wrong. The don’t get periods. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/female-bodybuilders-hot-or-not/417760.md?page=2)