# Ladies: Which male physique would you prefer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 28, 2007, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742 "2007-06-28T07:52:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/121 "2007-06-30T04:10:47Z")
[QUOTE=mazinger\_z] Hardly any replies to #4? (thanks to those that approved) Do you know how hard it is for me to maintain this? Where are my 4’s at? Holler. [/QUOTE] That’s the thing about these photos. I bet there is very little difference between 2,3, and 4 other than lighting, pose, and level of tanning. I could make myself look about 20lbs skinnier or heavier in different photos with lighting and sucking my stomach in. It’s really hard to compare the bodies of people who are fully relaxed to those who are trying to flex every muscle in their body. My husband looks like 2 when he’s just standing there, and like 4 when he’s flexing his arm and sucking his stomach in. He’s hot, although I prefer the unflexed version 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/122 "2007-06-30T04:17:02Z")
Eventually, the guy Dopers are going to band together and show a bunch of topless photos… …and then the landscape of the Dope will change after that. Okay, not “eventually”, but it’ll be a dark day. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/123 "2007-06-30T14:58:37Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] Eventually, the guy Dopers are going to band together and show a bunch of topless photos… [/QUOTE] Yes, please? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/124 "2007-06-30T15:21:18Z")
The first eight photos are of the same guy. > **[Natural Physiques](https://www.naturalphysiques.com/)** > > Expert tips, techniques, and tools for fast body fat loss, building lean muscle, losing weight, and lowering body fat percentage by natural proven methods. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/125 "2007-06-30T15:30:45Z")
#11 and #11 only. The rest of them all look like they either tried the Charles Atlas method and failed, or overdid it. Beer guts are horrid. I’m 44. I have never liked “built” guys–I’m more the Rob Petrie type–tall, lean, not so developed. Think professor (the sexy kind, not the eccentric old man genius kind!) I don’t think bulky muscles are attractive-especially the ones that these pics feature. Too much shoulder, to much disparity between shoulder and waist. I like guys who look fit, but not ones who look like they lift weights every day (I’m the same with women-although on women, muscle definition in the arms is quite sexy to me-alas, I do not have it…). Bob is ok, but I don’t like the tattoos. Yes, they’re enough of a turnoff to tip the balance for me. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/126 "2007-06-30T15:47:14Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] The first eight photos are of the same guy. [http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=144&page=1](http://www.naturalphysiques.com/cms/index.php?itemid=144&page=1) [/QUOTE] [Already noted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8727010&postcount=63) ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/127 "2007-06-30T16:27:28Z")
It’s been said before and it’ll be said again, but I’d go for 11. The boyfriend I was the most deeply in lust with looked similar, except his muscles were slightly better defined and he was paler. Nine is rather nice, too, but I’ve definitely got a thing for the thinner look. Something ever so slightly bulkier than 11 would be perfect, on par with a lean construction worker. And since “butterfaces” were mentioned earlier, I personally _will_ overlook flaws of face for a body I find attractive. I oggle men’s bodies all day long, thankyouverymuch. Don’t spend that much time looking above the necks. If I wanted to date him, I might, but everything I want to picture naked is down below. 26, female. ---
**Author:** ![Freezair\_SilverEye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Freezair\_SilverEye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freezair_SilverEye)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/128 "2007-06-30T17:09:19Z")
You know, this thread and the pictures therein has made me realize that I despise six-packs. I hate the look of them. They turn me off with a surprising quickness. That said, we’ve obviously got a vote for number 11 over here, again. Mmmm, the swimmer’s physique. He could use just a little bit of meat on the torso there so that his ribs aren’t sticking out, but mm, what a hot bod. But he’s out in the sun and he’s going to loose all that lovely paleness… bummer. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/129 "2007-06-30T19:08:18Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] You mean…you females like really skinny guys? Is there some sort of nurturing instinct that’s seated in there somewhere? [/QUOTE] Nope. It’s like some commedian said a couple of years ago (sorry, I can’t recall her name) “I prefer guys that look like I could take them in a fight.” 😃 Some women think muscle-bound guys look “safe” (like they’d defend your honor) and some find them kind of intimidating. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/130 "2007-07-01T01:00:41Z")
[QUOTE=elfkin477] Nope. It’s like some commedian said a couple of years ago (sorry, I can’t recall her name) “I prefer guys that look like I could take them in a fight.” 😃 Some women think muscle-bound guys look “safe” (like they’d defend your honor) and some find them kind of intimidating. [/QUOTE] True enough, but I find muscle bound guys to be boring. I always did. I don’t CARE how much you can lift. I don’t want to know. Please talk about something else. I also don’t like the ripped T-shirt look–I never found Sly Stallone attractive, for example. I don’t think it has anything to do with nurture, just hardwiring. I like tall and lean. I don’t care so much about balding, but too much hair (body) is a turn off too. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/131 "2007-07-01T02:24:07Z")
I prefer 2. I like 'em tall and solid, with hints of muscle. My SO is somewhere between 1 and 2. I’m 29. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/132 "2007-07-01T16:23:00Z")
The funny thing about this is that guy 11 is pretty much just youth. You can’t really work out or diet for that look. If you’re active and young, you look like that. If you’re active and older, you don’t. You either put on more muscle than him (which you ladies don’t seem to like much) or you look scrawny from either not eating very much or doing endurance sports, but you can’t keep that look past your mid-twenties unless you win the genetic lottery. I used to look a lot like guy 11—with a bit more muscle from doing stuff like springboard diving and rock climbing—up until I was about 23–24. Around age 23, my whole body changed and I went from being able to wear the same stuff I’d worn since I was 16, to being too big in the shoulders and waist to wear any of it. I had some pants that a couple of years before still fit me okay and I couldn’t even get my leg in them. I hadn’t changed my diet or my activity much. I was still in pretty good shape, with about a 1/2 inch of pinchable fat on my stomach, but my body structure had changed. I just got thicker. That change was double-edged. I found out I could put on muscle pretty easily, and I was able to lift weights and do strength moves I never could have handled in my teens, but I also had to watch what I ate for the first time in my life. I’m never going to look lean like my late-teens, early-20s again. If I’m in shape, I’m pretty much going to be a bit blocky. I found out when I was trying to lose weight a couple of years ago that I need to do some weight lifting because cardio alone doesn’t seem to cut it for me. Even if I cut my calorie intake down, I’d still be thicker overall than when I was younger, and it wouldn’t look good on me any more. For the record, this is what Brad Pitt, the former ectomorph, looks like in Troy. [http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/dvd\_mtro042.jpg](http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/dvd_mtro042.jpg) [http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/dvd\_mtro043.jpg](http://www.bradpittfan.com/pics/dvd_mtro043.jpg) Granted, he probably bulked a little for that movie, but supposedly most of that muscle came from doing the training for the fights. I can actually buy that because even using lighter-weight materials than the originals, his armor, shield, and weapons are not especially undemanding to use. He looks a lot more like the guy in pictures 7 or 8 than 11. I’m pretty sure that now that he’s older he’s got to work at it more, and he can’t stay slim just by being active. And he obviously _did_ win the genetic lottery. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/133 "2007-07-01T18:52:02Z")
If you’re saying that people are attracted to youth, **Sleel** , I wouldn’t argue. Of course, we’re talking about attraction here, not about who we would settle down and raise a family with. I think most people end up with someone very similar on the attraction scale as they are, and all this blue-skying doesn’t really mean much. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/134 "2007-07-01T20:01:44Z")
Can I have [Chris Lowell](http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0972412/Ss/0972412/109584_331_pre.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Lowell,%20Chris)? Not as skinny as #11, not as big as the others. Bob the trainer is yummy too. I wanted to say Jonathan Tucker (Tommy Donnelly from _The Black Donnellys_), but I could not find a picture of him which…showed off his body… ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/135 "2007-07-02T03:38:24Z")
For sexings, 9 or 11. 9 I know for sure I’d enjoy (assuming some skill on his part), and 11 I’m curious about, as I’ve never had a thing to do with a skinny boy. For dating, 2 for sure. I like snuggling up to men who have a sort of natural athleticism to them. I don’t like the carved-out-of-wood look so much; I think a little extra to poke at is nice because it just looks more human. edit: whoops, I’m 25. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/136 "2007-07-02T04:20:52Z")
#11 or a less muscle is fine with me. I’ve never been attracted to big, bulky guys. I’d rather the lanky type. Mr J is skinny but not quite as toned as #11. He’s more cuddly and I like it that way. I’m 21. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/137 "2007-07-02T06:51:04Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] If you’re saying that people are attracted to youth, **Sleel** , I wouldn’t argue. Of course, we’re talking about attraction here, not about who we would settle down and raise a family with. I think most people end up with someone very similar on the attraction scale as they are, and all this blue-skying doesn’t really mean much. [/QUOTE] Yeah, not much to argue with there. The, “He looks like he’s in shape from being active, not from being a gym rat,” remarks were annoying. He’s _young_ and slim. The same guy with the same activity and diet won’t have the same build in 20 years. I don’t mind people expressing their attraction for it, because yes youth is attractive, but can we please stop rationalizing the ebophilia by pretending it’s something else? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/138 "2007-07-02T09:32:58Z")
I know. It’s so hard for men when their bodies are objectified and held to unreasonable standards of attractiveness. 😃 I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. But for what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re _wrong_. When I look at 11, my first thought is “Well that looks nice, but I think I could possibly go to jail for touching it.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/139 "2007-07-02T10:19:15Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > While we’re sorting the myths from the realities about what women like vs. what men _think_ women like, we don’t care about baldness, either. If you’re going bald, get a very short haircut and pretend that’s what you wanted in the first place. Women don’t care anywhere near as much as guys do. Amen! I care about whether whatever hair is there is clean or not. I’ll appreciate good hair, but really, I’d much rather kiss a bald spot than date a curtain. [QUOTE=featherlou] Okay, how about this? [Mike Holmes from the tv reno show “Holmes on Homes”](http://www.holmesonhomes.com/mike_holmes.php). He’s a big boy, but he’s worked at construction since forever - I don’t think his muscles come from a gym. He’s not normally my type, but he can build a house for you from top to bottom - how sexy is that? [/QUOTE] RAWWWWR! Oh my. Uhm, excuse me, once I can pick myself up from the floor I’ll be in my bunk… And like I said in my first post, 11 isn’t skinny at all! He’s muscular; he happens to have a slim build (more “runner” than “rugby player”) and I like 'em big - but he’s not _skinny_. People who see him and think “skinny” are the same ones who’d see me or my professional-mountain-climber cousin and think we’re fat because we have thick legs and arms. Less TV and more reality, guys 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742/140 "2007-07-02T11:09:53Z")
I’m showing this thread to my husband, who is a pure 11, and usually self-conscious about his skinniness. 7 is not half bad either though. And the squishy guys were way preferable to the overly bulked up ones. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ladies-which-male-physique-would-you-prefer/409742.md?page=8)