# Muscular Women **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 13, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069 "2012-07-13T00:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/1 "2012-07-13T00:53:15Z")
Out of curiosity, for those of you who find women sexually attractive, what do you feel about women with conspicuous musculature, as in [this photo](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/375605_10151022788492871_1040168329_n.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/2 "2012-07-13T01:05:32Z")
_Natural_ muscle on a woman is attractive, IF the woman is attractive herself. Kinda like when people ask what is your “type”, I say “hot”. But ‘juiced’ women, aka professional bodybuilders, are an absolute abomination. There is a reason why women don’t have nearly the same levels of testosterone as men. They are WOMEN. When they strive to look like men, they lose me. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/3 "2012-07-13T01:13:13Z")
So, how do you feel about the woman whose picture I linked to? I very specifically chose a woman who is obviously muscular but who appears to still have her natural breasts and is not at a Schwarzenegger level of musculature. She is still very feminine, but just as obviously powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/4 "2012-07-13T01:18:00Z")
Based on that photo, I’d actually suspect any guy who is attracted to that look of being a repressed homosexual. That woman may as well be Arnie in drag. Note that, _per_ the OP, I don’t mean “toned”–I mean grotesquely built-up. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/5 "2012-07-13T01:19:39Z")
Raawwwwwrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/6 "2012-07-13T01:23:50Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > So, how do you feel about the woman whose picture I linked to? I very specifically chose a woman who is obviously muscular but who appears to still have her natural breasts and is not at a Schwarzenegger level of musculature. She is still very feminine, but just as obviously powerful. I have serious doubts as to whether she is a natural bodybuilder or not. To me, she looks like a juicer but she’s not quite as extreme as the on-stage appearances of some of the pro bodybuilders. I am not attracted to her. I have _respect_ for her physique; knowing what it takes to achieve such a body, but no sexual attraction. ETA: Upon second look, _totally_ convinced she has chemical assistance. And, just because she still has _some_ amount of breast tissue left doesn’t mean she didn’t begin with much more. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/7 "2012-07-13T01:25:05Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > Based on that photo, I’d actually suspect any guy who is attracted to that look of being a repressed homosexual. That woman may as well be Arnie in drag. > > Note that, _per_ the OP, I don’t mean “toned”–I mean grotesquely built-up. You and I (the OP) obviously have different opinions on toned vs. “grotesquely” built-up as I would consider the woman linked to be far closer to the former than the latter. Also, please keep in mind that sexuality is a continuum, and that there is more to it than straight, repressed, and gay. I’m a bisexual cisgendered man and I find the woman linked in the photo to be unbelievably hot. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/8 "2012-07-13T01:30:31Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > Based on that photo, I’d actually suspect any guy who is attracted to that look of being a repressed homosexual. That woman may as well be Arnie in drag. This is just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/9 "2012-07-13T01:32:10Z")
Women do not look good with bulging, veiny, sharp-edged muscles. She looks like a transexual. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/10 "2012-07-13T01:34:02Z")
There wasn’t answer to the poll that I thought was quite right. A little bit goes a long way. The woman pictured in the OP is a little bit too much. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/11 "2012-07-13T01:35:05Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > ETA: Upon second look, _totally_ convinced she has chemical assistance. And, just because she still has _some_ amount of breast tissue left doesn’t mean she didn’t begin with much more. I’m not arguing that point. Any person, man or woman, who has that kind of definition is going to look chemically enhanced and/or “unnatural” to me, but the person linked is still very much in the middle of the pack when it comes to muscular women I have seen. > [@Absolute](#): > > Women do not look good with bulging, veiny, sharp-edged muscles. She looks like a transexual. My last partner is trans, and one of my best friends is also trans. If she looks trans to you, I doubt you’re very familiar with trans people outside of porn. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/12 "2012-07-13T01:36:05Z")
I voted Hetero|Male|Indifferent. But after looking at the picture, I might be leaning a bit toward the Repulsive option. Can’t really explain why. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/13 "2012-07-13T01:36:08Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > You and I (the OP) obviously have different opinions on toned vs. “grotesquely” built-up as I would consider the woman linked to be far closer to the former than the latter. > > Also, please keep in mind that sexuality is a continuum, and that there is more to it than straight, repressed, and gay. I’m a bisexual cisgendered man and I find the woman linked in the photo to be unbelievably hot. Fair enough. But certainly, you’re attracted to guys and find that woman attractive, which is really what I was getting at. Anyway, that woman’s left arm looks like it was stolen from a He-Man action figure, complete with bulging vein. Her breasts are almost non-existent and she’s sporting a six-pack. Compare with [this image](http://www.i-want-abs.com/images/female-six-pack.jpg), the first I found when running a Google image search on “toned women bodies”. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/14 "2012-07-13T02:01:30Z")
> [@Lobot](#): > > Fair enough. But certainly, you’re attracted to guys and find that woman attractive, which is really what I was getting at. The two men who you have likely heard of and who I find most attractive are Paul Rudd and Hugh Grant. Neither are muscular, and both are considered effeminate based on what I’ve heard others say about them. There’s really no correlation between the woman linked in the OP (I don’t even know her name) and the men who I find attractive other than them not being very representative of their genders. That said, being a bisexual cisgendered male, the point of the thread _ **is** _ to see if there is any correlation between sex, gender, and orientation amongst the SDMB. I’ve also asked my friends on various social media, and the consensus so far is that the heteros tend to be squicked. ---
**Author:** ![Ele\_the\_Stoic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4bbf92/32.png) [@Ele\_the\_Stoic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ele_the_Stoic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/15 "2012-07-13T02:04:18Z")
Indifferent. I’d have to see that woman in a more normal (for her) setting before I’d lean one way or the other. She obviously wears makeup and has feminine fingernails, so I won’t hold it against her that she’s in a exercise setting which is traditionally masculine. She has a nice enough physique, she seems to have a pretty face, and I’m certainly not repulsed by her, but it leads me to assume things about her personality that I might not particularly want in a wife or girlfriend. Again, I’d have to see her “normal”. And strong pectoral muscles and low bodyfat will make any woman’s chest look masculine. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/16 "2012-07-13T02:06:55Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > _Natural_ muscle on a woman is attractive, IF the woman is attractive herself. Kinda like when people ask what is your “type”, I say “hot”. But ‘juiced’ women, aka professional bodybuilders, are an absolute abomination. There is a reason why women don’t have nearly the same levels of testosterone as men. They are WOMEN. When they strive to look like men, they lose me. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Woman in the linked picture is repulsive. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/17 "2012-07-13T02:12:23Z")
Not repulsive but unattractive. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/18 "2012-07-13T02:23:20Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Not repulsive but unattractive. This. Though, I voted for “repulsive” because that’s the closest answer to the question I think you’re asking. She’s not repulsive as in “I can’t look without wanting to puke” she’s repulsive as in “I would have trouble being sexually aroused by that.” (Though, never underestimate the power of beer-goggles… that can get you in trouble!) ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/19 "2012-07-13T02:38:06Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > Out of curiosity, for those of you who find women sexually attractive, what do you feel about women with conspicuous musculature, as in [this photo](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/375605_10151022788492871_1040168329_n.jpg)? I think she’s pretty hot. I like defined muscles and zero body fat. And small boobs. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/20 "2012-07-13T02:44:04Z")
“Repulsive” may be a bit too harsh, but that sort of bulkiness is a turnoff for me. Tone without excessive bulk is another matter altogether, though. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069.md?page=2)