# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/61 "2012-07-13T15:41:06Z")
I voted indifferent, but like John DiFool, there should be another category for women who aren’t quite as extreme as in the picture the OP linked, which I find not to be attractive, but isn’t quite to the [repulsive](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=D8i&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1010&bih=623&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsl&tbnid=sTulk9nsxwgLTM:&imgrefurl=http://ultimatefitnessbreakthrough.com/8-myths-that-make-you-fat/&docid=DO0L_b7G9Q1N2M&imgurl=http://ultimatefitnessbreakthrough.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/muscular-woman1.jpg&w=684&h=1024&ei=cUAAUPniNIqc2QXjzuCaBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=280&vpy=174&dur=1423&hovh=275&hovw=183&tx=114&ty=157&sig=108158042263569158783&page=1&tbnh=121&tbnw=85&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:18,s:0,i:159) level yet; I’d rather have a women who is muscular but still looks like a women, including a more normal level of body fat. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/62 "2012-07-13T15:53:43Z")
I think the woman in the OP is at the edge of the range for me. I find her attractive, but I’ve seen many more extreme versions that don’t look human, let alone sexy. I’m more worried about her personality. Being that driven to bulk up (by a male or female) probably means we have a much different world view, and I’m not sure we’d really hit it off. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/63 "2012-07-13T15:55:14Z")
> [@Dr.Love](#): > > She looks to have smaller arms than the girl in the OP’s photo. Maybe that’s just an illusion. They’re the same woman. See my comment re: muscling after workouts. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/64 "2012-07-13T16:06:11Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > They’re the same woman. See my comment re: muscling after workouts. I stand corrected. Aside from those comments, there’s probably a difference in perception between still photos and videos. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/65 "2012-07-13T16:15:34Z")
The woman in your pic is very attractive to me. The “show ready” body builder look (fake tan, completely shredded, bulging veins, etc) doesn’t do it for me but she doesn’t look like that. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/66 "2012-07-13T17:15:13Z")
I would be curious to know how the results of this poll correlate with people who do or don’t work out. I have a regular weightlifting regimen, and I love women who do the same. I wonder if the people who find muscular women unattractive tend to work out or not? ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/67 "2012-07-13T17:20:09Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I would be curious to know how the results of this poll correlate with people who do or don’t work out. > > I have a regular weightlifting regimen, and I love women who do the same. I wonder if the people who find muscular women unattractive tend to work out or not? In my personal experience, men who find muscles on women attractive tend to have muscles themselves. My guess is it’s not even a strictly aesthetic thing. You know how gamer chicks tend to be hotter to gamer dudes than they are to men who don’t play video games? Or how a man who dances is hotter to a woman who dances? I think it’s the same sort of thing, that you find someone who has the same lifestyle as you and that’s appealing. ---
**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, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/68 "2012-07-13T19:03:44Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > In my personal experience, men who find muscles on women attractive tend to have muscles themselves. My guess is it’s not even a strictly aesthetic thing. You know how gamer chicks tend to be hotter to gamer dudes than they are to men who don’t play video games? Or how a man who dances is hotter to a woman who dances? I think it’s the same sort of thing, that you find someone who has the same lifestyle as you and that’s appealing. I totally agree with this. Competitve bodybuilders often (not always) have significant others who are bodybuilders themselves. Many male bodybuilders (esp. the non-drug tested variety) find extreme muscle mass on women extremely attractive. ---
**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, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/69 "2012-07-13T19:07:07Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > The woman in your pic is very attractive to me. The “show ready” body builder look (fake tan, completely shredded, bulging veins, etc) doesn’t do it for me but she doesn’t look like that. That’s only because she’s not currently “show ready”. She _very easily_ could have that look. _No one_, let me repeat, _ **no one** _ walks around day-to-day with that “show ready” appearance. It’s called “show ready” for a reason. It’s only achieved for a very short time period for a bodybuilding competition; the rest of the time, they look comparable to this lady here. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/70 "2012-07-13T20:23:59Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I would be curious to know how the results of this poll correlate with people who do or don’t work out. > > I have a regular weightlifting regimen, and I love women who do the same. I wonder if the people who find muscular women unattractive tend to work out or not? Depends what you call “muscular.” I’ve been lifting for nearly 40 years. I thought the first Ms Olympia, Rachel McLish, was smoking hot, as is the “muscular” version of Jessica Biehl someone posted above, as are Olympic gymnasts. Toned, athletic muscles are hot. Even slightly larger than that muscles are hot, if accompanied by big natural boobs, like a Frank Frazetta painting. But there is a line somewhere between healthy muscle and artificially tanned, shredded, veiny, whatever. It’s difficult to quantify, but more than that is too much. But, as always, when a woman shows a lot of interest in ME, she suddenly becomes much better looking. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/71 "2012-07-13T20:53:39Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Did you look at the picture linked in the OP? Sarah Conner in T2 was well-toned, but she was nothing like the picture in the OP. That lady looks more like a T-800. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/72 "2012-07-13T21:08:16Z")
To me, it isn’t a masculine/feminine issue. It’s a natural/unnatural issue. She isn’t as bad as some body builders but she is bad enough. It’s like weird Botox, face lifts and squarish fake boobs. Sure body builder guys are into women like that, but most guys just want a normal woman. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/73 "2012-07-13T21:16:24Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > To me, it isn’t a masculine/feminine issue. It’s a natural/unnatural issue. She isn’t as bad as some body builders but she is bad enough. It’s like weird Botox, face lifts and squarish fake boobs. Sure body builder guys are into women like that, but most guys just want a normal woman. I don’t think so. The women on the [right](http://www.japanprobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/japan-vs-the-west.jpg) are “normal” American women (supported by my observations). What (most) guys are attracted to are women who are on the far prettier side of “normal." ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/74 "2012-07-13T21:24:29Z")
I was going to vote “attractive” until I saw the photo. One of the hottest women I’ve ever known was a contest-winning amateur bodybuilder. But she wasn’t big, like the woman in the photo. Just lots of definition. I think being muscular is fine, but when she has more hypertrophy than male professional athletes it crosses a line for me. The big veins don’t help, either. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/75 "2012-07-13T21:31:59Z")
I voted indifferent. I do think the image provided in the OP is a bit too far, but it probably looks quite a bit worse than it is. It looks like she’s in the middle of a workout, or at least photographed to appear that way, so she’s going to be pumped up. And, of course, a female body builder who is show ready, besides being even more massive, will also be thoroughly dehydrated, over-tanned, and all that sort of stuff to look even more muscled. In other words, she isn’t going to look that defined outside of the gym. That said, I do think she’s a bit bulkier than I like, but not in a way that significantly detracts from her attractiveness. Certainly not repulsive. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/76 "2012-07-13T21:40:46Z")
First of all, just because I am a gay man, doesn’t mean I can’t find women attractive or unattractive. It’s easy for me to recognize a woman who, if I were straight, I’d want to have sex with! Muscular women are such women 😃 So are thin and feminine ones! ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/77 "2012-07-13T21:45:02Z")
I’m straight and that works just fine for me. I like a woman who can keep up with me physically. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/78 "2012-07-13T21:46:57Z")
Not repulsive, but a tiny bit too muscular. She’s close to the line though. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/79 "2012-07-13T22:10:25Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > I don’t think so. > > The women on the [right](http://www.japanprobe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/japan-vs-the-west.jpg) are “normal” American women (supported by my observations). > > What (most) guys are attracted to are women who are on the far prettier side of “normal." I am sorry, but those women are unhealthily obese. Just because there is rampant obesity in 'merica doesn’t make it the normal state-of-being. I should have stated normal HEALTHY women. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069/80 "2012-07-13T22:40:52Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > as in [this photo](https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/375605_10151022788492871_1040168329_n.jpg)? That photo? Too much, but my opinion would be the same if it were a guy. I don’t find the steroid look attractive in humans, regardless of gender. Muscle, on the other hand, developed by training your body to perform very well in activities that are a lot like what we evolved doing, is _very_ attractive. For example, dancers and aerialists: [One](http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinero/2606870440/in/photostream/) and [two](http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinero/2606872098/in/photostream/) and a [video](http://youtu.be/7pD7etQ6U8o) for good measure. And this, (artistic nude, NSFW, spoilered for 2-click rule): [Look at her legs!](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lnn6dwS0qW1qm5bieo1_500.jpg) _That’s_ hot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/muscular-women/628069.md?page=5)