Muscle Anecdote

[Demandred]

[COLOR=silver]I hope this is the right place to post this. At the time when it happened I thought about this place and wanted to share it, and see what you guys think.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=silver]I'm part of a writing group that submits each week, and we all read and crit one another's work. I submitted a piece that contained a guy who keeps growing (albiet much tamer than what you'd find here! - he's not the main character). Part of the feedback was interesting, mostly in relation to where we first meet this character. This is the section:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=silver]He made a Tescos uniform look attractive. Need I say more? He had to be closer to 7ft than 6ft, his shoulders wider than a door and arms thicker than... something thick. Words failed me as I imagined how he’d look without that blue shirt wrapped so snugly about his heaving upper body. The collar was unbuttoned for the first two buttons, yet it still looked too tight as it hugged his bull neck and bulging traps. The shirt would have been like a tent on me.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#c0c0c0][/COLOR]
[COLOR=silver]One of the girls in the group said "I can't see why anyone would find this man attractive. He seems more like a beast. His shoulders are as wide as doors and he's nearly 7ft tall!" (the last part was said in an incredulous tone, like "I think he is absolutely repulsive, get me some vagina thanks"). It just made me smile, because it sounds pretty good to me! It made me wonder about how other people respond to what we find attractive. It never really occured to me that people could be repulsed by muscle - the speaker in the piece was more than happy about it![/COLOR]

[COLOR=silver]Any thoughts on this?[/COLOR]

[arpeejay]

Straight guys who don't have muscles invariably tell each other that "girls don't dig muscles." I seen some stories that indicate that *in* *general* straight women prefer men who are athletic and well-muscled but not huge. But we all know about the bell-shaped curve; presumably there are some that are totally repulsed, others who are totally into it. And that's not taking into account geography; from what I've read Europeans are much less into it (and accepting of it) than North Americans are.

Based on the above, I'm not terribly surprised by your (female) reader's reaction. Her loss!

xoxo

Richard

[AS2000]

Girls aren't "supposed" to like big scary men, I think. (Or that's my suspicion, since I am, in fact, not a girl.) But I've had several female friends and co-workers who have in fact been quite thoroughly impressed by a well-built man. (Perhaps not as large as the gigantic Tesco employee in the story bit, but still very impressively built men, 18 or 19 inch arms, etc.)

Preferences vary, despite advertiser's best efforts to indoctrinate us with a set of standard criteria for attractiveness. Ultimately, I guess, there's something for everyone. "God made a big zoo," as my grandma used to say. ;)

[Geek2Jock]

Preferences do vary among both sexes and towards both sexes. In my experience, there is a threshold at which a man's muscularity becomes less attractive (visually and sexually) to a majority of women but actually becomes more attractive to other men, both visually in the case of other admiring muscular men and sexually in the case of admiring gay men who are into muscular men! This site is a prime example of the latter and if you don't think the former is true, then look at the ratio of male-to-female fan photos from any pro bodybuilding event. The same equation works in reverse as well, although the ratios seem even more one-sided.

And preferences change over the years and through generations past. Centuries ago both men and women of larger girth were found more appealling because their size inferred affluence; whereas a muscular physique was generally dismissed because it inevitably was a sign of hard physical labor. It was also far less common due to the poorer quality of life, health, nutrition and so many other factors that we take for granted in today's modern society.

Okay, I'm not going to dive into the psychological and pseudo-analytical side of what makes someone more attracted to one type or the other... I've Sheldon Coopered this up enough already!

[Rarity]

He comes off as a beast when you describe him. He's too big to fit through a door, his clothes barely fit, and he's freakishly tall. It's safe to say that type of man is not normally viewed as "attractive", otherwise you'd see men like that on the front of magazines/playing the "hot guy" role in movies, etc.

If you want him to seem attractive in general, you'd need to shrink his size down. IE: Not near 7 feet tall and his shoulders shouldn't be wider than a door. You want to get the point across that he's MUSCULAR, not freakishly large. (Because there aren't many men who fit that description. I'm also very sure that many of us haven't seen a 7 foot tall dude who couldn't fit through doors because he was too wide.)

Also: I'm a woman who enjoys me some musclemen, but what you described was something a bit over-the-top. :x

[growingbigger]

RPJ has a point. Take a look at romance novel covers. Most men depicted on those covers are very well-built and tall with the most extreme looking like they are in at least the 18" arm category. Most women will like that size, even if they tell you they don't, thus so many illustrations like that. I think some of the "I don't like big muscles" comments comes from the thought that they think it's unattainable to get a guy like that. They'll whistle and holler at the biggest Chippendale dancers, but then they'll turn around and say, "oh, I don't like big muscles." Yeah, right. I can't even count how many women have flirted with me at the mall or supermarket or wherever.

[ilimzn]

Just the other day a guy that is getting ready for a competition went into an impromptu posig session to check himself out in the mirrors. i was doing a set further away from the mirrors and there were 3 girls doing something on the machine inbetween - suffice to say, they ALL watched the display in fascination, whispering amongst themselves, and it was rather obvious they were not trading negative comments, especially since they could not keep their eyes off the guy (OK, he does look really good, but also veru big ). So much for 'not liking big muscles'.