- Do women really like muscular men?
- Do women even care about looks?
- Do ripped men have a better chance of attracting women?
- Or is the perfect body thing overhyped?
To answer these questions properly, you first need to know what women think about looks. Yes, women do care about looks but much less than men do. A man can instantly get attracted to a woman once he sees her, but women usually need more things, apart from visual cues, before finding a man attractive.
If you read any romance novels before, the ones that are written especially for women, you will always discover that the hero wasn’t just handsome, but he was also dominant. Most romance novels are leaders, kings, knights, bosses, sheriffs and the list goes on.
Most women won’t be much interested in men who look good but don’t have a dominant social position. In one study, women found men with pizza delivery uniforms much less attractive than men wearing professional suits.
In 50 shades of grey, the heroine didn’t like Mr grey because he was handsome, for that’s not enough to turn most women on, but she liked him because he was a handsome CEO who had power over so many employees.
Muscles and protection
Most women want to feel safe and secure. Women tend to find men who seem strong and protective more attractive than other men provided that all other factors are constant.
Now, if a woman considered a man’s size a sign that he is capable of protecting her, then certainly she might find him more attractive, but there is a trick here.
Unlike men, women look for cues across different domains, and so they can conclude the same piece of information through the man’s behavior and not just his looks. For example, a strong and dominant man but not muscular might seem more attractive than a man who is muscular but passive.
In a previous article, we explained how a short and slim guy managed to attract the most beautiful woman in town not because she didn’t care about looks but because he sent her other signals that showed that he posses the traits good looking men possess.
In other words, good looks can certainly convey good things about a man, but this doesn’t mean that average-looking men don’t have a chance. By sending the same signals across a different channel (behavior instead of looks), an average-looking man can still have a great chance of attracting good-looking women.
Do women like muscular men?
Provided that all other factors are constant, a ripped man can appear more attractive to women for many reasons, such as the need for protection. Many women assume that a muscular man is more self-motivated and more committed than an ordinary man in addition to that biological need.
After all, it takes a lot of self-discipline, motivation, and commitment to developing a good-looking body. Add to this the ability to resist unhealthy food and to avoid binge eating in a world where such food is anything but scarce.
So if a woman cares about such traits, she will certainly find a muscular man more attractive, but the one thing you must put in mind is that each woman is different.
