Support NeoGAF

[Opiate]

I think media capitalizes on attractions which are already there. For very primal, almost instinctual reasons, we are attracted to health.

edit: Women tend to be less visual than guys however.

This doesn't explain why "health" seems to manifest differently at different times and different cultures.

Even today, calling a girl "healthy" looking usually means she is pretty thick -- and not in a "super buff" way. For the most part, I think this is a post-facto analysis that we overlay on our attractions to justify them.

 

[pixelation]

they definitely dont like skinny guys. Or at least most don't... i think

*Deep sigh*

 

[mikeGFG]

Maybe that's just what they like? Or does that answer frighten you? Do you deny the possibility that other people may have different tastes than you?

I'll be honest, I really, really wish that the type of girl I was attracted to was not commonly preferred. I wish I preferred, oh, 6"+ women who were rail thin. It would give me a huge competitive advantage.

Further, while I don't have that preference, I'm glad someone out there does. It's good to know that there are men out there who honestly, genuinely prefer women who are very skinny or significantly overweight or are 5' Hispanic women or whatever. It would be a real shame if only some tiny, small slice of the world was considered "attractive," and everyone else was pretending to be happy.

Speaking from own experience: after losing one hundred pounds some years back, I had never been more romantically/sexually desired in my life (or desired for any reason, before that point). I had my second kiss, lost my virginity, went on over 20 wonderful first dates, and met my first girlfriend all in less than six months.

I learned I was attractive, not just by seeing a different shaped man in the mirror, but from the positive feedback and flirtation from men and women alike.

People like physically attractive people. Period.

 

[Timedog]

aren't you about to be a real dad?

WHERE SHE BLOWS NOBODY KNOWS

 

[Anton Sugar]

How about Evans? He must juice right?

Evans was looking VERY "bench all day no back work" in AoU. Shoulders curled forward and everything.

I'm worried about you, Chris

 

[Demon Ice]

I saw an article that was titled "Why every male should strive for Dad Bod"

Fuck that noise.
Good for people who want to be comfortable with the way they look.

But I don't work my ass off 6 times a week so appeal to girls who want me to look like dad bod.

In fact, one of my favorite lines I ever heard from a girl who I fucked in the shower:
"Wow I wish my boyfriend had your body"

Bros this happened so hard bro

 

[Naked Snake]

That's just bulking mode.

Also this.

Dirty bulks are delicious.

 

[Opiate]

Speaking from own experience: after losing one hundred pounds some years back, I had never been more romantically/sexually desired in my life (or desired for any reason, before that point). I had my second kiss, lost my virginity, went on over 20 wonderful first dates, and met my first girlfriend all in less than six months.

I learned I was attractive, not just by seeing a different shaped man in the mirror, but from the positive feedback and flirtation from men and women alike.

People like physically attractive people. Period.

Yes, it sounds like your personal experience may be drowning out the broad spectrum here. The important thing to realize is that what is described as "physically attractive" varies significantly by person, time period, and culture.

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

Initially read it as, "Why Girls Love the Bad Dood."

 

[Minion101]

Possibly, but I wouldn't go too far with evolutionary psychology especially when you haven't even tested the hypothesis. We know in some cultures heavier women are seen as more attractive by men, those cultures being ones susceptible to long periods of famine. Attraction isn't purely biological. Preferences for beards vs clean shaven for example.

I say a heavier women during famine is likely more healthy than an emaciated women. It also may be a sign of being well off financially. But yes there are exceptions to everything.

 

[Mechazawa]

How about Evans? He must juice right?

Spoiler

Maybe Hemsworth Juices.... Maybe... (This is a joke)

These guys may or may not be juicing, but it's common knowledge that if they aren't, what they sure as hell are doing is basically going through incredibly rigorous, unsustainable diets where they're insanely cut specifically for their scenes. These motherfuckers could live the healthiest lives of all times and workout every day, but you will never see them with muscle accentuations and vein bulges like that on a typical day. Fit, handsome, incredibly attractive, sure, but not like their on-screen appearances.

Edit: I see Drek already made this point.

 

[YoungHav]

Speaking from own experience: after losing one hundred pounds some years back, I had never been more romantically/sexually desired in my life (or desired for any reason, before that point). I had my second kiss, lost my virginity, went on over 20 wonderful first dates, and met my first girlfriend all in less than six months.

I learned I was attractive, not just by seeing a different shaped man in the mirror, but from the positive feedback and flirtation from men and women alike.

People like physically attractive people. Period.

20 first dates in six months? How many deals were sealed? Props.

 

[Frank Serpico]

Evans was looking VERY "bench all day no back work" in AoU. Shoulders curled forward and everything.

I'm worried about you, Chris

I'm sure his personal trainer knew what he was doing

 

[Mashin Haters]

this article seems like it was written by some sorority girl and the list is terrible. I wouldn't take this article too serious.

 

[Mango Positive]

I have a dad bod. I work out hard for 30 minutes every weekday morning before work. My muscles aren't cut and well defined, but I am extremely strong. I enjoy the fuck out of beer and am only just learning how to eat right. Then again, I'm 38 and my wife is 6 months pregnant. I'm fine with the way I look, as is my wife. If I had to give up drinking beer to maintain a perfectly cut bod, I dare say I'd not enjoy the cut life nearly as much as the dad bod life.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

How about Evans? He must juice right?

[/IMG]

I think those arms look nasty.

 

[Kite]

If you want to see what an obtainable in shape guy's figure looks like just look at the more in shape military personnel. They don't make enough $$ to hire special trainers and go on crazy diets.. Its usually just working out, eating healthy and lots of physical labor. Actors and actresses and bodybuilder looks are usually not easily obtainable by the average person.

 

[SystemBug]

Okay, but suppose you're me who doesn't want to work out. No, I wouldn't want them to wish they were working out. I don't see the point. I'm perfectly capable of making friends with people who aren't obsessed with their bodies. I'll let the meatheads congregate as they wish and I'll continue to make other friends.

Some people want to work out because they want to improve their current life style (lose weight, get stronger, whatever)

Just because a friend likes to workout, doesn't mean they are meatheads or whatever. It's a hobby.

 

[EraldoCoil]

I have one too but fuck keeping it....I go to the gym 5 days a week, eat healthy, and put in work.

My goal is like Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

 

[Minion101]

I know it's been proven that all newborn babies prefer to look at beautiful faces over unattractive faces. So I decided to look it up. Babies do not have the same preference for physiques like they do for faces. This study clames babies actually looked more at "chubbier physiques over more attractive toned figures, particularly when looking at men." This doesn't seem to manifest till 9 months. 6-month-olds displayed no particular preference for attractive or unattractive bodies and 3-month-olds could not tell the difference between the two body shapes.

So there you go. The science seems to back this up at the moment.

 

[CornBurrito]

I say a heavier women during famine is likely more healthy than an emaciated women. It also may be a sign of being well off financially. But yes there are exceptions to everything.

But you can't genetically know that skinny in today's world is healthier than heavy. We haven't changed genetically that much from hunter gatherers such that they would be attracted to heavier women but we like women to be skinny.

 

[Anton Sugar]

I'm sure his personal trainer knew what he was doing

Just saying, it's really easy to spot that. Rounded shoulders is not good. He didn't look like that in TWS or the first Avengers.

 

[irfaanator]

maybe it's like the old days where being plump equated to wealth

 

[yankeeforever2]

This is the first time in my life heard of dadbod, the girls on my facebook don't seem to be talking about it at all then. Anyways, so mostly a beer gut and overweight, but not obese...........ok.

 

[Ricky Ricardo]

Ehh. If there are women out there who prefer the Dad bod, then more power to 'em. My questions is, why do some of these same women then proceed to drool over shirtless Hemsworth or Tatum?

If they're so comfortable with these everyday man bodies, why lust so hungrily for the fit/cut/hench brothers? Is there something I'm missing here or is this just a case of self-centered people wanting their cake and eating privileges of said cake too?

 

[cluxdeluxe]

d

 

[Not]

IOW, the "Don Draper bod." Helps if you have anti-butterface

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Yes, it sounds like your personal experience may be drowning out the broad spectrum here. The important thing to realize is that what is described as "physically attractive" varies significantly by person, time period, and culture.

There's pretty consistent scientific evidence that human perception of beauty in other humans follows objective patterns - symmetry and rational distribution of facial features, hips wider than the waist in women, height and broad shoulders (to a point) in men. Now, there are cultural norms resting atop those more in-built preferences, and endless layers of idiosyncratic attractions and fetishes, but there ain't a culture where Roseann Barr or Melissa McCarthy are more beautiful than Grace Kelly and Halle Barry.

 

[YoungHav]

I'm aiming to look like Kesha.

 

[Opiate]

There's pretty consistent scientific evidence that human perception of beauty in other humans follows objective patterns - symmetry and rational distribution of facial features, hips wider than the waist in women, height and broad shoulders (to a point) in men. Now, there are cultural norms resting atop those more in-built preferences, and endless layers of idiosyncratic attractions and fetishes, but there ain't a culture where Roseann Barr or Melissa McCarthy are more beautiful than Grace Kelly and Halle Barry.

Most of this is false, actually. The only thing that has seemed persistent is symmetry.

So... that's one thing. Almost everything else changes considerably over time. Hip-to-waist ratio changes significantly, skin tone changes significantly, height, facial features... all of these vary considerably depending on who you are talking to in what culture at what time period.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Possibly, but I wouldn't go too far with evolutionary psychology especially when you haven't even tested the hypothesis. We know in some cultures heavier women are seen as more attractive by men, those cultures being ones susceptible to long periods of famine. Attraction isn't purely biological. Preferences for beards vs clean shaven for example.

There's a difference between someone being desirable and someone being sexually attractive. Cultures where heavier women are seen as more desirable are usually ones with a number of political and socioeconomic contingencies in play, such that factors other than raw sexual arousal become more important in mate selection. Humans are complex social creatures with the intellect to complicate anything we set our minds to, but we are and will remain animals with basic intuitions about what we want, materially speaking.

 

[YoungHav]

Symmetry + confidence = descendants.

 

[Kelsdesu]

Can we close this thread now?

 

[Opiate]

This is a good, science based analysis of the common myth that men have consistently preferred a specific wasit-to-hip ratio across all cultures and time periods:

http://psychsciencenotes.blogspot.com/2010/09/brief-rant-about-waist-to-hip-ratio.html

A consistent preference for symmetry does appear to be real, however.

 

[werks]

These guys may or may not be juicing, but it's common knowledge that if they aren't, what they sure as hell are doing is basically going through incredibly rigorous, unsustainable diets where they're insanely cut specifically for their scenes. These motherfuckers could live the healthiest lives of all times and workout every day, but you will never see them with muscle accentuations and vein bulges like that on a typical day. Fit, handsome, incredibly attractive, sure, but not like their on-screen appearances.

Edit: I see Drek already made this point.

LOL. check out https://instagram.com/camcamedic/

She is an active duty army medic, with a full time job and random drug testing. I know it makes you feel better to say those bodies are impossible but it doesn't make it true.

 

[birthday-suit]

I refuse to believe this is a thing.

but if it is, correct answer is $$$$$$$$$$.

 

[ShyGuy0504]

I looked at some of the pictures and I guess my body would fall into that category.

I have a bit of a gut but also some loose skin and stretchmarks from when I was a lot heavier.

I don't think that anyone would find me attractive but you never know.

 

[Sigmaah]

Speaking from own experience: after losing one hundred pounds some years back, I had never been more romantically/sexually desired in my life (or desired for any reason, before that point). I had my second kiss, lost my virginity, went on over 20 wonderful first dates, and met my first girlfriend all in less than six months.

I learned I was attractive, not just by seeing a different shaped man in the mirror, but from the positive feedback and flirtation from men and women alike.

People like physically attractive people. Period.

I will do this and post back with results far down the line cause I'm in the same boat as your previous self.

 

[Bronetta]

This doesn't explain why "health" seems to manifest differently at different times and different cultures.

Even today, calling a girl "healthy" looking usually means she is pretty thick -- and not in a "super buff" way. For the most part, I think this is a post-facto analysis that we overlay on our attractions to justify them.

I like big butts

 

[entremet]

LOL. check out https://instagram.com/camcamedic/

She is an active duty army medic, with a full time job and random drug testing. I know it makes you feel better to say those bodies are impossible but it doesn't make it true.

Testing is a joke for PEDs. The test are notoriously easy to pass if you're not an idiot.

The fact that Olympians and other athletes have only been caught due to circumstantial evidence or eye witness testimony should tell you that.

Those are more stringent and comprehensive than the US Military.

 

[BobbyRobby]

I know it's been proven that all newborn babies prefer to look at beautiful faces over unattractive faces. So I decided to look it up. Babies do not have the same preference for physiques like they do for faces. This study clames babies actually looked more at "chubbier physiques over more attractive toned figures, particularly when looking at men." This doesn't seem to manifest till 9 months. 6-month-olds displayed no particular preference for attractive or unattractive bodies and 3-month-olds could not tell the difference between the two body shapes.

So there you go. The science seems to back this up at the moment.

Interesting. I wonder if it's aesthetic preference or something like sizing up people to see if they are capable of breastfeeding?

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

I have a dad bod. I work out hard for 30 minutes every weekday morning before work. My muscles aren't cut and well defined, but I am extremely strong. I enjoy the fuck out of beer and am only just learning how to eat right. Then again, I'm 38 and my wife is 6 months pregnant. I'm fine with the way I look, as is my wife. If I had to give up drinking beer to maintain a perfectly cut bod, I dare say I'd not enjoy the cut life nearly as much as the dad bod life.

This is the thing.

I went on a no carb diet years ago for like 2 months. I literally was eating nothing but tuna or grilled chicks salads every day. Body looked great but I was fucking angry and miserable all the time. Lost all sex drive too. Not worth it.

I now eat what I want, in smaller portions than before, including junk and drink shitloads of water. Water is key.

 

[Opiate]

I like big butts

This is a good example of a great difference we can see in our lifetimes. When I was born in the 80s, it was unquestionably considered "healthy" to have a small (but still firm) butt. Exercise videos made this very clear, and the general preference in the culture was for this look.

Now larger butts are more in, and are seen as a sign of healthiness. The reality, of course, is that both can be "healthy." What has changed is the cultural preference, and then we reassign what "health" means based on what we find attractive -- not the other way around.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Most of this is false, actually. The only thing that has seemed persistent is symmetry.

So... that's one thing. Almost everything else changes considerably over time. Hip-to-waist ratio changes significantly, skin tone changes significantly, height, facial features... all of these vary considerably depending on who you are talking to in what culture at what time period.

"Considerably" is relative. Most studies of waist to hip ratio seem to hover somewhere in the neighborhood of .7, even across cultures, albeit with a few outliers in one direction or the other, though with relatively smaller sample sizes. Heaviness has been seen as desirable in some societies, but something that is socioculturally valued in mate selection does not necessarily imply that such things are arousing on a purely physical level. Humans can find someone desirable due to clothing, piercings, tattoos, and possessions, too, but the existence of culturally differentiated markers of status or affect (and humans are hierarchical beasts, too, so of course status makes a difference in one's desirability) doesn't preclude there being an innate physical ideal that humans tend to stay in the neighborhood of.

In addition, cross-cultural studies tend to indicate that men like more youthful-looking faces with features that are closer to a rough average of the features of that society, though of course there is variability in things like nose size or eye shape, and average composites of women from different cultures (which men do rate as more attractive) often end up looking more like one another than they do any particular woman from that society.

My point was not that there's some specific number one can point to but that the standard deviation on most things is not TOO great, relatively speaking, from all I've read on the subject. One society may play in the driveway, another by the mailbox, another by the door, but they seem to stay in the yard the vast majority of the time.

 

[Minion101]

Interesting. I wonder if it's aesthetic preference or something like sizing up people to see if they are capable of breastfeeding?

We don't know but since it doesn't happen till 9 months they speculate that their preferences for particular human body shapes reflect level of exposure and familiarity.

 

[werks]

Testing is a joke for PEDs. The test are notoriously easy to pass if you're not an idiot.

The fact that Olympians and other athletes have only been caught due to circumstantial evidence or eye witness testimony should tell you that.

Those are more stringent and comprehensive than the US Military.

Olympians are not subject to 365 day a year random drug test. You are also trying to compare a hobbyist bodybuilder in the military to olympic athletes? You think she's paying to blood dope like lance armstrong?

 

[Burt]

The article is written by a Clemson student who is into frat guys.

I can vouch for the fact that 94% of frat members at Clemson have this exact body type

 

[entremet]

Olympians are not subject to 365 day a year random drug test. You are also trying to compare a hobbyist bodybuilder in the military to olympic athletes? You think she's paying to blood dope like lance armstrong?

Blood doping isn't about clearing your system of PEDs, it's for more red blood cells.

I'm just saying that just because she's getting random drug test, doesn't mean she's not using PEDs.

I'd bet my life she's using or has used.

 

[Opiate]

"Considerably" is relative. Most studies of waist to hip ratio seem to hover somewhere in the neighborhood of .7, even across cultures, albeit with a few outliers in one direction or the other, though with relatively smaller sample sizes.

Again, this is false and needs to be corrected. We see variance all the way from ~.65 to ~1 across entire cultures (let alone individuals), and this seems to be a trade off between estrogen and androgen.

Heaviness has been seen as desirable in some societies, but something that is socioculturally valued in mate selection does not necessarily imply that such things are arousing on a purely physical level.

Couldn't you say the same things about current fitness levels? You seem to be suggesting that before it was just cultural influence, but now we have returned to our "natural" or "correct" preferences.

I suggest both are heavily culturally influenced.

Humans can find someone desirable due to clothing, piercings, tattoos, and possessions, too, but the existence of culturally differentiated markers of status or affect (and humans are hierarchical beasts, too, so of course status makes a difference in one's desirability) doesn't preclude there being an innate physical ideal that humans tend to stay in the neighborhood of.

I agree that they exist, no question. Symmetry is the primary example. But these tend to be hugely overstated. In my experience -- by a wide margin -- people tend to believe that beauty is more objective and consistent than it actually is.

Again, I definitely agree there are both cultural and genetic influences in what we find appealing, but people tend to overestimate the genetic or innate preferences significantly, and particularly tend to believe that our current culture is closer to the "correct" or "natural" ideal.

 

[Mook1e]

Blood doping isn't about clearing your system of PEDs, it's for more red blood cells.

I'm just saying that just because she's getting random drug test, doesn't mean she's not using PEDs.

I'd bet my life she's using or has used.

What PEDs do you think she takes, because I know multiple military bodybuilders who absolutely don't take anything and look that big and ripped (both male and female).
This topic is really infuriating to me.
I look like those actors ALL the time, and I have for the past 10 years straight. There are times when I only have a 4 pack and times when I have an 8 pack (which is genetics) and I eat what I want when I want. I very rarely cut weight to get low body fat and would be considered on a "foreverbulk." I'm 40+ years old and I have a life and enjoy it. It's not rocketsurgery folks, and it's not PEDs.

Oh, and I workout because I don't just like it, I love it.