The World's In Love... With Female Muscle?!

Recent news from the US that some proper science has proved women prefer a toned, muscular look over a skinny one was most welcome here at FMS, not least because it implies the collective "we" now know for sure we've been backing a winner all along.



The study, carried out at the University of Missouri-Kansas, involved accessing photos of the Miss USA winners between 1999 to 2013. These winners, the researchers concluded, have become more muscular over time. In addition, 64 undergraduates were shown pictures of 14 women. "There were two pictures of each - one version depicting her real body, and another where any muscular definition had been digitally removed. This resulted in one 'thin only' image, and another 'toned and thin' picture."



"When participants were shown each image individually, there was no difference in how each was rated. However, when participants were shown the twin images side by side, the more muscular versions of the women were deemed to be more attractive."



The conclusion? There has been a shift in the thin ideal female figure to one that now includes the appearance of physical fitness via muscularity.



Of course, none of this should really be "news" to us cognoscenti. If you saw the story yourself - and it was hard to get away from at the end of January - you were probably, like me, nodding vigorously as the study credited the shift towards muscularity to "an increasing number of women discovering the benefits of weight-training in the gym, 'fitspiration' Instagram accounts, and #strongnotskinny trending on social media."



We shouldn't get too carried away. The 'toned and thin' look is not, I imagine, one we would even recognise as "muscular", unlikely to even hold a candle to your average amateur Bikini competitor, a world away from even the Figure phenoms we adore, light years from our Physique dreams, and in an altogether different universe from the so-called hardcore FBBs. Nevertheless, the study strongly suggests that the women we love are now a step (albeit a baby step) closer to becoming the female physical ideal.



Though this seems unlikely to happen - at this rate anyway - in our lifetimes, I suddenly now feel with absolute confidence that it is going to happen eventually.



In the meantime...

Why not help the world fall in love with female muscle a tiny bit faster?

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