Why are only muscular male bodies seen as attractive? Do men really need to hit the gym to look good?

Anonymous
Most guys I know are obsessed with building muscles, having abs and look chiseled, as if years of hard work at the gym were the only way to be physically attractive.

Personally, even as a straight man, I do not understand that obsession. The average man who stays healthy and does regular exercise or practice a sport (soccer, tennis, etc) looks pretty nice. There's no need to go to the gym or get shredded to look fine. Just some definition is good.

I also assume this is actually a very recent obsession. There were bodybuilders before the 21th century, yes, but they were pretty rare, and men who just were physically active and strong were considered good-looking.

I do stay active because I work daily in a farm and I play soccer. All girls I have been with found me physically good-looking...

Just consider these men,
vintage
vintage
toned and defined enough
toned and defined enough
skinny but nice
skinny but nice
looking healthy and nice too
looking healthy and nice too
Usual soccer player body type, muscular legs and slim upper body
Usual soccer player body type, muscular legs and slim upper body
more vintage
more vintage
They all look physically good and fit in my opinion, and I post vintage photos too because I think men in general were more masculine years ago... People weren't obsessed with perfect gym bodies and afraid of hairiness either...

Worse still, if you browse "healthy men" on google, most of the pics feature muscular men with abs, as if that was the only healthy looking body type.

Male bodies come in all shapes and having a healthy lifestyle including physical activity is enough to look good.

Overly muscular men tend to gross me out, by the way.

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Why are only muscular male bodies seen as attractive? Do men really need to hit the gym to look good?
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