Body Image: Masculine v. Feminine

[madeline_tate]

Has anyone else experience similar feelings?

I find myself being very conflicted about how I want my body to look. I go to the gym and lift weights in an attempt to get a better looking (masculine) body yet I still worry about my femme clothes not fitting correctly anymore or not looking feminine enough.

It's not a huge deal or something that keeps me up at night, but the internal conflict is sort of annoying.

[docrobbysherry]

That is the reason I stopped working out a year ago. Muscular legs, and arms R very unfem. Mine look more fem this year. Altho my developed upper arms r here to stay, I guess.

Now, we're going snowboarding next week. I'm in such lousy shape, I'm worried about getting hurt! I should have been working my legs for a couple weeks to get ready. This IS a delema, isn't it?
RS

[Eugenie]

I have now as much of a problem with my male body look as I have with my female body look...

With my female body look I would need to lose weight and in particular manage to reduce my waist size :o

With my male body, since I have developped breasts, I don't want to go to the beach "top less" eventhough it is still fashionable for women on French beaches... But without being dressed I stand no chance to be taken for a woman, even if I were to wear a two piece bathing suit :tongueout

:hugs:
Eugenie

[kristinacd1]

i go to the gym 3X a week...although i lift weights,....my arms stay fem because i work-out with light weight and do alot of reps...keeps them looking cut not bulky

[O2B Barbara]

I think at this point I would rather have the more feminin body including waist, hips and definately breasts. These can be hidden with clothes for those times when necessary to go in drab.

[Angie G]

I never have been big for most of my life at 5'7''at 120 pounds now 150 but that is mostly belly I think I'v got a nice fem body.:hugs:
Angie

[Celeste]

I'm sure everyones different on this topic.I tried to concentrate specifically on the areas that needed the help and after finding out which exercises bulked up my neck,arms and thighs, tried to limit them or stay away from them completely.I've found just regular jogging and speed walking to be a great springboard for everything else,it helped me to define what areas needed the most help.

[Christina Louise]

This is one of those few areas where being a wimp throughout one's life has advantages. Never done any hard manual work, very little sport, no working out in a gym.

My arms are like Olive Oyl's all their length and there is no musculature on my chest - only manboobs (even they will soon be disappearing along with the rest of my excess weight).

[joann07]

Being Asian (Filipina), I'm fortunate that I have a relatively petite body which borders between masculine and feminine so I do what I can to maintain it.
I don't do any kind of weight lifting and so I mostly do cardio type exercises (i.e.running or playing tennis) or dance (i.e. Salsa dancing) to maintain my health, weight, and physique.
In addition, I eat healthy food (not dieting) such as bonesss skinless chicken, grilled Salmon, tuna, Sushi, fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc. Also, I drink mostly milk, water, or juice, but on occasion a half can of regular soda (Coke). Diet drinks :puke: I can't stand no matter how much they say they taste like the real thing because I can tell they don't.
Every once in a while I'll treat myself to some junk food or eat a burger and fries.

Hugs!

[deja true]

I'm one of those lucky ones, I guess. 5'9" and only about 130 pounds, though I have "balooned up" to 140 lately with all the couch potato tv watching. (this Forum has just about cured me of my tv adiction, but I'm still spending a lotta time sitting on my skinny ass typing! ) I'm still kinda broad shouldered though so often times I need a size 10 or12 top while I just got some size 7 skinny jeans (thank god for spandex). So,even though I'm thin (ish), I still have a boy body. But, fortunately that can be fixed with a little bit of the old foam padding for better hips!

I avoid building my upper body, always have, but walk a lot and cycle a bit to work on the thighs and butt! Also eat very lightly throughout the day to keep weight off.

Best hint to keep from gaining weight? Don't eat carbs after 2 PM.!!! Works great...

deja

[RobertaFermina]

I don't go for the bulky look, because I don't like it.

I always wanted the soccer-player, or decathlete or quarterback look. Strong, Agile, Flexible, Endurance. When the ##$%& hits the fan, that's the body that will get you through. Heavy lifting gives you a one-punch victory over a sedated target, but not over an opponent that can quickly duck, dodge, and take you down with dozens of medium-hard punches......know-what-I-mean?

You can always do exercise for tone and endurance, instead of bulk; many reps with lighter weights rather than attempting to push your lift capacity and bulking up.

You can also accept that your girly clothes will be sized for a manly man. You can be girly, no matter what your size....you can just look past that and work on your persona, makeup and fashions - and *SMILE*.

:rose: Roberta :rose:

[StephanieC]

My body has never conformed to the ideal for males. Chest, butt, arms, just don't compare.

So I've abandoned that approach. I'm 5 9, 138 pounds and could easily go back to 120 if I tried. I've lost a good amount of muscle mass. So I'm a size 4 or 6, depending.

Frankly, I think I'm closer to a F than M body ideal. The difficulty is getting others to accept me with that body type because they are afraid I'm prone to health problems. But I'm rarely sick and eat healthy so I don't see that potential. (But anything is possible.)

[Bravesoul]

I could pass as the Pillsbury Dough Gurl.:D

(Round and plump)

[Deborah Jane]

Femme body? I,m working on it:heehee:

[Scotty]

It depends on MTF or FTM - Myself, I have quite femme hips, weight or not on them - and small breasts, I enjoy the femme side.

I started working out and my arms have gotten a bit bigger but not bulky - v eyr toned but larger than most females....it's a sacrifice for my sport I guess but for the most part I prefer to keep the femme side.

[angelfire]

Considering I spend about 95% of my time in male mode, I think I'd prefer to look good as a man first, and woman second. Either way, I still have some weight to lose.

[Brynna M]

I'm natually pretty large in the shoulders and chest and on top of that my sports are judo and karate. So upper body strength (and size) are the result.

I'm trying to tailor my gym workouts to maintain strength without bulk and loose about 30 lbs.

my only saving grace is that my hips are broad (for a guy) so they match my shoulders some in femme mode.

whats a guy/girl to do...

B

[Andine]

I used to be a runner, and did lots of push ups and situps daily. now at 65 I'm pretty fit from all the bike riding. The result of the bike is that I have lost a bit of bulk on arms and shoulders, but I'm still high on muscle tone. Big veins on the arms as well. When I dress everyone comments on the legs. I guess I look a bit like a female body builder. I try hard to put in enough female clues and manerisms to outweigh the male ones. No matter ... I get by!
regards

[Lissa]

I am 43 in pretty good shape for my age i am a construction worker so i do have good size bi's and legs and all. I have had the same thoughts as far as should i go for the muscular man look or try to slim down my arms, Well for me i like the muscular look i love to be attractive as a man (my wife dont mind it eather :))Just to tell you all a little about myself i am a very happily married man who has been crossdresing since i was 8 yrs old. My wife knows about it and has np with it she has been part of it for a few yrs now. The other thing is i hate my body hair and am shaved most of the time especialy when im hot into dressing. I think you can look sexy with some muscle in fem as long as your not looking like the hulk lol. I find some muscle and definition on woman to be very attractive on there arms and there legs. anyway thats my 2 cents. BTW I do not believe in anyway that a man must be muscular in order to be attractive. or vice versa.

[Krystyn]

It's tough living in both worlds...little does the outside world know of our unique problems.For some of us...our entire life is a series of male vs female choices,more appropriately called conflicts.

I do the same thing at the gym, except I workout with lighter weights and more reps to avoid bulking up.Then concentrate on the abs.I try and tone as much as possible.

I'll spend an hour or more on the treadmill or other cardio equip with a tee shirt and a sweatshirt...just to sweat the upper body more.I always worry about making my legs too muscular(less curvey)so I mix it up with a fast inclined walk and slow jog.

[Genifer Teal]

I have less and less of a boy side. With long hair down to my chest, long - well manicured - nails, no facial hair, and plucked eyebrows, I get more than a few confused looks. I often get asked if I play in a band. I know why they ask. Such is life. It is hard to do both bor & girl well. The better I look as a girl the harder it is to hide as a boy.

Gen

[Lisa Golightly]

I like to sleepercise... :)