History Main / MuscleAngst

* ([[GenderFlip Female]]) [[LightNovel/InfiniteStratos Ichika Orimura]] in ''The Mirrorverse'' has a little bit of this, since her [[TrainingFromHell intense physical regime]] caused her body to grew rather muscular. Understandable, since every other Cadet Rep [[{{Fanservice}} looks like a supermodel]] (or [[CuteBruiser unbelievably petite]]). Either way, [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Dan]] doesn't give a damn, while [[ScrewYourself her male counterpart]] flat out said it's a sign of her effort and should be appreciated.

* '''Not Enough Muscle''': The AlwaysMale version. A weak or skinny male character angsts about not being muscular. The focus may be on how this affects his [[WomenPreferStrongMen success with women]], his usefulness in sports/combat, or his attractiveness. If the focus is on his success with women, WeaknessTurnsHerOn may come into play as a solution/counterpoint. Unlike breast size, [[ACupAngst which is mostly unchangeable]] without surgery, it is possible to build muscle, so whether this trope is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] or not depends on there being a health reason for the male being incapable of doing so. Alternatively, it could be a case of them lamenting how high the price for them to gain muscle would be (if, for example, they wouldn't have time for it without giving up parts of their lives very precious to them, or fundamentally changing who they are).

Subtrope of AppearanceAngst.

* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' contestant Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. When they present as male, they feel skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but pumping weights would hurt their image as Courtney, who's famous for their ability to pass as a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 modelesque woman]].

* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'' contestant Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. As Shane, he feels skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but he worries that pumping weights would hurt his image as Courtney, who's famous for her ability to pass as a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 modelesque woman]].

* The first-ever CutAwayGag in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' followed a comment about how a poor self-body-image has created lots of problems, cut away to... a skinny and weak UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler in a gym, called Das Gym, struggling with a small set of barbells and glaring angrily at [[MatzoFever a musclebound Jewish man surrounded by beautiful women]].

A lot of body-image issues are [[AlwaysFemale related to/centered around femininity]]. Thus, we have tropes such as ACupAngst, DCupDistress, HollywoodHomely/[[HollywoodPudgy Pudgy]]/[[HollywoodThin Thin]], WeightWoe, and so on. But the same way that thinness and breasts are associated with femininity, muscles are associated with masculinity. Thus, this trope, in which a character angsts about having not enough or too much muscle. There are two versions:

* [[Myth/NorseMythology The Valkyrie Þrúðr/Thrud]] in ''Manga/ShuumatsuNoWalkureRecordOfRagnarok'' is a [[AmazonianBeauty muscular giant of a woman]] who [[BigEntrance smashes through a doorway]] in her first appearance (as one would expect of a daughter of Thor), before accusing Raiden of seeing her as a freak. When he [[AmazonChaser embraces her and says that he's fond of big girls]], she briefly looks as if she's about to cry tears of joy.

* Anvil in ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'' is an AmazonianBeauty. When she voices some anxiety about a publicity photo shoot, Sydney sarcastically asks if she's afraid of being "too physically perfect" — to which Anvil points out that a significant percentage of people find her height and build grotesque or repulsive rather than desirable or attractive. Sydney, on her part, is prone to expressing concern about how she (being short, skinny, and flat-chested) compares to all her tall, muscular, and stacked compatriots.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Female [[UsefulNotes/{{Bodybuilding}} bodybuilder]] Aleesha Young was teased for her large biceps as a child and spent years as a teen starving herself to get a more normal physique. [[http://www.ftppv.com/ftvideo/showthread.php?3388-Aleesha-Young Then she outgrew it...]]
* Creator/RondaRousey has gone on record saying she's not a fan of the way her body looks when she's in fighting shape (and thus at her most muscular) and feels unfeminine like that.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_dysmorphia?wprov=sfla1 Muscle dysmorphia]] aka. "bigorexia" is a common disorder among men (and some women) who lift weights. They see themselves as scrawny weaklings and use strict dieting, hours in the gym, and often steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs to build their bodies and are never satisfied with their progression, even if they are far more muscular than the average person.
[[/folder]]

* Happens in ''Fanfic/JojosAlienAdventure''. While [[Franchise/Ben10 Ben]] isn't unhealthily skinny, he's an absolute twig compared to [[Anime/JoJosBizarreAdventure Jotaro and the rest of his companions]] with his average physique. He's especially jealous that because of their musculature, they can [[ChickMagnet easily gain girl's adoration]] whereas he only became a ChickMagnet as a result of becoming a public superhero. It is downplayed, though, as Ben recognizes that [[FutureBadass Ben 10000]] had a similar physique, and simply tries to accelerate the process.

* The male version is {{Inverted}} in ''Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard:'' after becoming one of the Einherjar, Magnus takes a shower and notices that he's gone from a scrawny teenager to having a lean but muscular physique. Since he [[IJustWantToBeNormal just wants to be normal again]], this annoys him so much that he uses his newfound strength to punch a hole in the wall.
* Keladry, the protagonist of ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', training to be a knight, is big and tall and develops muscle, as you might expect. There's a scene where someone takes her by the StandardFemaleGrabArea and she flexes her bicep so that it swells and forces his hand open. [[TheBully Joren of Stone Mountain]] tries to make her insecure about that, claiming she'd be pretty if she stopped working out, and she flatly ignores him. At times - worrying about love interests - she thinks they probably prefer small girls, but being a knight means a lot more to her than maybe "attracting" a man, and no one but Joren evidences disgust.

* Lisa, the protagonist of ''Literature/LoneHuntress'', sums it up when she ruefully remarks, "I became a monster in order to hunt monsters." Part of her character growth comes from her gradual acceptance that the motivation for all the stares are less NoGuyWantsAnAmazon and more AmazonChaser.

[[caption-width-right:236:[[WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity "I like a little definition. But that's just icky.}]]]]

* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': Shigeo is pretty insecure about being a scrawny, anemic IllBoy, especially since his childhood crush [[WomenPreferStrongMen seems more interested in athletic guys]]. Thus he joins the Body Improvement Club in hopes of getting ripped and impressing her.

* Shigeo of ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' is pretty insecure about being a scrawny, anemic IllBoy, especially since his childhood crush [[WomenPreferStrongMen seems more interested in athletic guys]]. Thus he joins the Body Improvement Club in hopes of getting ripped and impressing her.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''Literature/GideonTheNinth'': Gender-inverted with Jeannemary, who's very taken with [[ButchLesbian Gideon]]'s biceps, wants to bulk up more herself, and has made respectable progress on that front for a 14-year-old. However, GenderIsNoObject in the setting and [[MasculineGirlFeminineBoy Jeannemary is the "sword"]] half of a SwordAndSorcerer duo.

* The Sports Club Manager Arcana from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' has a case of this. She's tanned and toned, but other girls tell her that NoGuyWantsAnAmazon. A likely case of TruthInTelevision as the game takes place in Japan, and girls (currently) avoid tans and aim for that "fragile" kind of thin.

** [[spoiler:Fujisaki]] has serious issues with his lack of muscle because of other boys bullying him for his weak body. Not soon after the Killing School Life has started, he desires to improve himself and build some muscle to overcome his weakness. [[spoiler:It's that determination that gets him killed by Oowada, whose inferiority complex, SurvivorGuilt and stress from the Killing School Life causes him to snap and kill Fujisaki in a moment of uncontrolled rage.]]
** Oogami is aware of her BrawnHilda look and since she has a feminine side deep within her, she is sometimes insecure about her appearance clashing with her gender. In Free Time Events, hearing from Naegi that he views her as a girl really relieves her. (The only other character who does that is Oogami's best friend Asahina.)
** In ''IF'', [[spoiler:Enoshima]] teases her twin sister [[spoiler:Ikusaba]] to be too muscular, although that is rather an InformedDeformity. But since it's [[spoiler:Enoshima]] we are talking about, she may just be trolling her.

* ''Series/RupaulsDragRace'' contestant Courtney Act, aka Shane Janek, talks about feeling the worst of both worlds with this trope. As Shane, he feels skinny compared to the {{Gym Bunn|y}}ies of [[{{Gayborhood}} West Hollywood]], but he worries that pumping weights would hurt his image as Courtney, who's famous for her ability to pass as a [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/courtney-act-attends-the-rupauls-drag-race-season-6-party-news-photo/470551315 modelesque woman]].