>>76496228
Of course a lot of women in the gym still want to look good for men. Human nature doesn’t vanish because of ideology. But the difference is in how far they’re willing to push it. Most women hit a point where they’ve got enough male attention and then stop progressing since they’re not chasing 10% body fat, capped delts, or deadlifting twice bodyweight, because they don’t need to. Men don’t require that level of fitness to be attracted, so the extra work is “wasted” from their perspective. With men, there’s no equivalent plateau. You have to keep improving because you’re competing with other men who also lift, also diet, also chase status. There’s no free baseline; the second you let yourself slide, you feel it in your dating prospects. So yeah, plenty of women are motivated by male approval, but the cultural script that says “don’t overdo it, train for yourself” justifies stopping at “good enough,” whereas men are pushed toward maximizing to survive in the dating market. That’s why you see the disparity irl.