I got into weightlifting to improve my combat sports, but when I realized I was getting prettier, it took on a bodybuilding element for me. I know a lot of our trans comrades also use body building to help make their bodies signal the correct gender.
That said, I worry about it sometimes. The "ideal" male physique is heavily shaped by media featuring steroid users. While most people think Arnold looks gross, they don't realize that most actors are bodybuilding and on steroids, and think of an intermediate bodybuilder's body as being lean, athletic and attainable. Like, google "toned man" and see what comes up. It's all steroid users at like 10% bodyfat.
It's a body that is technically attainable, but only if you make fitness your main hobby, which is frankly not something I think most people should do. Most people's health would be properly served by eating their veggies and biking to the subway, which is a far cry from the 6+ hrs a week in the gym most bodybuilders do. That's just for able bodied people with high executive function. Add in neurodivergence and disability and the "ideal" body is literally unobtainable.
I want to be pretty, but I also don't want to contribute to inaccessible beauty norms. This is a tension that I'm not sure has a good answer, but I at least want to hear chacha's thoughts on it.
I don't lift for aesthetics, I lift for general well-being. Sitting long hours without any sport to balance that out is painful for me after a while. I get back issues, hip issues, all kinds of annoying ailments that just don't happen to me when I lift regularly. In a way, I consciously build a certain body, sure - but I'm exclusively focused on functionality. Lot's of complex lifts for generally applicable strength that make everyday tasks easier and keep me in a painless posture, barely any isolation exercises at all.