Yes, correct. Cool :). Again: not the point of the case I wanted discussed a,b,c, d above.

Those are not actual beliefs by anyone, you see right?
Those are supposed associations on subconscious level that a muscular body invokes.

Because for me it feels like bb taps into the observer's primal awe more so than other popular hobbies.
But is not so upfront and transparent about it. It masquerades as pursuit for health when it is a pursuit for attention (.. more so than other hobbies like carpentry).
Of course I may be wrong.

No. That is a pretty valid point (with exceptions), but not the whole point, and not the point of my C.

Something like this.

Observer's sub-conscience:
Wow this dude probably eats like a tyrannosaurus, snacking on a pack of hippos with cheese, on his way back from hunting down a brontosaurus
Reality:
He weighs the 34g of oats on a digital scale, and has fears of the glycemic load of an apple.

Observer's subconscience:
Wow this dude probably can manhandle a sabretooth tiger and smash it to the ground
Reality:
No, but he should be able to bench 4 sets of 12 reps with the tusks, provided he gets into position and then another such dude spots him.

Yes absolutely, to B we can add something like:
"On a more subconscious level, a muscular body may suggest good genes, resistance to a crippling illness. Good to mate with that one."

About C, the clarification is:

In any other situation - outside of the gym - the acquired physique does not serve a purpose in the direction of aspects listed under B. Or - it does, but to a far far lesser degree than the appearance suggest. This represents a illusion towards the observers instincts

Could I ask for opinions on following case against bodybuilding, roughly would go like:

A: The male muscular body is universally appealing to the human perception. (strong notion maybe, but we could define something more acceptable like: intrinsic beauty, attractiveness to the majority of the population, etc.)

B: The underlying reasons for A can be broken down and iterated many times, until they largely draw from primal instincts, which are pure and universal for all humans. Instincts born out of survival necessities: aggression, toughness/resistance, security; as well as hedonist: enjoyment of foods, sexual partners.

C: The bodybuilder takes advantage of such instincts, but goes a step too far by creating the external appearance without basis in real-life scenarios. The visual result is disproportionate to promise it makes.

D: The motivation behind C is not noble or morally exemplary, and thus opens the door to assumptions like: vanity and narcissism, lack of self-confidence, and desire for social acceptance beyond what the individual offers to the collective.

Point D is very loose and subjective, but if I see opinions supporting A thru C, it is already an interesting conclusion in my opinion.

Right..
Well to me those seem pretty straightforward answers as well, but perhaps there is something more to consider in that direction.

When you get under the heavy loaded bar you simulate a necessity to lift it, and stimulate the muscles. This to me is "artificial".

When you take every possible opportunity to stop at the mirror, take peek at your abs, and concern yourself with bodifat digits, and arm circumference, that to me is "vain".

About "pointless", clearly this is exeggerating a bit. In effort to better illustrate the critical side of the argument.

Yes, @petrichor. I don't disagree with any of that.
And actually it is exactly the heart of what bothered me.

From one side, you can't easily attack bodybuilding without also throwing punches at a lot of other activities we do in life. Starting from hobbies, unconscious habits, ending up with whatever profession you do daily. And so the discussion very easily reaches fundamental life philosophical dimensions and then turns into a stalemate.

And yet.. There seem to be so many other options for you to satisfy each and every one of those positives that going to the gym offers. Options which don't suffer from the same level of artificiality, vanity and pointlessness.

E.g.

- You want to become excellent at something?
OK, take up carpentry and build something crazy original.

- But you also want it to be something primal and pleasurable for the body?
OK have more sex then.

- But you also want it to be something real manly, provide physical benefits, confidence, compensate for your office job lifestyle?
Heck why don't you at least do a martial art, then? Sure can see a number of situations where it would be more beneficial than bodybuilding

Regards

First of all - bravo very well written post @petrichor. And others too.

Some years ago, considering the next directions in my life, I was focusing on choosing the long term hobby/recreational activity to which to dedicate more passionately. I opened up the topic of lifting weights at the gym and got stuck on exactly the aspects being discussed here: namely the vanity, artificiality and pointlessness of it, to keep it super simple.

My issue was, if the activity did not contain enough substance, intrinsic value, or utility I would not buy into it and get serious. And half-assing just for fun was not what I was going after.

So at that time I did some web searches for "the philosophy of bodybuilding", the "psychology of bodybuilding" etc.. and didn't find anything worthwhile. I wish I had found this board back then, would have been very eager to partake in the discussion.

I am happy you touch so many of the interesting questions @petrichor. And make a few good points as well. That said I can't help but feel like not all questions are answered in a thoroughly enough way.
To say, reading your post my itches have reappeared but did not get scratched just enough :(