I was perusing recent scholarly research on hot, buff chicks and came across something called the "McCreary & Sasse Drive for Muscularity Scale" (DMS). It seems some academics in Canada came up with a way of measuring how badly a person wants to be jacked. Each person is presented with 15 questions, and then responds on a six point scale where '1' is 'Always' and '6' is 'Never'. The questions asked for the scale are:

1. I wish that I were more muscular.
2. I lift weights to build up muscle.
3. I use protein or energy supplements.
4. I drink weight gain or protein shakes.
5. I try to consume as many calories as I can in a day.
6. I feel guilty if I miss a weight training session.
7. I think I would feel more confident if I had more muscle mass.
8. Other people think I work out with weights too often.
9. I think that I would look better if I gained 10 pounds in bulk.
10. I think about taking anabolic steroids.
11. I think that I would feel stronger if I gained a little more muscle mass.
12. I think that my weight training schedule interferes with other aspects of my life.
13. I think that my arms are not muscular enough.
14. I think that my chest is not muscular enough.
15. I think that my legs are not muscular enough.

The Drive for Muscularity (DM) represents an individual's perception that he or she is not muscular enough and that bulk should be added to his or her body frame, in the form of muscle mass (irrespective of a person's percentage of actual muscle mass or body fat). DM is more prevalent in men, where past research has shown that a muscular mesomorphic body shape is considered to be more desirable than any other. However, recent research has shown that women also tend to show fairly high levels of DM, suggesting that this concept may be important for them too (but perhaps in different ways than for men).

I can think of a few items that might be added to a women's corollary questionnaire, including "I feel embarrassed when I have to ask a man for help carrying my luggage or opening a jar" and "I want to be stronger than my boyfriend/husband", but overall I think it's quite satisfactory.

Interestingly, the abstract of a more recent study that employs the DMS reads as follows (boldface mine):

This study examined sex differences in body image change and its correlates over the course of a 12-week strength-training program. Participants were 28 men and 16 women (M age = 21.6, SD = 2.4) who completed pre- and post-intervention measures of body image (Body Areas Satisfaction Scale, Social Physique Anxiety Scale, and Drive for Muscularity Scale) and subjective and objective assessments of body fat, muscularity, and strength. They participated in a 12-week, 5-day/week full-body progressive resistance training program. Significant body image improvements were found for both sexes (p < .05). Correlates of body image change varied somewhat between the sexes. For men, body image improvements were correlated only with subjective physical changes. For women, body image improvements were correlated with subjective physical changes as well as objective increases in strength. These results suggest that although men and women derive body image improvements from strength training, they may benefit for different reasons.