I always had a pretty non-delicate build for a female; I wasn't overweight until I hit puberty, but still the clothes in the 'little girls' section didn't fit me--too tight in the shoulders, plus I preferred baggy clothes. And the girls' shoes didn't fit me terribly well, either--way too narrow, especially as I got older. Suited me just fine, 'cuz I had an excuse for shopping in the boys' department. Throughout elementary/middle school, I just looked like I was on a slightly different size plane from the girls. Y'know how young girls tend to look pretty thin and delicate? Put them next to an average boy the same age and, even if the girl is taller than the boy, the girl generally just looks thinner especially throughout the shoulders, legs, and arms. Yeah, I was more on the size plane of the boys. Can't really say I hated it, though; I liked it, just wasn't a fan of people giving me a hard time because of it.
Of course, by the end of middle school everybody seemed to have grown taller than me (I'm still only 5'4"
) and the boys finally hit puberty, so my stocky little build couldn't even compare to theirs any more. Also didn't help that around puberty I gained a good 20 lbs, all to 'tha hips. I still don't qualify as delicate or lithe--most people I've met consider 135-140lbs huge for someone of my height and say I should weigh 110-115 ideally (then again, when they guess my weight they say I'm 120, go figure). But I consider the not-delicate thing good so long as my cardiovascular system is healthy, which it seems to be--consistently low-end-of-normal blood pressure, low cholesterol & triglycerides. And I can lift weights on-par with some dudes, granted they look to be newcomers to the gym while I've been at it for 3-4 years
.
