Bruce Lee was a skinny dude but he got respect. Anderson Silva is not terribly ripped but he gets respect.

Lifting acts as a substitute in a society where violence is not condoned. Women have no other way to objectively determine who is tough and who is not. So if you don't want to lift then learn how to fight.

I will say that learning how to fight takes a lot more time and is much more difficult but will pay off in ways that lifting never can. Once you've got the skills, there is no taking them away. The same cannot be said for muscle mass.

Yes and yes.

Men won't view you as competition and women will ignore you. You will need to have exceptional other attributes, social presence, charm, wit etc, to make up for this.

Here is what I would do. Work towards a normal average body, so quite simply put on weight (muscle/fat). Once you are there work towards a muscular body as trp suggests.

In the meantime work on body language, there are a multitude of resources if you google.

At the very least - work on your weaknesses till they are average and not holding you back. Then work on your strengths.

Do you know that feeling of shame when an homeless man start talking to you ? I feel a bit the same when a skinny guy with a poor posture talk to me and the feeling when you talk with the popular guy, you want to become friend with him right ? it's the same with well groomed jacked guy lift dude it's amazing

See my submission on intimidation in the parent subreddit. But in a nutshell, MrEiffel is spot on.

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Scrawny people are treated in the same vein as short people by society.

To be completely honest, anyone that lifts and puts on muscle resents scrawny people the most. Once you start to get fit you size up other dudes constantly.

Watch Captain America: First Avenger.

Steve Rogers was short, skinny, and ineffectual. He had a lot of heart and had a lot of gusto... but he still got his ass kicked regularly. He had a friend, and no one respected him as a man. Women ignored him and the only one who did simply paid attention to him because he may fit the parameters for a science experiment.

Then he got the serum and got tall and jacked and he still had his go get'em mentality. Now the woman that only liked him for what he could provide for her mission liked him because he was yoked up, had men following him, and now his presence matched his persona.

Now he has women trying to make out with him simply because he's standing in front of them... a woman who was a Private First Class, decided to say "fuck the chain of command, fuck rank, I'm going to get Captain Steve Roger's alpha dick inside of me!"

Mass media understands everything and lays it all out for you in story form... just know where and how to look.

TL;DR: Captain America: First Avenger is a perfect example for the big man/skinny man dichotomy.

Improving your posture is the quickest and easiest step before you start seeing lifting results. Stand up straight, head high, shoulders back, lead with your pelvis. People will take you much more seriously if you speak with confidence through your posture.

A strong physical frame is a sure way to gain respect. It's not the only way though. And it's not as important as an alpha personality. A beta personality can override being built.

Yes.

That's Zyzz in your pic btw. Check how he looked after he started lifting.

don't ever underestimate how little people think of you that they aren't showing.

it improves posture, and confidence which are both things you seem to be having issues with. So go lift

If you're skinny, you can do well if you're an artist, musician, or independent religious leader. Otherwise, get some muscle. Either way, do some yoga (I recommend Iyengar) to improve your posture.

Skinny people with good posture get respect. Work on posture first. Then work on bulking up.

When you look like a weak 15 year old boy, people will treat you like one. Including yourself.

Heavy physical exercise creates a powerful body, which in turn gives birth to a strong sense of being and confidence.

You can't be a man in a boy's body.

Yes and yes. Any other answer is hamstering.

Unless you have an absurdly good looking face, the difference between being skinny and swole is night and day.

Have you tried lifting and you failed? Have you got physical disabilities and cant lift?

Why do I get the impression that you don't have a real excuse for not lifting?

Must be the bad posture and body language that makes me believe so.

Let me tell you a story.

I was at the club a few months ago. I had just barged into a mixed group, and started spitting game at a girl. Basically, I tried to snipe the girl (don't do this; it doesn't work. I was a bit drunk at the moment.)

The guy she was talking to got SUPER aggro. He instantly started talking shit with aggressive bodylanguage.

Now, I'm not a small guy -- I'm 6' tall, and was 150 lbs at the time.

Point is, I started talking shit back to him. I wasn't afraid of him, but I looked in his eyes, and I could see that ZERO part of him was concerned I'd kick his ass. Like, it didn't even cross his mind. Furthermore, a substantial part of him wanted to fight me.

That was the moment for me. I realized, in the eyes of AMOG Joe, that I was a non-entity as far as danger. Fuck that. I've gained 12 pounds since then, and I' on my way to another 12.

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In my experience being on both sides of the fence, yes, people generally do respect skinny people less than if they have some muscle. The difference in how I'm treated is black and white, day and night. Men and women both talk to me like a man now, rather than a wimp.

You can supplement being skinny with other qualities, but lifting is the one thing that is the easiest fix for how people treat you. It's half the battle with the ladies as well.

Who would you respect more, the guy who looks like he hasn't ventured out of his cubicle except to piss or the guy who looks like he could knock the piss out of you?

It's not complicated.