What's attractive about masculine women?
Nothing except to beta males.
Some guys want a more dominant partner.
Why are men so incredibly attracted to masculine women like Sigourney Weaver (Alien) and Carry Anne Moss (Trinity, Matrix)?
Those are kinda bad examples.
They're movie stars, seen by a ton of people, it's not personal or individualized.
They're paraded out in panties and leather outfits and tight tshirts and plastered over this big screen of worship as main characters.
People tend to idealize those "society" holds higher than others.
Military, police, doctors, lawyers, movie stars, individual politicians, athletes.
Might as well ask in the 80's "why are men so gay attracted to buff men? Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris..."
Society holds up a dude, other dudes idolize the dude in comparable ideals. Dress like the dude, take up bodybuilding, join the army, take up boxing and fighting, traits to make them similar.
Society holds up a chick, dudes don't want to be chicks, so how can they respond? They want to bang them. Doesn't matter if they're masculine, feminine, midgets, whatever. There's a woman society has obviously held up as better than other women, conform to societal demands, worship her in the way dudes worship chicks, rationalize attraction and bang her.
What is the appeal?
A rationalized one.
, if you find such women attractive in movies, what if you'd meet a similarly masculine looking and masculine energy woman in real life?
Depends on what she actually looked like.
You ever seen a "diesel dyke?"
Would you then still feel the same way and make attempts to pursue her and date her?
Is she kinda slutty? When you write to her fan club does she send you an autographed picture of her in her underwear? Does she send you FHM or Playboy style photos of her naked or posing near nude? Have I seen her in other areas, like award shows, where she really feminines it up? Does she have "masculine" looks and "masculine energy," but still come across as feminine, like most movie star women do at some point in every movie?
Would you want your life partner to be that way?
Rich and successful and famous, all while fulfilling every idealization I've formed from observing her from afar, on the other side of a silver screen, and imagined the perfect relationship we would have based entirely on a character in a shortcut life that has no boring bits and nothing but fulfilling purpose and adulation?
Sure.
Or is it just a fascination on the white screen, not something you'd wanna take home to momma?
Sort of yes, IMO.
IMO it's the same phenomena as what happens when people sit and chat online for days, weeks, years, and pretend they've formed some sort of relationship on the internet.
It's 90% in their own head, not based on reality.