Big is NOT beautiful...

Models portrayed on magazine covers and runways..are average sz. 4.

I'm a 2 or a 4 in shorts or pants... and I certainly don't look like a model... so what brands ARE these women wearing??? ?

Anyway, I'm 5'5. I weigh usually between 115-118. I'm happy with my weight. I used to weigh more, when I was still growing. I had a very big appetite then. Now it's smaller. I can eat whatever types of foods I want and not gain weight, because I don't have the appetite to eat a lot of them.

 

You know, thin little underdeveloped models look like little boys. And fashion designers are very often gay males. Correlation?

You'll notice the models straight men actually think are hot are people like Cindy Crawford and Elle McPherson. They're very slim, but not waif-like, and not entirely lacking in breasts or hips. Kate Moss looks like a flagpole. She may sell products marketed to women, but she does not seem to fulfill any sort of male fantasy.

 

Big isn't beautiful? But being pretzel thin is? WTF is the difference? They're both the same problems. Until you've lived the life of a fat person, I suggest you shut your mouth on the subject. Sorry if that sounds wrong, but it's true. I don't use that crummy PC word 'obese' I say they're fat, because that's what they are, fat. Hey, I'm overweight, I'll admit, but I'am trying to do something about it.

I love the thread creator here, he sounds so ignorant it's funny. Okay, first off, being fat is very demeaning, hell when I was pretzel thin I had a girlfriend, when I was in kindergarten. It's a harsher life to live than an ultra-thin person. You don't know how overweight people think, even sub-consciously! It's a habit, a bad habit, food is a drug, in a way, it's more addictive than any drug ever created. You can be overweight and healthier than the thinnest thin person. I sure as hell am. I can outrun my thin friends. So it's not entirely a bad thing.


Look at it like this, if you were fat, would you have any self-esteem? NO! Because our society are a bunch of brainwashing twits. Yes, being overweight could be beautiful. Seriously, it's all on what you're used to. Back in the 1700 and 1800's fat girls were considered gorgeous. Can ya imagine that? And plus-sized women were considered sexy back in the early 1900's and throughout part of the 1960's. It wasn't until twiggy came along that bring thin was 'in'. I'd rather some plus-sized girl who looked sexy than some skeleton that looks like she's had all the water in her body sucked away. It's pathetic the way society treats overweight people. Yeah, some deserve it, but most don't, they don't deserve the ridicule people like you give them.

And while we're at ultra-thin, did you know, Mr.Einstein that you are, that body fat is a good thing? That being overweight isn't inheretly wrong? It's the people who gorge that are the health risks, not being overweight. Oh, and that term "Obesity kills" it's rather meaningless IMO, obesity doesn't kill you, being fat, cannot possibly kill you, it's heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, etc.etc. that kill you. Just think, when you kiss your skeleton girlfriend, you might knock her jaw off. Or when you make love, you might hurt her.

My last complaint is that "Girls are being told big is beautiful" ah-ha, I beg to differ, girls are being told that being anorexic or bulimic is a good thing. First thing you gotta love is yourself, and it's this sentiment that keeps people from doing so. Next time, think before you post.

 

Umm... I'm 17... I never recall being told that it was good to be either overweight or underweight. I learned about being a safe weight for my height.

 

Umm... I'm 17... I never recall being told that it was good to be either overweight or underweight. I learned about being a safe weight for my height.

They taught in health class, 9th grade. Also, there's nothing wrong with being overweight, but if you're like 350lbs that's not healthy. Also body type has a lot to do with it as well. As do genetics and lifestyle habits. You can be a healthy fat person, or a healthy underweight person.

 

I learned in it health too - but I took it in 11th grade instead. Since I'm homeschooled, I could take health any year of high school through my correspondance program.

If kids don't get it, it's not really the school's fault. They do teach it.

 

LoL, yeah, I feel so alike, I took it my 11th grade year too. The teach looked like a female elvis wannabe. That's why I waited three years.

 

I'm a 2 or a 4 in shorts or pants... and I certainly don't look like a model... so what brands ARE these women wearing???

Anyway, I'm 5'5. I weigh usually between 115-118.

When I shared the same weight/height, I wore a size 12! Talk about different body types.

I think what bothered me the most about the start of this thread was the implication that people are fat because they are lazy. Call me fat, if you like - it is just an impolite way of expressing my looks. But I would hate for anyone to look at me and think "lazy", for I am definitely NOT.

I have found it very disappointing that many people can equate a physical characteristic that can be caused by genetics, bad habits or a combination of both with a person's ethics.

 

I probably couldn't change my weight whether I wanted to or not. Despite what I've eaten, my weight has stayed steady for over a year. I kinda shudder to think what had happened if I had been stick thin to begin with, like I was when I was a little kid.

 

I have found it very disappointing that many people can equate a physical characteristic that can be caused by genetics, bad habits or a combination of both with a person's ethics.


Well said! I'm a procrastinator, but not lazy. For the most part. Though I think we've all been lazy at some point in our lives.

 

Rebecca, you sound like me.

You know, what's equally sad is people assume slim people are NOT lazy - are industrious little gym-goers. Some of the skinniest people I know are also the most "do-less" as my grandmother would call them - they would sit in front of the TV drooling all day if something didn't practically shove them off the couch.

And just to make the size-weight body-type discussion even funnier - I'm not quite 5' 2", weigh in the 120's somewhere, and am a size 8 petite. My ideal size, because I'm quite small boned and small framed, is probably a 6, so I look close to my ideal "slim but curvy" look, which is a goal I came up with based on looking at my body, not fashion mags.

In some ways it's very freeing to be short - I never thought I could be a super model for height reasons, so I didn't try to get skinny. Other girls I knew did. Then again, this was in the 80's, when it was really emphasized that being pencil thin solved all your problems.

 

I'm quite lazy. I admit it.

Sometimes I feel weird being short, because I'm the shortest person in my family. And a lot of the times pants I want are too long on me. I wish I was just a little bit taller, not much, just a little.

 

I think it is very closed minded to say that being overwieght should be looked down upon in society. Big is beautiful. Because the fact remains that beauty is not only derived from physical image, or weight. Beauty is derived from the personality mized with their appearance. Beautiful is different things to different people, so you are free to say that big is not beautiful to you, but to many other people, big may be beautiful.

 

Wow, I'm being attacked! Fire_Ice_Death, calm down! I'm not attacking anyone in here, I'm not insulting heavy people, and I've never once said that being physically beautiful had any sort of coralation to having a beautiful personality. (And, personally, I don't think pencil-thin is remotely attractive, as you seem to think I've said or implied otherwise, and I know that it is just as dangerous as being overweight.)

Everyone, please understand that I'm not just some superficial, rude, disrespectful bigot, as some of you seem to think... I find it absurd to think that body size has anything to do with someone's character.

My concern is that women are being told that being fat is perfectly acceptable, even beautiful, only to counter the false idea that pencil-thin is beautiful! As I've said before, this attitude is dangerous and destructive, and shouldn't be encouraged.

And please remember that (I said this in my very first post) I'm stating this only because it's an opinion shared by many and could be a potentially interesting topic for discussion. Please don't think I'm trying to be insulting, demeaning, unsympathetic, chauvinistic, or crude.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't understand why people (mostly women) are told that being overweight can be beautiful - it isn't!

I'm a woman, and I've never, ever gotten that message. I think the opposite message is true-"You are ugly unless you are a size 0" model, with large breasts and small hips. If you're not close to this, no one will love you. Try our new diet, today!"

As for big being beautiful; it can be true.
There are some gorgeous plus sized models out there; and many men find women who are overweigh attractive. Just because you may not like overweight women (or men) does not mean that others may not.

Obesity is the one thing that kills the most people annually here in the United States, more than drunk driving or any car accidents for that matter, more than drug abuse, more than anything.

What are you founding that on? ? I have yet to see a death report where a person got "too fat" to live anymore.

Why isn't obesity treated with the same attitude? Should it be?

Obesity is a different thing than being overweight. Obesity is a health problem, but the scorn you describe is already there. Obese people are already stereotyped-We are told they are lazy and stupid to get the way they are, never mind there are outside variables which influence a person's weight.

Would I care to see overweight people earn more scorn? No thanks. I'd prefer to see our society working towards a less prejudiced future, myself.

 

Obese people are already stereotyped-We are told they are lazy and stupid to get the way they are, never mind there are outside variables which influence a person's weight.

No doubt. The entire side of the family on my mom's side is obese. Three of them have had stomach surgery, and although those three are not as huge as they used to be, they are by no means thin. My one aunt has a stomach that can barely hold a half-cup of food, yet she is still obese. Obviously it is not because she is stuffing her face with pizza and doughnuts every day.

Inheriting half of those 'fat genes', I have noticed that as I get older, I can't lose weight easily, and even when I was thin I had to eat very little and go hungry a lot in order to be that way. Even eating that little makes no difference anymore. It's a total drag.

 

I don't understand. Are girls pulled aside at an early age and told that thin is pretty? Yes, the majority of poeple that Hollywood considers pretty are thin, but that is just what people seem to like.

Men are told that Brad Pitt has the perfect body or we are supposed to look like Ben affelck, but do we go all crazy like belumics or anorexics? NO!

Basically, girls who do such things are weak. CAll me cruel, but there are plenty of girls who don't fall into that trap. Only the weak do.

 

When is the last time you dated a "fat chick"?

 

Fire_death_Ice Censored is the difference?
please try to word your posts in a nicer tone. The language in which you have posted with is unacceptable.

I was told that abreviations were not even allowed to be used. I'm confused.

anyways back on topic, I'm overweight, I know this and I am aware of it. I've lost weight and gained it back again, best advice. Fast food is ok on occasion but eating at home is cheaper and more healthy.

 

Yes, please avoid even the abbreviated versions. Thank you .

 

Being in the Air Force, we have weight and body fat standards, and we have to meet them . . . that is all. It has nothing to do with beauty, but it can help people feel better about themselves.

 

How "big" are you talking about?

I've always taken the "big is beautiful" thing as a way to tell girls that they don't have to be a size 5, or model-thin. I don't think they were talking about people were are very obese, can't leave their bed, and have to be removed by a forklift. It's more a way of trying to boost the self-esteem of girls who aren't or can't be a size 5.

Girls need this self esteem because we are thrown images of super-thin models and actresses all day, while the male actors, etc. have pot bellies. Also, like it was mentioned above, when have you guys dated a "fat chick"? Most of the guys I encounter would never date me, because they wouldn't consider me thin enough.

It sucks, and we need a little self esteem boost.

JediFarfy

 

if it brings anyone any comfort, there are still more than enough indicators that being thin is best to counteract any possible misconceptions that "big is beautiful" means heart-attack inducing fat rolls are a good idea.

You know, male models don't have to look like Holocaust victims. Nor do male actors - I've met a lot of actors in person, and the males all look like any guy in good shape, but the females look way skinnier, and scarier, than they do even on camera normally.

So perhaps another related topic would be "Why do women need to be unhealthily skinny to have careers before cameras, but men can look healthily trim?"

 

How many male heart-throbs today don't have strong builds and flat stomachs?

Anyway, the women I've seen who punish themselves to achieve an A+ body do it so they can get dates... with other people who have A+ bodies. Obsessing over your own superficial needs with the intent of satisfying someone else's superficial needs is... well, superficial.

 

EDIT - I'm not talking about normal people who obsess on looking like models. I'm talking about good actresses who can't get work because they're a normal, healthy weight. Most people think "Well, acting's a stupid job, so who cares" but having worked in film, I assure you it's a job like anything else. With a few exceptions - the ones E! likes to talk about - these people work harder than most of us would, and they're plenty smart and dedicated, and their industry is allowed to tell them, "Gee, the breasts nature gave you just don't cut it" or "your stomach should look like my teenage son's". Meanwhile, their male counterparts get by with all sorts of "little flaws".

To address your question, first of all, a flat stomach is not unnatural on a man. Female actresses are also supposed to have flat stomachs - which IS unnatural for females. It's a totally different standard.

How many male heart-throbs today don't have strong builds and flat stomachs?

Harrison Ford - had a pot belly some of the time he was playing Han, but the clothes hide it. No such luck for Carrie Fisher (who was told to lose a few pounds for Episode 4) or Natalie Portman in that white outfit.

Keanu Reeves - even when he bulked up for SPEED (and I think that's probably the only time he's ever been to a gym), he's never had what I'd call a strong build.

There are others, especially going back over the years, but it's Friday and my brain is shot.