A perspective on "skinny" one's weight loss goal ...

Karoline01

wow so true!

medoria

Ive seen this on FB as well as tumblr and I totally understand how curvy girls might feel good about it, but bashing the thin girls for beeing thin is just as bad as bashing curvy and overweight girls for not fitting to the western standards and ideals of beauty. Really unnecessary to keep spreading it, no matter how good the intentions are.

Savyna

Wasn't this posted already?

jipsybird

Thanks for this post! It really does help refocus ones perspective. The bottom row wins, hands down.

Savyna

Propaganda. Notice how the top row are candid surprise shots that are especially unflattering to those women. the bottom row are all staged shots in very flattering poses.

Very true observation.

emmyvera

Fascinating point on this thread. I have done quite a few reports throughout my school years on this subject. I was always interesting in doing them because of my weight and height. I'm 5'4" and weighed between 145-160 most of my high school and college years. I was very inspired by the beauty of Marilyn Monroe growing up. My mother always mentioned her and how beautiful she was being curvy at a size 12-14. This gave me the confidence I needed growing up.

If you go through the decades of time, it's quite fascinating to watch the famous females. You have your retro curvy ladies in the 50's, but then soon in the 60's you start to get the Twiggie-thin look into the 70s, then it transitions into the athletic look in the 80's (too bad that didn't last longer) :laugh: , then in the 90's the heroine-chic look. Very interesting to see how fashion, trends and celebrities play such a role on body image of women and how we portray them, which leads to how we portray ourselves.

I'm so tempted to keep writing on this. I could write pages....!!!
Moral of the story for me is LOVE yourself. Don't worry about what models and famous people are doing and please don't compare yourself to them. They are human too and have their own unique body image, their own choices for their own reasons. Just like we do. :happy: Now we could talk about the media too........ that's another thread!

Sorry, I kinda went back to my old report days here. :laugh:

bcattoes

Propaganda. Notice how the top row are candid surprise shots that are especially unflattering to those women. the bottom row are all staged shots in very flattering poses.

That's true, but since they are all celebrities, we've probably all seen them in many poses. I don't know how many times I've seen posts saying women need to drop their BF to some crazy level like 15% or even lower to "look good naked". Good is an opinion, but IMO those ladies on the bottom would look considerably better naked than the ladies on the top row.

jumcadam

Ive seen this on FB as well as tumblr and I totally understand how curvy girls might feel good about it, but bashing the thin girls for beeing thin is just as bad as bashing curvy and overweight girls for not fitting to the western standards and ideals of beauty. Really unnecessary to keep spreading it, no matter how good the intentions are.

Absolutely. Trashing another woman's body is just not cool.

fromaquasar

This is so unnecessary, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it would NEVER be ok for someone to post up pictures of bigger girls and say ew who wants to look like that, which essentially you are doing here with these very slim girls.

Also there are a lot of misconceptions about these so called curvy pin up girls of the past, Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 - 14 in RETRO sizes, which is a modern size 8 - 10 (US size 4 - 6). Her measurements were 36-23-37 - the epitome of the gorgeous hour glass figure, but that is one tiny waist! Elizabeth Taylor was 116 pounds and 5"4 inchs (36-21-36), hardly what we would call curvy.

Just pointing out that as well as mean, this picture is somewhat misleading. I suppose a key difference though is in those times they focused on health and appearance, rather than the number on the scales or their dress size.

jcstanton

Men Love curves....Dogs love bones.... saw this on a magnet.

Hahaha! :laugh: Love this!

bcattoes

Ive seen this on FB as well as tumblr and I totally understand how curvy girls might feel good about it, but bashing the thin girls for beeing thin is just as bad as bashing curvy and overweight girls for not fitting to the western standards and ideals of beauty. Really unnecessary to keep spreading it, no matter how good the intentions are.

Absolutely. Trashing another woman's body is just not cool.

Saying you prefer one over the other isn't exactly trashing. It's just stating a preference.

bcattoes

This is so unnecessary, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it would NEVER be ok for someone to post up pictures of bigger girls and say ew who wants to look like that, which essentially you are doing here with these very slim girls.

Several people have posted pics of what they call "skinny fat" (i.e. slim curvy girls) along side a skinny muscular girl. Those posts usually get hundreds of "thank you" posts raving about how much better the skinny girl with muscles looks. This is simply the other side of the coin.

Inlet

Here's the deal. No matter how much weight I gain, I will never look like the bottom four women because of the way my genetics have determined where I accumulate fat. I will always have a tiny top half like the top four. Notice also that the top four have long torsos, and small chests.
People like me, and possibly those top four, are just shooting to make our lower, pear shaped selves "match" our little top halves.
Weighing more just gave me huge legs and ankles.
It's about body type.
:-) I wish curvy was possible for me, but its not. :-p so I just try and stay healthy, feel good, run fast and not worry too much about how much guys and a lot of girls think tiny frames and small chests and slender frames are unattractive. ;-)

fromaquasar

I totally agree with this, the bottom four are all classic hour glass figures. Some of us just won't ever look like that!

fromaquasar

This is so unnecessary, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it would NEVER be ok for someone to post up pictures of bigger girls and say ew who wants to look like that, which essentially you are doing here with these very slim girls.

Several people have posted pics of what they call "skinny fat" (i.e. slim curvy girls) along side a skinny muscular girl. Those posts usually get hundreds of "thank you" posts raving about how much better the skinny girl with muscles looks. This is simply the other side of the coin.

I have seen threads like the "hot women with muscles" where ppl post images of more muscular women they find attractive. I've not seen any threads where people have made a comparison between two different types of aesthetic, whether that be body type or training goals, and said one is more attractive universally than the other. And if I did I would make the exact same comment as above.

jadedone

Also there are a lot of misconceptions about these so called curvy pin up girls of the past, Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 - 14 in RETRO sizes, which is a modern size 8 - 10 (US size 4 - 6). Her measurements were 36-23-37 - the epitome of the gorgeous hour glass figure, but that is one tiny waist! Elizabeth Taylor was 116 pounds and 5"4 inchs (36-21-36), hardly what we would call curvy.

The women pictured were literally curvy, with a very low waist to hip ratio. I think curvy is a misnomer this days. It is used as a euphemism for bigger. In reality, people at any size can be actually curvy (look like an hourglass) and people at any size can be an apple, pear or a ruler.

jadedone

One thing is that it doesn't always seem like everyone appreciates that people have very different expectations on what they'd like to look like. some people are looking for softer, other muscular and highly defined, others are looking for toned with light definition, and still others are looking for lean with no definition, and then still more are looking for visible bones.

Each is a completely different aesthetic. And then there are other people who are looking for a number on the scale, and not a specific look. we are all individuals and each body type should be celebrated.

TLStokes84

It was a cute picture referencing modern ideals. No one is bashing anyone's body. Also, anyone who thinks those pictures are just about body shape are blind. The top row have almost no body fat and bottom row does. Even the arms on the bottom row are fleshier. None of the women are fat but these days women who look like the bottom row are made to feel fat.

snaggly

Let's put it this way. I don't want to be too thin and neither do I want to be fat. I want to be TONED.

For me, no matter how flawed the BMI scale is, it will always be an indicator of where I want to be ie, at a BMI of around 20 (medium frame), NOT 22 or 23 or 24, even though they are within the healthy weight range. To be toned with that BMI is my ideal.

I think that people who want to be at the top end of the BMI scale for HWR are just kidding themselves thinking they are okay to stay there. I am talking about the ordinary folks and even athletes who are usually (for women) at around a BMI of 20 to 21. These female athletes and sports players are (or should be) the epitome of fitness.

Coming back to the pictures, NONE of them look toned, TBH. I don't want to emulate any of them!!

fromaquasar

Also there are a lot of misconceptions about these so called curvy pin up girls of the past, Marilyn Monroe was a size 12 - 14 in RETRO sizes, which is a modern size 8 - 10 (US size 4 - 6). Her measurements were 36-23-37 - the epitome of the gorgeous hour glass figure, but that is one tiny waist! Elizabeth Taylor was 116 pounds and 5"4 inchs (36-21-36), hardly what we would call curvy.

The women pictured were literally curvy, with a very low waist to hip ratio. I think curvy is a misnomer this days. It is used as a euphemism for bigger. In reality, people at any size can be actually curvy (look like an hourglass) and people at any size can be an apple, pear or a ruler.

Yeah they were definitely the true sense of the word curvy

I guess what irks me about this image is that actually both sets of women represent figures that are only obtainable for most of the population through extreme measures. Having a 23 inch waist and d cup boobs is a genetical blessing and so I guess I feel like people look at this picture and see the bottom four as more natural and a better representation of normal healthy women when in fact that kind of figure is as unobtainable to most people (maybe if I got breast implants and removed a few ribs) as the top pictures and inevitably still leaves women feeling inadequate. Which is really the opposite point than what the image is trying to make!

lukeout007

Dunno, but I would much rather look like one of the bottom four!

I'd much rather look at the bottom 4...the top 4 are far too skinny.

cjpg

Never to me!

MissFit0101

Is there a contest as to how many times this can be posted on the MFP forums in a week? If so, who's winning?

SergeantSunshine_reused

I'd pick kiera's body over any of them. She just needs a more appealing top.

There was already a thread on this. some 15 pages long discussing how the bottom 4 have nearly the same measurements as the top 4.
Plus it is not fair how the bottom 4 have actual photography pictures and the top are quick shots of them at the beach.

garn1232

bottom four for sure!!

rainunrefined

Men Love curves....Dogs love bones.... saw this on a magnet.

haha, love it.

beccadaniixox

I LOVE this!!

SergeantSunshine_reused

Dunno, but I would much rather look like one of the bottom four!

I'd much rather look at the bottom 4...the top 4 are far too skinny.

and the bottom 4 look too fat to me. Especially Marylin. Not a fan of that picture.

Priincess_Natalie

Not this again. Please stop and think. Would you be okay with someone saying "those curvy girls looks nasty and fat"? If not then please don't bash on the skinny girls. It's not right to shame either heavy, big, tall, small, round, straight, green, blue or any person no matter what. This is so wrong on so many levels.

I have a feeling most of the girls bashing the top row of women would be ready to kill someone if the same hateful things were being said about the bottom row of women or generalizing a group they fit in.

MissFit0101

Dunno, but I would much rather look like one of the bottom four!

I'd much rather look at the bottom 4...the top 4 are far too skinny.

and the bottom 4 look too fat to me. Especially Marylin. Not a fan of that picture.

ditto ^^^