How do you define skinny?

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  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
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    I would NEVER want to be able to wrap my fingers around my upper arm. That would be disgusting!!!!
    I 'feel' skinny when my stomach is flat and I don't have a lot of wiggle. I would prefer to be called 'Fit' though.
  • stef_monster
    stef_monster Posts: 205 Member
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    I'm of two minds- lots of people think they're complimenting someone when they call them 'skinny'. I'm guilty of this occasionally. It's all in the tone of voice and context, to me. If they say, "Oh my gosh you're so skinny! You look great!" I take it as a compliment and move on with my life. If they say, "Wow, you're looking really skinny- are you feeling okay?" Or, "Have you been eating enough?" Then it would bother me.

    As for what makes a person skinny in my opinion, it's a person who has a low weight for their height and low muscle mass. Visible bones or defined muscles don't always make a person look 'skinny'. It's really all about proportion and distribution of body weight. The word skinny always makes me think of wispy, malnourished-looking people who seem sickly all the time. Slim, slender, fit, toned, in shape, athletic, healthy- all those are words I'd much rather hear, and seem much more polite.
  • jesswait
    jesswait Posts: 218 Member
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    I would not go by visible bones, because my hip bones, lower ribs and collarbone still jut out and I am overweight (just how I'm built.) I think it's more in the upper arms, when you can see skin tightly clinging to bones instead of bicep or flab, that or the infamous 'thigh gap.' I would never call someone who was at a healthy body weight but worked out a lot 'skinny.' I reserve that word for women (and by women I mean adults over 19) who attempt to keep their body weight low enough they have the same body shape as little girls or pre-pubecent teens. Since someone mentioned vampire diaries, Nina Dobrev is a good example of someone who is thin but not skinny.


    Google the term 'thinspo' for reference.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I am skinny, lean, thin, however you'd like to say it. No one in their right mind would call me fat. I don't consider it a negative term and have never heard it used as such outside of fitness circles. I would never have thought to feel insulted at being called skinny before spending too much time on the forums here.

    There are many 'tip offs' to skinny, things that I would look at and say, wow that person is skinny. Visible outlines of both muscle and bone are probably the biggest thing, indicating low body fat.
  • kooltray87
    kooltray87 Posts: 501 Member
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    Well with all the constraints you gave I'd say skinny is defined by body fat. Too much body fat and you look chubby, too little you look sickly. So in between you should look great (skinny)
  • BrianaC07
    BrianaC07 Posts: 10
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    I define skinny to be in the healthy BMI category. And, if you are there, of course you'll look fit and healthy as well :)
  • kooltray87
    kooltray87 Posts: 501 Member
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    When she looks like she needs a sammich.

    Literally laughed out loud on this one!
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
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    Hey just because some people only have 5lbs to lose (raises hands) doesn't mean they should be marginalized.

    This came up in another thread. I don't think it is usually meant as a derogatory remark at all. Maybe it is in some areas and not in others, or is it just here on MFP? I've been called skinny my whole life and I'm not (as some of you described) super thin with bones sticking out, or in any way unhealthy. I've always have good muscle tone (especially in my legs). Like any word skinny can be used as an insult but it is all contextual. So if someone says "eeew she's disgustingly skinny!" well then, we know that is an insult but if someone says "you are skinny" it may or may not be insulting. I definitely get "small" more than skinny but I think that is because I'm shortish (5'4"). Then there are the naturally skinny people out there who may actually have bones sticking out (I have a few friends like this including a former roommate who ate constantly). No matter what/how much they eat some people just have trouble gaining weight (because of height, fast metabolism, thyroid issue etc). Their natural ectomorphic state make them appear very thin. <----this is not me, but I wish people would stop making skinny an insult.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I have learned since joining mfp that skinny is used as an insult to a person's health, fitness, muscle and abilities.

    I get called slim, slender, thin, healthy, svelte, fit, athletic, strong, small, petite, tiny, little, dancer body, even curvy. You'd be surprised how muscular a small person can actually be. Some people are just small when they are healthy and fit (a natural result of being an athlete or dancer). Generalizations are stupid. People can be pretty dumb. People that feel the need to insult other people's bodies should try channeling that into improving their own physical abilities.
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
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    To me I think it's someone who doesn't have a lot of curves or visible fat on them. I want to be skinny, I just don't want to be flat as a board. A skinny waist with boobs and a butt is great!
  • gingerveg
    gingerveg Posts: 748 Member
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    I have learned since joining mfp that skinny is used as an insult to a person's health, fitness, muscle and abilities.

    I get called slim, slender, thin, healthy, svelte, fit, athletic, strong, small, petite, tiny, little, dancer body, even curvy. You'd be surprised how muscular a small person can actually be. Some people are just small when they are healthy and fit (a natural result of being an athlete or dancer). Generalizations are stupid. People can be pretty dumb. People that feel the need to insult other people's bodies should try channeling that into improving their own physical abilities.
    Yes this ^ and you said it so much more succinctly and eloquently than me :)
  • ashesfromfire
    ashesfromfire Posts: 867 Member
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    Yeah - I have a really bad relationship with "skinny"
    As a recovering anorexic the word has a negative connotation to me.
    Though I totally agree there is a difference between "slender" and "skinny" I'm not sure there's a solid line where you cross from one to the other.
    (Reminds me of what a professor recently said: What is sex? I bet you can't think of a definition, but still, when you SEE it, you know what it is!)
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    “Man is the only critter who feels the need to label things as flowers or weeds.”
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    I've never been skinny. It's almost a forgein term to me. I'm more concerned with giggly. The less giggly the better.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
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    When she looks like she needs a sammich.

    My friends and I say this all the time.
  • xiamjackie
    xiamjackie Posts: 611 Member
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    I've never been skinny. It's almost a forgein term to me. I'm more concerned with giggly. The less giggly the better.

    Do you mean giggly or jiggly? I don't think losing weight will make you giggle less. :laugh:
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    Skinny is not "an ugly word". If you are a size 0 or 2, IMO, you are "skinny" no matter your body fat percentage.
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    Skinny is not "an ugly word". If you are a size 0 or 2, IMO, you are "skinny" no matter your body fat percentage.

    Well then, I guess I'm skinny. Whatever, must we label everyone?

    Human behaviour has been contrived to fit a particular brand. The whole social construct is designed to consume; thus, humans have been programmed to consume, which has led to a predictable pattern of behaviour.
    Of course, there are many people that defy this pattern; but such people are deemed to have peculiar idiosyncratic tendencies, and are generally viewed as being outside the mainstream of what is considered to be *normal* behaviour.
    Our whole way of being is dictated by axioms and maxims that have been prescribed to us since birth.
    It really is the ultimate form of mass control.

    Labeling others begets defensiveness, no?
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
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    The question is "How do you define skinny?", not for a pointless analysis of human behaviour.

    EDIT: And we need labels in society, they are there for a reason. How do you define a morbidly obese person? How do you define a dangerous situation? How do you define anything?? WITH LABELS
  • etoiles_argentees
    etoiles_argentees Posts: 2,827 Member
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    The question is "How do you define skinny?", not for a pointless analysis of human behaviour.

    EDIT: And we need labels in society, they are there for a reason. How do you define a morbidly obese person? How do you define a dangerous situation? How do you define anything?? WITH LABELS

    discernment.

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