HISTORY OF THE FEMALE "IMAGE IDEAL"

eeebee
eeebee Posts: 471 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
The difference is astounding. In my opinion, Marilyn wins, hands down.

http://www.d.umn.edu/~jvaleri/dissatisfaction with bodies.htm

(This is an old student study, it is not not written by a health expert)
«13

Replies

  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    Marilyn definitely wins.

    Great article, very interesting!
  • LouiseRose92
    LouiseRose92 Posts: 112
    Interesting article. Marilyn looked amazing in a bikini!
  • cheyenuff
    cheyenuff Posts: 41 Member
    Very interesting article.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    Interesting read!! Thanks for posting!!
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    :noway:

    I didnt realise her waist was so tiny....

    Just under the width of one of my thighs, then.
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    I am finding this article very intersting too (re: Marilyn's figure):

    http://jezebel.com/5299793/for-the-last-time-what-size-was-marilyn-monroe
  • nikitanorris
    nikitanorris Posts: 8
    I am finding this article very intersting too (re: Marilyn's figure):

    http://jezebel.com/5299793/for-the-last-time-what-size-was-marilyn-monroe

    By those standards she was *definitely* smaller than a UK 10, let alone a 14 - I'm 36-28-36 and fit into a size 10...
  • eatthepudding
    eatthepudding Posts: 6
    Yeah, Marilyn Monroe was tiny. By far the best body on the page though IMO.

    The picture of the model on the runway near the bottom of the page is also famously photoshopped: http://www.snopes.com/photos/people/models.asp
  • Ras_py
    Ras_py Posts: 129 Member
    i liked that a lot
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I was just talking about this with a friend the other day. It's called vanity sizing and it peeves me off. Wiki isn't the best source but it gives an idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_sizing.

    From the article:
    "In Sears’s 1937 catalog, a woman with a 32 inches (81 cm)-bust would have worn a size 14 dress. In 1967, the same woman would have worn an 8. In 2011, she would wear a zero.[9]"
    When people say "Oh, but Marilyn Monroe was a size 14" it makes me want to scream. People use her too much to justify their own unhealthy choices, I think.

    This^^ exactly..
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    Bump
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    Ok....so I am generally a UK10 on top, a UK12 - 14 on the bottom.......

    Yesterday whilst shopping in just one shop....I got a size 16 boob-tube which was FAR too tight but then I got some size 10 trousers, which fit like a dream. I got size 18 shorts (yep, size 18!) and a size 8 cardigan which both fit PERFECTLY.

    Out of 3 dresses, ALL being a UK 12....only one fit me.

    I own a pair of UK size 14 trousers (what they labelled as "LARGE") which are from the 80's, but I cant even do the button up!!

    Basically, clothing sizes vary greatly, even when manufactured by the same company and they also vary from year to year/decade to decade....rather frustrating that there's no consistency :ohwell:
  • stfriend
    stfriend Posts: 256 Member
    The bad part is women are the ones who set the standard. Look at how many thread titles say "Ladies with big boobs only" yet men come flocking. Women have a tendency to tear each other down especially when competing for a man. As antiquated as that sounds, it still goes on. Or maybe its just habit by now.
  • FitBunnyEm
    FitBunnyEm Posts: 320
    brilliant post, thanks...ive heard alot of men and women say Marilyn was a big girl, god was she heck!
  • tashjs21
    tashjs21 Posts: 4,584 Member
    I am finding this article very intersting too (re: Marilyn's figure):

    http://jezebel.com/5299793/for-the-last-time-what-size-was-marilyn-monroe

    This article was very informative. You can look at her and see that she is not a size 16 by today's standards. It is nice to see it in print what I have often suspected...
    "In other words, whatever her size, her figure was an unusually dramatic hour-glass, which makes it kind of strange for women to compare themselves to her anyway."

    So basically, she had a very unusual body shape, Nice boobs, small waist and ample bottom. (no wonder men loved her :laugh:)
  • ball858
    ball858 Posts: 395 Member
    Great article, thanks for sharing - marilyn wins :0)
  • hungrymarathongirl
    hungrymarathongirl Posts: 444 Member
    thanks for posting! Great, interesting read
  • tashjs21
    tashjs21 Posts: 4,584 Member
    Ok....so I am generally a UK10 on top, a UK12 - 14 on the bottom.......

    Yesterday whilst shopping in just one shop....I got a size 16 boob-tube which was FAR too tight but then I got some size 10 trousers, which fit like a dream. I got size 18 shorts (yep, size 18!) and a size 8 cardigan which both fit PERFECTLY.

    Out of 3 dresses, ALL being a UK 12....only one fit me.

    I own a pair of UK size 14 trousers (what they labelled as "LARGE") which are from the 80's, but I cant even do the button up!!

    Basically, clothing sizes vary greatly, even when manufactured by the same company and they also vary from year to year/decade to decade....rather frustrating that there's no consistency :ohwell:


    ^This!!! My sister in law will pour herself into a pair of pants or a shirt that don't fit properly because "it is her size" and then refuse to buy something that fits and flattering to her because it is "not her size" :noway:

    My closet has such a wide range of sizes it is ridiculous. However, it took me many years to not flip out when I had to buy an XL
  • fueledbychange
    fueledbychange Posts: 132 Member
    As soon as they said Brittany Murphy looked like a toothpick, I quit reading. That is blunt and straight out body-shame, and it's ridiculous that someone who took their time write an article to try and get women to celebrate their bodies would make fun of someone because their's is, in the author's opinion, 'too thin'.

    tl;dr - This article is dumb and hypocritical. Have a nice day ladies!
  • Ras_py
    Ras_py Posts: 129 Member
    As soon as they said Brittany Murphy looked like a toothpick, I quit reading. That is blunt and straight out body-shame, and it's ridiculous that someone who took their time write an article to try and get women to celebrate their bodies would make fun of someone because their's is, in the author's opinion, 'too thin'.

    tl;dr - This article is dumb and hypocritical. Have a nice day ladies!
    lol
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    http://youtu.be/iJew4fxHl1U

    "Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly."

    "You are not as fat as you imagine."
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    As soon as they said Brittany Murphy looked like a toothpick, I quit reading. That is blunt and straight out body-shame, and it's ridiculous that someone who took their time write an article to try and get women to celebrate their bodies would make fun of someone because their's is, in the author's opinion, 'too thin'.

    tl;dr - This article is dumb and hypocritical. Have a nice day ladies!
    lol

    I'll second this 'lol'
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
    This is great. It makes a good point that only a small percentage of women are "model" thin. It is true.
  • garlic7girl
    garlic7girl Posts: 2,236 Member
    See that is the problem to me which shows we all are still warped by the media...all the women win to me. Not just MM. We all are different sizes and shapes...you strive for health and what is best for your body! Not just who has the best body.
  • amandajam2012
    amandajam2012 Posts: 82
    I am finding this article very intersting too (re: Marilyn's figure):

    http://jezebel.com/5299793/for-the-last-time-what-size-was-marilyn-monroe

    By those standards she was *definitely* smaller than a UK 10, let alone a 14 - I'm 36-28-36 and fit into a size 10...

    We have the same measurements
  • phoenixoncemore
    phoenixoncemore Posts: 196 Member
    I was just talking about this with a friend the other day. It's called vanity sizing and it peeves me off. Wiki isn't the best source but it gives an idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanity_sizing.

    From the article:
    "In Sears’s 1937 catalog, a woman with a 32 inches (81 cm)-bust would have worn a size 14 dress. In 1967, the same woman would have worn an 8. In 2011, she would wear a zero.[9]"
    When people say "Oh, but Marilyn Monroe was a size 14" it makes me want to scream. People use her too much to justify their own unhealthy choices, I think.

    This^^ exactly..

    Agreed. I read this a while ago:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2176971/1950s-housewives-kept-slim-burning-calories-housework.html

    Quite interesting regarding our changing daily activity levels, but it also says the average 1950's housewife was a size 12 with stats of 36 - 24 - 35.

    I have stats of 35 - 28 - 34 and in most stores now I'm a size 8! Except a few that really irk me, such as M&S and Next, where none of their clothes will fit as they've subscribed to vanity sizing so much. And the odd one or two, that worryingly tend to cater for a younger market such as H&M and Jane Norman, where i'm nearer a size 14 sometimes. I literally have clothes in my wardrobe from a size 6 to 16. :explode:

    It explains why the clothes size i'm wearing doesn't match how I look. I do not look like a size 6-8, I look like a size 12!!
  • SueGremlin
    SueGremlin Posts: 1,066 Member
    Thanks. It's a very sad statistic that most women go through life dissatisfied with their bodies. I don' t know what the source is, but it seems plausible to me.
    Who hasn't looked at a very old photo of themselves and thought "Psh. I actually thought i was fat".

    I just lost almost 60 lbs and am wearing a size 8. I still feel fat. It's not the way I want to feel about myself.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories