"The Perfect Girl" -- in 1912

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Replies

  • sweetchildomine
    sweetchildomine Posts: 872 Member
    Oh god. I was actually interested in this article but now I'm irritated because of some of the comments people have made. Seriously, I'm getting so tired of constantly seeing this fat girl vs. skinny girl argument on here. No one is better or more woman than anyone else because of their body type. End of story!
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    enjoy the article - rejoice that such an article could exist in 1912 - and ignore the party poopers.
  • JKS76
    JKS76 Posts: 54 Member
    bleeeeeee. Nice article.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
    I don't have problems like this because:


    a. I have nothing to be vain about
    b. I don't live in a world obsessed with media

    I am happy in my own little world and the environs on which I bring any influence to bear and have influence born on me. I just like mending things and just get on with it.


    and I happily ignore those who tell me it is wrong to ignore their prejudices and judgements.
  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
    Got to say I'm a little disappointed with some of the comments on here. It's downright rude to call thin women toothpicks. Just as it would be to call a more curvaceous woman a balloon or something.

    I usually find MFP to be a really accepting, body positive place. Please let's not let that change
  • JKS76
    JKS76 Posts: 54 Member
    I don't have problems like this because:


    a. I have nothing to be vain about
    b. I don't live in a world obsessed with media

    I am happy in my own little world and the environs on which I bring any influence to bear and have influence born on me. I just like mending things and just get on with it.


    and I happily ignore those who tell me it is wrong to ignore their prejudices and judgements.

    Good for you. My husband has similar qualities and is both inspiring and a restful person to be around because of it. From the sound of it, I bet you are too. PS. I realised I was generalising but I was trying (not very successfully!) to keep my word count down. My intention was a positive one on those previous posters that feel fed up with this kind of thing.
    xx
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • chm2616
    chm2616 Posts: 434 Member
    This is great! Thank you so much for sharing! :smile:
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I don't know what her BF% was, but 5'7" and 171lb would put her at a BMI of 26.8 which is overweight. I don't know why everyone is jumping on me about this. 26.8 is overweight.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    OP, you see what you started.
    Go to your room!!!

    LMAO!

    I don't think the OP should be blamed. OP started a nice thread. Its the other women who started bashing on ... other women?
  • trophywife24
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    OP, you see what you started.
    Go to your room!!!

    LMAO!

    I don't think the OP should be blamed. OP started a nice thread. Its the other women who started bashing on ... other women?

    Women are horrid to each other. Horrid.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I don't know what her BF% was, but 5'7" and 171lb would put her at a BMI of 26.8 which is overweight. I don't know why everyone is jumping on me about this. 26.8 is overweight.

    Yes, it says it in the article. And you know full well that the BMI does not give the full story, as you said, you do not know what her BF% is, plus you were less than complimentary about her measurements, not her weight.
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    *sigh*. So we have already had someone with very 'normal' measurements insulted and more slender 'less curvy' women insulted - and that's on the first page.

    I am a sad sad lonely man who thinks any woman with a pulse and a hole is desirable (bonus points for multiple holes!)
    Oh, you!
  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    Oh god. I was actually interested in this article but now I'm irritated because of some of the comments people have made. Seriously, I'm getting so tired of constantly seeing this fat girl vs. skinny girl argument on here. No one is better or more woman than anyone else because of their body type. End of story!
    I've seen some really dumb conversations on MFP. But the skinny vs fat is the by far the dumbest. People need to be what they want to be to be happy and healthy.
    And from there, zip it.

    You don't see men tearing eachother down this way.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I don't know what her BF% was, but 5'7" and 171lb would put her at a BMI of 26.8 which is overweight. I don't know why everyone is jumping on me about this. 26.8 is overweight.

    Yes, it says it in the article. And you know full well that the BMI does not give the full story, as you said, you do not know what her BF% is, plus you were less than complimentary about her measurements, not her weight.

    Her large measurements are a result of being overweight. This article just seems like "fat acceptance" to me and most of the people in this thread seem to think that you can't be a "real woman" without endangering your health by being overweight.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Oh god. I was actually interested in this article but now I'm irritated because of some of the comments people have made. Seriously, I'm getting so tired of constantly seeing this fat girl vs. skinny girl argument on here. No one is better or more woman than anyone else because of their body type. End of story!
    I've seen some really dumb conversations on MFP. But the skinny vs fat is the by far the dumbest. People need to be what they want to be to be happy and healthy.
    And from there, zip it.

    You don't see men tearing eachother down this way.

    Healthy is the key word here
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    I don't know what her BF% was, but 5'7" and 171lb would put her at a BMI of 26.8 which is overweight. I don't know why everyone is jumping on me about this. 26.8 is overweight.

    Yes, it says it in the article. And you know full well that the BMI does not give the full story, as you said, you do not know what her BF% is, plus you were less than complimentary about her measurements, not her weight.

    Her large measurements are a result of being overweight. This article just seems like "fat acceptance" to me and most of the people in this thread seem to think that you can't be a "real woman" without endangering your health by being overweight.

    Seeing as how her hip/waist ratio, her waist measurement, and her waist/height ratio all pinpoint her as being healthy, BMI is notoriously controversial as an indication of healthy weight, let alone health, and you lamented your 32" hips (boy, my 36" hips when I was 95 lbs at 5'6" during my hardcore anorexic days must have been huge to you)...

    I think you need to reevaluate your perspective on health.

    And no, like... two women made the "toothpick" vs. "real woman" arguments, and the majority of the rest of this thread ridiculed that sentiment.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
    She eats but three meals every 2 days and almost always goes without breakfast...Her favorite food is beefsteak....She has never taken a drink of tea or coffee...She says she has never been ill and doesn't know what fear is....

    What what what?? Three meals every 2 days and goes without breakfast?? WHAT was she eating that she maintained 171 lbs if she was only eating 1.5 meals a day? Handfuls of pebbles and small flat stones? Were her meals 3 hours long?

    And even if it was true, how was her weight distributed? Is the first number her under bust or her overall bust? How much of it was muscle mass to have those stats? If she was muscular, wouldn't that mean she was more active, thus burning more, so she'd have to eat more?

    I would LOVE to believe this story, but something doesn't seem right.
  • ebr250
    ebr250 Posts: 199 Member
    To move away from the less friendly line of conversation here, I really enjoyed the part of the article where the "Perfect Girl" talks about women getting over fear. I agree that fear holds a lot of women back and many would be much happier if they learned to conquer it. Women and women's rights have come a long way thanks to women like the one in this article, but we still have a lot of work to do and part of it is learning to conquer fear!
  • Victoria2448
    Victoria2448 Posts: 559 Member
    Forget the measurements I was shocked she ate so little.:smile:

    I'm thinking her measurements and weight at 5'7" were just fine. I started with similiar measurements...although my chest was much

    larger and waist was a bit smaller...but I am only 5'2". I think I was fairly desirable at that size...

    Why are people so judgmental? We are all on different journeys and our destinations are not the same. Just support one another!:heart:
  • arrexu
    arrexu Posts: 10 Member
    She eats but three meals every 2 days and almost always goes without breakfast...Her favorite food is beefsteak....She has never taken a drink of tea or coffee...She says she has never been ill and doesn't know what fear is....

    What what what?? Three meals every 2 days and goes without breakfast?? WHAT was she eating that she maintained 171 lbs if she was only eating 1.5 meals a day? Handfuls of pebbles and small flat stones? Were her meals 3 hours long?

    And even if it was true, how was her weight distributed? Is the first number her under bust or her overall bust? How much of it was muscle mass to have those stats? If she was muscular, wouldn't that mean she was more active, thus burning more, so she'd have to eat more?

    I would LOVE to believe this story, but something doesn't seem right.

    ^^ This, thank you for summing up what my thoughts were exactly! Eating 3 meals every 2 days is not healthy!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    She eats but three meals every 2 days and almost always goes without breakfast...Her favorite food is beefsteak....She has never taken a drink of tea or coffee...She says she has never been ill and doesn't know what fear is....

    What what what?? Three meals every 2 days and goes without breakfast?? WHAT was she eating that she maintained 171 lbs if she was only eating 1.5 meals a day? Handfuls of pebbles and small flat stones? Were her meals 3 hours long?

    And even if it was true, how was her weight distributed? Is the first number her under bust or her overall bust? How much of it was muscle mass to have those stats? If she was muscular, wouldn't that mean she was more active, thus burning more, so she'd have to eat more?

    I would LOVE to believe this story, but something doesn't seem right.

    ^^ This, thank you for summing up what my thoughts were exactly! Eating 3 meals every 2 days is not healthy!

    Why is it not healthy? Seemed to work for her. Also, google IF.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I don't know what her BF% was, but 5'7" and 171lb would put her at a BMI of 26.8 which is overweight. I don't know why everyone is jumping on me about this. 26.8 is overweight.

    Yes, it says it in the article. And you know full well that the BMI does not give the full story, as you said, you do not know what her BF% is, plus you were less than complimentary about her measurements, not her weight.

    Her large measurements are a result of being overweight. This article just seems like "fat acceptance" to me and most of the people in this thread seem to think that you can't be a "real woman" without endangering your health by being overweight.

    You are missing the point of why people were annoyed with your comment. Also, my measurements are very similar at 36 28 39. I have a 20% body fat. You are making assumptions.
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    31380177.jpg
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    *sigh*. So we have already had someone with very 'normal' measurements insulted and more slender 'less curvy' women insulted - and that's on the first page.

    I am a sad sad lonely man who thinks any woman with a pulse and a hole is desirable (bonus points for multiple holes!)

    Hi.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    this is an from an era where thinness was actually frowned upon.

    here's another link that might interest people:

    http://the-f-word.org/blog/index.php/2009/04/22/vintage-weight-gain-advertisements/

    I've seen these ads before. Funny how things change. But the only thing I ever take from any of this type of stuff, is how sad it is that women are always striving to look like someone else. I try to make looking good a bonus. My main priorities are strength and stamina. Everything else is secondary..
  • Muscles_Curves
    Muscles_Curves Posts: 385 Member
    Here is a picture of her

    430927_571975116165379_1816284541_n.jpg
  • schustc
    schustc Posts: 428 Member
    I think she looks beautiful and toned.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    And she was a firm believer in Eugenics. She considered herself a testament to the theory of eugenics. Times, they sure have changed, lol!
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Interesting topic! There was even dispute back in 1912 about her weight being much too heavy:

    http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper 14/New York NY Herald/New York NY Herald 1912/New York NY Herald 1912 a - 1614.pdf#xml=http://www.fultonhistory.com/dtSearch/dtisapi6.dll?cmd=getpdfhits&u=35001ca7&DocId=4034126&Index=Z:\Index U-F-P&HitCount=4&hits=7e7+7e8+949+94a+&SearchForm=C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Fulton_New_form.html&.pdf

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