Curvy Does Not Mean Plus Sized!

Warning: This is a rant, if you don't want to read it--move on.

So this past weekend I was skimming through a magazine (a fashion one, I don't remember the name). Anyways, they had a section showing how every body type could wear a certain jacket, and which one was best for each. The included body types were: "petite", "tall", "pear", "athletic", and "curvy". The "petite" woman was short, but proportional. The "tall" was the same, but tall. The "pear" shaped was exactly that, small on top and larger on the bottom.The "athletic" body was essentially a rectangular body shape. The "curvy" was a plus sized woman (size 18 or 20 ish).

I was immediately pissed. I don't understand why "curvy" has come to replace the term "plus sized". I am NOT plus sized, I am curvy. My measurements are 37-27-38. None of the body types they included were accurate to my body type, and I feel like this is common in magazines. Why can't we just call plus sized plus sized?

"Curvy" is meant to be an hourglass figure, and I hate that the word has been taken over by those who are plus sized and merely want to avoid the term "plus sized". It's stupid. I'm NOT SAYING that women that are plus sized can't be hourglass shapes. That happens a lot!! But, I don't know...it just bothers me when it's implied that curvy means fat.

Ugh.

/rant.

Thank god someone said this. I hate when extremely obese women go on and on about how they love their curves. I'm sorry, but that is excess body fat, not curves. You maybe curvy under there, and I am not trying to fat shame anyone, but they are not the same thing. I have a 10 inch difference in my waist compared to my chest and hips. Granted, there are more inches there than I would like to be, but it is still an hour glass shape. Yet because curvy has become a term for plus sized, I get very upset now if someone calls me curvy. Christina Hendricks is curvy, Sofia Vergara is curvy- neither of them are plus sized. From now on, I would like to be referred to as a "Christina Hendricks"

I was immediately pissed. I don't understand why "curvy" has come to replace the term "plus sized". I am NOT plus sized, I am curvy. My measurements are 37-27-38. None of the body types they included were accurate to my body type, and I feel like this is common in magazines. Why can't we just call plus sized plus sized?

You are not plus-sized. You are not obese. These terms are not offensive to you because you are fortunate enough not to be in those categories. However, many including myself...are. Curvy is just a polite way of calling someone overweight or plus-sized. It sounds better and it's not as rude. Be lucky you don't have to suffer a very unforgiving and sometime cruel society.

ok, i am fat/plus sized (profile pic is my goal) and i get just as annoyed as the OP at 'curvy' being used. why do we need a 'polite' term for fat? do you not understand that the more fat people use 'curvy' to try and pretend we aren't what we obviously are, the more we ridicule ourselves!

Warning: This is a rant, if you don't want to read it--move on.

So this past weekend I was skimming through a magazine (a fashion one, I don't remember the name). Anyways, they had a section showing how every body type could wear a certain jacket, and which one was best for each. The included body types were: "petite", "tall", "pear", "athletic", and "curvy". The "petite" woman was short, but proportional. The "tall" was the same, but tall. The "pear" shaped was exactly that, small on top and larger on the bottom.The "athletic" body was essentially a rectangular body shape. The "curvy" was a plus sized woman (size 18 or 20 ish).

I was immediately pissed. I don't understand why "curvy" has come to replace the term "plus sized". I am NOT plus sized, I am curvy. My measurements are 37-27-38. None of the body types they included were accurate to my body type, and I feel like this is common in magazines. Why can't we just call plus sized plus sized?

"Curvy" is meant to be an hourglass figure, and I hate that the word has been taken over by those who are plus sized and merely want to avoid the term "plus sized". It's stupid. I'm NOT SAYING that women that are plus sized can't be hourglass shapes. That happens a lot!! But, I don't know...it just bothers me when it's implied that curvy means fat.

Ugh.

/rant.

Thank god someone said this. I hate when extremely obese women go on and on about how they love their curves. I'm sorry, but that is excess body fat, not curves. You maybe curvy under there, and I am not trying to fat shame anyone, but they are not the same thing. I have a 10 inch difference in my waist compared to my chest and hips. Granted, there are more inches there than I would like to be, but it is still an hour glass shape. Yet because curvy has become a term for plus sized, I get very upset now if someone calls me curvy. Christina Hendricks is curvy, Sofia Vergara is curvy- neither of them are plus sized. From now on, I would like to be referred to as a "Christina Hendricks"

http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/veronica-dress-navy.html

See above for an actual hourglass figure. A lot of women claiming to have one, don't... Yet no one is harping on them for claiming it. Well, that I've seen anyway.

I think a lot of people in this thread need to go back and read the first post - many of the responses are far more *****y and personal that the OP was ("sorry you are so insecure darlin", "get over it" "way to insult every one here" etc).

I personally didn't see much wrong with the OP, the point she was making is one that many other people have made and agreed with, I didn't see the OP judging others just saying that it personally annoys her that the word curvy HAS seemed to change in meaning in recent years - she even said herself what many of you seem to be sarcastically pointing out - that a woman of any size CAN be curvy but the one in this magazine wasn't.

Seriously, read it a few times before getting annoyed and firing off a response that makes no sense.

Can't find clothes that fit? You act like you're part of some marginalized, downtrodden group of women who clothing manufacturers don't make clothing for. No, newsflash, clothing is not made for most women. It's made to fit some weird ideal "average" woman that doesn't exist. So whether you're curvy or a ruler or a pear or an apple, it's going to be difficult to find clothes that fit, because guess what! When you're manufacturing clothing you have to make it so it fits as many people as possible, but unfortunately that has the result of not fitting MOST of us properly. If it did tailors wouldn't be in business.

Exactly. The reality is that the clothing companies sell clothing that sells the most (that's the way the world of consumerism has always been). I am a size 00 and smaller than an xs. Most stores do not sell clothing that fits me. I buy the smallest size and still need to get the waist taken in because for a small person I still have a curvy behind (oh no, I said curvy). If this brings a person to terror and tears, then I apologize for my callousness. But, really if this is a major problem, just count yourself as blessed and lucky to not have suffered from tragedy and hardship or to have seen others go through it. But, there are plenty of people in this world that don't even have a single pair of shoes and they are starving. I just think it never hurts to put things into perspective, it helps it not to feel like a bigger problem than it needs to be. A problem that can be handled by a tailor.

you have to get the waist taken in.
ok
I have to buy a dress 3-4 sizes too big and get EVERYTHING taken in.
the waist 5-6 sizes, the hips several sizes, the shoulders, the neck, the length usually, the ARMHOLES, the sleeves.

you either don't sew, or have no concept of how clothing is made.
even a master seamstress has trouble taking in everything but the bust without altering the lines, the style, and the general look of a dress.
sometimes things like armholes can't be taken in. It's a matter of needing more fabric, not less.

and even if this feat can be performed, you think it's fine that I have to pay hundreds of dollars to alter one or two pieces of clothing?

I don;t ask for things to fit perfectly.
I'd be very very very happy to take in the waist, like you, if only clothing was made for hourglass figures.

I have to get dresses two to three or more sizes bigger to accommodate my boobs, and I'm not complaining at all. It is what it is. I buy stretchy material dresses and I move the hell on. I'm used to it, not angry about it. Unfortunately, the average bra size in America is still only 36 C and that's up since a decade ago from a B cup due to breast augmentation being on the rise. No matter what we busty girls do, we are not the median, we are not the average, we are unique and special snowflakes and that's that. I'm a 34F... when Victoria's Secret started selling DDD's I went bonkers because a 36 DDD would actually look nice on me and I could finally buy in Vickies! Amazing day. Rejoice in your tits, or have them down sized, and accept that we're not the norm and clothes companies are looking to make a profit and a niche market isn't what the bigger conglomerates are catering too. (Above D is less than 1% of the female population, last I looked.)

honey, I'm a 32J... if you need 2-3 sizes for your boobs I need 6.