HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT "SKINNY"?

MeIShouldB
MeIShouldB Posts: 578 Member
in Chit-Chat
I'm curious, how does everyone feel about the word skinny. I am mixed, but I was raised with my black side (except my daddy) and black women take pride in being thick and black men love a thick woman. So growing up, skinny has become kind of an insult to women. When you are called skinny it's more like telling someone that they are rail thin and gross."Skinny" has a negative conotation in the black community, so as I have been losing weight and people have said it to me I'm not sure how to feel. I know most people, if not all, mean it as a compliment but b/c of what the word has come to mean for some people it kinda makes me uncomfortable. How do you feel about the word?
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Replies

  • catrinaHwechanged
    catrinaHwechanged Posts: 4,907 Member
    Skinny does not have bad connotations to me. In fact I, personally, would prefer to be skinny. If someone referred to me as such I generally wouldn't see it as offensive.....of course tone and context make a difference.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    I know how I feel about skinny...not sure how I feel about this thread...
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    I prefer the term fit if it applies. Skinny sounds too much like underweight to me. And unfortunately a lot of people of normal weight are considered underweight, because they are becoming all too rare.
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
    I prefer thin or fit - skinny to me means underfed and sickly. But that's just me!
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    'Skinny' is a negative terminology to me. It's always been associated with thinspo/pro-Ana/pro-Mia in my mind.

    I like 'fit.' 'Toned.' Etc.
  • michlama
    michlama Posts: 7
    I prefer the word "tiny" to "skinny". The term skinny-fat and the idea of skinny models make the term skinny seem unhealthy to me. However, I want to be tiny! Growing up I was always bigger than EVERYONE. Sooooo. Tiny sounds awesome
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Love this perspective as you know the word skinny is admired among white people. What's that saying nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. And how many desserts have the word skinny in them?

    I think this is a great thought. I know when I lived in Nigeria skinny meant starving to death.
  • Stump_Likker
    Stump_Likker Posts: 2,059 Member
    I know what you mean about the black community and skinny but I think that is changing. I would never let a someone else decide what I should be. I'm neither thick nor skinny. I have a butt, I have boobs, and I'm healthy. What anyone else thinks is irrelevant. Skinny wouldn't bother me.
  • milf_n_cookies
    milf_n_cookies Posts: 2,244 Member
    I get called skinny or tiny all the time, doesn't offend me.
  • MeIShouldB
    MeIShouldB Posts: 578 Member
    I prefer the term fit if it applies. Skinny sounds too much like underweight to me.

    DING DING MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    I wouldn't want to be called "thick" at all, no way, but to me "skinny" is a heroin addict, a concentration camp victim, a person dying from starvation. Somebody with bony lumps of vertebrae protruding down their spine, visible sharp shoulder blades and hip bones, stick-thin arms and legs, thigh gaps, visible protruding ribs. I've seen photos of near-skeletal victims from Dachau and Auschwitz that looked like that.
  • healthyandfitgirl14
    healthyandfitgirl14 Posts: 413 Member
    I wouldn't want to be called "thick" at all, no way, but to me "skinny" is a heroin addict, a concentration camp victim, a person dying from starvation. Somebody with bony lumps of vertebrae protruding down their spine, visible sharp shoulder blades and hip bones, stick-thin arms and legs, thigh gaps, visible protruding ribs. I've seen photos of near-skeletal victims from Dachau and Auschwitz that looked like that.

    okay then.
  • Mutant13
    Mutant13 Posts: 2,485 Member
    Is 'badass' an option here?
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
    Up until I was 18 years old, i was naturally thin. But like bony thin. I was about 104 pounds at 5'5 18 years old, so everyone would constantly point out how skinny I was and thought i was anorexic. I HATED being called skinny.

    But now that I'm a regular curvy woman who works out and tries, oh boy do i love it when people tell me I'm skinny :love: hhahaha
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    Is 'badass' an option here?


    "Badass" is always an option!
  • wobblybitz87
    wobblybitz87 Posts: 12
    I would prefer to be slim that skinny. To me, skinny is underweight. But everyone has different ideas of what skinny looks like. I would just say thank you and leave it at that.
  • Cutting4life
    Cutting4life Posts: 505 Member
    I wouldn't want to be called "thick" at all, no way, but to me "skinny" is a heroin addict, a concentration camp victim, a person dying from starvation. Somebody with bony lumps of vertebrae protruding down their spine, visible sharp shoulder blades and hip bones, stick-thin arms and legs, thigh gaps, visible protruding ribs. I've seen photos of near-skeletal victims from Dachau and Auschwitz that looked like that.


    14blqvn.jpg
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I like the word 'skinny.' I like the words 'curvy' and 'athletic.' 'Emaciated' has a bad connotation.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    It was an insult as I recall it the first time I heard it. It wasn't meant as a compliment. I had bony knees and was called skinny in a derogatory way in contrast to my older cousins who were already starting to fill out through puberty. As soon as my puberty started kicking in, those insults stopped as I got my womanly thin veil of body fat and a little curves. I was by no means "fat" but I was just no longer "skinny" and both those cousins had passed through that pre-pubescent phase and endured the same "loving" ridicule. There were "skinny" boys in my family too who either passed puberty to become manly or "lanky" or "slim" because apparently the "skinny" label is too harsh for adults in our clan.

    ETA: Now however I don't feel negative about it at all. If a friend of mine tried to lose weight and got to a size that I thought was on the low side of healthy and thus "slim" or "slender" I'd have no problem telling her "Hi, skinny girllllll!" with a little wink and I know she'd know I meant it in a nice and complimentary way. I don't think the term is as loaded as it used to be due to new uses like "skinny cow" foods and "skinny margaritas" and etc. etc.
  • MeIShouldB
    MeIShouldB Posts: 578 Member
    Is 'badass' an option here?

    love it!
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    I HATE the term skinny. I agree with the other posters that it sounds like they aren't healthy. I prefer the word trim.
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    Is 'badass' an option here?

    :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:
  • runner2runner
    runner2runner Posts: 1,937 Member
    I depends on the context in which the word is used!! It unfortunately also carries a negative conotaion here in South Africa where thick and curvy is in, even amongst white people! I prefer to use the words slim or lean when refering to a thin or "skinny" woman because I don't how she'll take it if I call her skinny! So it really depends on whether the person saying it means it as an insult or compliment! In your case it seems like people are saying it as a compliment so you really have nothing to worry about!
  • veggieshark
    veggieshark Posts: 153 Member
    Personally I don't enjoy body comments at all, even though they can't be helped. When I'm called skinny, I sort of just laugh it off like a "well what can you do?" sort of thing. I don't really enjoy it. I'd rather just be called pretty, or intelligent, or witty, or helpful, or kind.

    When people tell me that my body is skinny, it makes me feel like there's nothing to it. That there are no defining, sexy, or beautiful features. It tells me that my 32D breasts aren't big enough to be noticed and my overall hourglass-like proportions aren't as appealing as I once believed. I don't know what word I'd rather be called, honestly. I like curvy, because my body does have rather dramatic proportions, but I like sexy--or ravishing. Intoxicating even.
  • shadowkat57
    shadowkat57 Posts: 151 Member
    I think skinny sounds unhealthy - like the opposite of fat. Lean, slim, fit, toned etc all sound "healthy weight" - skinny sounds underweight.
  • Moosycakes
    Moosycakes Posts: 258 Member
    I like skinny for myself, but I never really like commenting on people's bodies because I think it's rude. Different people have different bodies and that's okay- I wish everyone could focus on health instead of their bodies. Not that I can. But it would be nice.
  • popsicklestar
    popsicklestar Posts: 166 Member
    I don't love the word "skinny." I'd much prefer to be called "fit" because I want to have curves and muscle and never want to look too skinny. Of course a lot of people divide people into two groups: skinny and fat. If you're not fat, you're skinny. I definitely prefer it to "fat," but no, it's not my favorite adjective.
  • Fiercely_Me
    Fiercely_Me Posts: 481 Member
    Great topic! I can't speak for all African-American men, but my experiences show that there is a trend for African-American men to prefer thick women over skinny women. But I've also seen the same preference for Latino and Caucasian men too from my experiences. Culture definitely plays a role in whether being skinny is valued over being thick, but of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.

    I think it's all subjective, and culture can influence people's perceptions. What may be skinny to you may not be skinny to me or anyone else. And then there's the thin line between being "thick" and being "fat". Which is a debate in and of itself.

    I think someone is skinny at a size 3 and under. When I lost weight awhile back, some said " Wow" you've gotten skinny! You look great!" Some guys said that I got skinny and seemed disappointed. I didn't think I was skinny at all, having a very toned, curvy size 8 body. I don't think being skinny or being called skinny is a bad thing as long as you are healthy, both body and mind.
  • perfectlyimperfectturk
    perfectlyimperfectturk Posts: 72
    I generally try to avoid terms such as skinny and thin, and lean more towards fit/toned/healthy/average.

    I also prefer thick rather than fat/obese/big.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I've been called skinny my whole life. I don't really care. Some people use it as an insult but others think of it as a complement. I would call myself thin, fit and athletic, personally, but I could care less what other people call me. I know what I am and I like it just fine. :flowerforyou:

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