To wonder why we hate our curves?

[malificent7]

Ive been reading the beauty myth by Naomi Wolf and she makes some very intetesting points about the diet industry.

In the 1950s etc when women weren't in the workplace, curves were celebrated. Monroe was a size 16.

Since the 1960s when Twiggy was a role model, women were more succesful at work so the patriarchy had to make women slaves to being thin to keep them in check.

So do men prefer curvy women? Isn't fat on females healthy? Ive read on here that men stop fancying their partners when they put on weight?

So are thinner women more attractive or is that just what society wants?

From experience and after reading threads on here, dieting makes us miserable and we have a bad relationship with food..so why hate our natural curves (not obesity rolls of fat.)?

Who gives a shit what most men prefer? Why are we spending our time thinking about this shit? Men are not doing it. They are not hating themselves, hating their 'fat' or their arses or any other inconsequential appearance related nonsense.

utter nonsense. In a slightly different way, but men are just as vain as we are if you want to completely generalise.

MEN spend hours at the gym to get a 6 pack, men spend a fortune on designer clothes, on expensive hair cuts and treatments, on cosmetic dental work, some even spend it on fake tan.

In RL some women AND men are overweight or don't care about their appearance, but others work really hard on it. YOU might not care, but I surely do. I could be friend with someone fun and interesting, I wouldn't fancy or have any attraction for an overweight person. I did fancy my now DH because I found him hot, still find him hot now.

And let's stop the slim or skinny bashing shall we. A slim woman is just as much as a woman as a "curvy" one. And curvy is not fat.

Boys spend just as much time as girls getting ready for a party, thinking about their hair and clothes, and being equally upset about a spot. Some don't, but some don't. It never has been a female thing.

I'm 5ft 1in and most petite ranges don't fit me they are proportioned all wrong. Wallis ok but that's about it. Next Regular length trousers are the right length for me most short ones are too short.

Re Asian women being small, a few years back thete was a disturbing FB trend of young mostly Asian women posing with a sheet of A4 paper against them to show they were the same size or smaller.

That ^ is utter nonsense. Boys are not taught that their appearance is the one most important thing about them. Girls are, by many means. Girls and women are bitched about, commented on and judged for their appearance in the public realm much much more than boys and women are.

jayThere are plenty of disturbing trends in the west too eg pro-ana, thigh gap etc.

I'm size 8 but in China I always feel like a fat phuc.

It's totally standard to be size 4-6 over there.

Marylin Monroe might have been a 1950s size 16 but that's more likely a size 6 today.

From personal experience, most men prefer healthy looking women.

So yes, not stick thin, but not carrying excess weight too.

The fact that women have boobs and wider hip bones makes them 'curvy' without having to have excess fat too.

Men are not doing it. They are not hating themselves, hating their 'fat' or their arses or any other inconsequential appearance related nonsense.

Sorry but that's bollocks. I'm a man and I wouldn't claim to know what all men are thinking so how you can I don't know. Suffice to say my own experience doesn't correspond to your assertion.

YOU might not care, but I surely do.

Good for you. Clearly unhappy with your natural state. Probably desperate for male attention as well

Who gives a shit what most men prefer? Why are we spending our time thinking about this shit? Men are not doing it. They are not hating themselves, hating their 'fat' or their arses or any other inconsequential appearance related nonsense.

I guess the explosion in the sales of protein supplements, cosmetic products, invasive surgical treatments and steroid abuse in young men has kind of passed you by.

Men’s humour is often pretty cruel and victim based whereby jokes about ones weight, lack of hair, teeth, body hair etc are considered fair game and just ‘banter’, to show offence or get upset about such abuse is just opening yourself up to more cruel jibes. Many men are extremely conscious about their appearance, they just rarely talk about it.

Yes, women have been objectified for their looks forever, but let’s not pretend that in recent times men have not been subject to the same scrutiny.

The ideal in the Caribbean is the complete opposite of the European ideal of tall and thin. A current size 14 - 16 is preferred by many men and skinny women are taunted as being ‘marger’ which means meagre. It’s all boll*cks though isn’t it. We all have naturally different shapes so it’s really silly to try and have a one size fits all.

husky I don’t get this ‘Asians are child sized’ nonsense. Not my experience at all.

Asian women tend to be smaller in build than Caucasian people. That’s just a fact. And also my experience.

strawberrygelato
Well, my natural state is to be active, we are not designed to sit down all day stuffing ourselves. Overeating and sitting down looking at a screen makes you sluggish, lethargic, gives you headaches. Going for a run gives you a boost. So as it happens, I am very happy with my "natural state"

When you see how much the diet and fitness industry is worth, it's pretty obvious I am not the only one who cares.

Probably desperate for male attention as well
Oh hello, anyone feeling a bit jealous and bitter over here?

husky It's hardly 'just a fact'. In the past, Asian women tended to be smaller due to diet and lack of protein, but that is changing quickly these days.

Are you confusing curves with fat, OP?
And who says we hate them anyway?

Exactly. If you mean curves as a Euphemism for fat then no. I don't intent to 'embrace ' it. Not do I wish to 'celebrate ' it. It's awful and depressing for me to be fat. Fat is anything above a BMI 25 (officially) .. although the line between what one individual is happy with and another.. is entirely personal.

This is just ignorant. Monroe wasn't a modern size 16. Curves were out of fashion in the 20s when women were still largely house creatures. Curves are actually very popular now(specifically big bottoms and thick thoghs). It is like you've created an alternative reality in your head.

MEN spend hours at the gym to get a 6 pack, men spend a fortune on designer clothes, on expensive hair cuts and treatments, on cosmetic dental work, some even spend it on fake tan.

Not where I live they don't. Most of the men I see are fat, unhealthy looking and/or ugly.

I think most men prefer slim women. But who cares what men want? I'm not prepared to spend my life watching every mouthful of food, just so I can look good to the fat and slobby men I see day to day. Maybe if there were decent looking men around I might up my game, otherwise, why bother.

I spend quite a lot of time on a university campus which attracts lots and lots of Asian students, and so many of the women are astonishingly slim. I've often pondered to what extent it's cultural and to what extent genetic.

Tiny in general in a lot of cases - very small and dainty - but even the ones of "average" (as in UK average) height are often exceptionally slim.

I watched a TV series on Amazon called The Astronauts Wives Club. It was set in the early 60s. Thefe were some swimming pool scenes. None of the actresses had the sort of body that was actually fashionable at that time I.e slim with soft curves and no muscle definition, they were all toned as anything!

I have been a size 10 -12 since I can remember, in the 80's especially, measuring 36 25 36, I was curvy. I was also slim.

I still wear a size 10 -12, and I am much bigger. I feel fat and wobbly. I am still curvy. In the 80's I would probably have been a 14 - 16.

Curvy these days seems to mean 'big', Dawn French for example rather then Nigella Lawson (although she has slimmed down but is still curvy).

lots of Asian students, and so many of the women are astonishingly slim. I've often pondered to what extent it's cultural and to what extent genetic.

Of course I am generalising, but I am always amazed by the choice of breakfast by Asian guests in international hotels. Whilst some of us stuff themselves with pastries or a full English, many Asians are eating very healthy looking things with rice. No wonder they are slim. I am sure it happens, but I've never seen an european-looking guest eating soup for breakfast.

Thisis, ‘changing’ doesn’t mean ‘has changed’. In some Asian countries (eg Korea), it’s changing more quickly than in others.

I lived in Indonesia for years. I’m a 178 cm tall, slim Caucasian. I really struggled to buy clothes there, except in the big shopping centres that stocked western brands. Clothes made for the local market just got wider instead of longer as the sizes went up. The larger sizes were tailored to short, narrow-shouldered bodies that are carrying weight around the middle.

It varies from one country to another within Asia, obviously. My point was that you’d still see more size 6 women in Asia than in Europe, even if the obesity problem disappeared tomorrow.

Re Asian figures - can only speak for Korea really but a lot of it is cultural eg it is really really REALLY bad to be fat. Like, you will be shamed constantly for it. So most people strive to be thin.

Partly genetic, sure, cos they don't tend to have the butt and the boobs. But that is also due to diet in part.

A lot of it is what they eat - my husband typically eats seaweed soup, rice and kim chi for breakfast. The typical diet is a lot of soups, side dishes that are normally vegetables, a lot of fresh fish and tofu. People almost always eat communally so there is not as much 'oh I'll just eat another few biscuits' like in the west. It would be super weird to sit at your desk at lunchtime eating a sandwich, so it's harder to overeat, I think.

The diet is changing too though and you do see a lot of chubby kids these days. A lot of sugary snacks, crisps, fried chicken and sitting around on bums, sadly.

Older people do a lot of exercise, it is normal to hike, there is exercise equipment in every park, there are millions of sports clubs.

BillywigStig no way was Marilyn M ever a size 6 she just wasn't.