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.)?

[ikeepaforkinmypurse]

THIS is what a curvy woman looks like. It's personal preference if you prefer the amazing body of Jessica Ennis-Hill or Ursula Andress in that photo, but not many women hate their curves.

Fats, rolls of fat and flabbiness on the other hand...
Try on genuine vintage clothes to understand how a size 12,14, 16 THEN and Now compare. High end designers are a bit more honest than high street too

[RhiWrites]

What do you mean by “we” OP?

Do you hate your curves? If you do I hope your new book helps you feel better about your body.

I also think it’s a bit weird to declare one woman (Monroe) acceptably curved but imply a larger person would have rolls of fat which is not acceptable. I don’t think you found that in the book!

Personally I’m currently feeling good about my body. Even when I wasn’t though I don’t think I “hated my curves”. I don’t want to be rake thin, I want to be fit and muscled.

[Lockheart]

If by curves you mean breasts and hips, then all women have those - even if they’re size 6.

If you mean big curves / fat / plus size women (which is always what someone means when they say “curvy women”) then I don’t think it’s anything special to celebrate anymore than someone with a pretty face or slim waist.

[CoffeeOrSleep]

Also it's bollocks to suggest woman didnt work in the 1950s, middle class married woman didn't work, but unmarried middle class and most working class woman did. How do you think all those woman who's DHs didn't come home from the war put food on the table in an era without anywhere near the benefits we have now?

what they didn't do was compete or have what we would call careers.

[ikeepaforkinmypurse]

we have lost touch of what being fat really means unfortunately

[ToothyMcPuthy]

Possibly curvy celebrities like Kim Kardashian/Kylie Jenner are helping some young women to celebrate their curves again however, I personally think men's/society's opinions about my body are irrelevant.

Can I just say though that Marilyn Monroe was not a size 16 - that's a myth. One of her dress makers reported her measurements as 5ft 5ins tall, 35in bust, 22in waist and 35in hips. Her weight did fluctuate but she was around 118lb. I've also read that the dress she wore for The Seven Year Itch was too small to be zipped onto a US size 2 mannequin.

Sorry for the derail. What are your opinions OP?

[kaytee87]

middle class married woman didn't work

Not strictly true either. My grandmother was a teacher, then headteacher, then education advisor. She continued to work her whole married life. Admittedly unusual but not unheard of.

[NerrSnerr]

I am curvy when I am a size 8-10. I am currently a size 12-14 and I am obese (but losing weight).

We have lost sight of what is normal. The average is getting bigger and bigger and it is not healthy. I can feel the extra couple of stone on my back and I feel much fitter when smaller. People are just trying to justify and normalise being fat.

[Jaygee61]

I think people are trying to normalize extreme thinness too. I've seen it on here people saying they want to be skinny rather than a healthy weight.

[IanRushesInadequateFlushes]

Same here kayteee. Even the same career path. Are you me?? eyes suspiciously

[FlyingMonkeys]

Yep my mum did some modelling 50ish years ago, and worked as a fashion buyer for a while. At the time she was a size 14. It in no way whatsoever reflects a '14' now. Vanity sizing coupled with women's naturally changing body shapes have vastly increased sizing.

[Lethaldrizzle]

Curves and fat are two v different things. I don't think being overweight is particularly healthy and you can be curvy without carrying lots of extra fat.

[Archietheinventor]

Are people normalising being too thin?? Not where I live - I can’t think of one person I would describe as too thin, but I know a lot who are too fat. Agree with others that we have massively lost sight of what is normal - even in the last 20 or so years. I was showing my daughter my old school photos yesterday and there was a class one and the ‘fat’ boy didn’t look fat at all compared to how people look now - he looked totally normal sized. And that’s since the mid 90s, so not that long ago.

[squoosh]

If you look at any pic of her she’s clearly not a size 16 is she?!

No but she has much softer flesh than any current Hollywood actress would be allowed. But that's Hollywood 'norms' which are their own weird thing.

[expatinscotland]

The Kardashians are surgically altered. They have a look that famous plastic surgeon on 'Botched' aptly terms 'Not found in nature'.

[Ihatemyclients]

Marilyn Monroe was tiny - her clothes may have been a 16 then but not a 16 by today's standards.

That said I think we should celebrate diversity and that means acknowledging the beauty in all bodies, big and small!

[BoredOnMatLeave]

Just to go on to what everyone has said about Marilyn, at one point she was 36-24-34. According to ASOS thats a 10/12 on hips and 4/6 on the bottom UK size.

I'm not sure about the rest of it. I hate my fat, yes. I think men are attracted to curves but the 2 aren't the same thing.

[sleepyhead]

Personally I'm happy to have escaped the era of "curve" worship - ie constricting, restricting undergarments that pushed and nipped and shoved you into what was regarded as an acceptable shape.

[kaytee87]

I don't think anyone is normalising too thin. When people say 'skinny' they really just mean a healthy weight.
My mum was saying that my sil is far too skinny the other day. I pointed out that at 5"5, a size 8/10 and 9,7stone she's actually just right and that we're both too fat.

[squoosh]

Possibly curvy celebrities like Kim Kardashian/Kylie Jenner are helping some young women to celebrate their curves again

Yes but how fucked up is it that curves are 'in' because people love the cartoonish fake Kardashian Kurves. Black and Hispanic women must be rolling their eyes out of their heads at this new big bum worship.

[BeyondThePage]

Just to go on to what everyone has said about Marilyn, at one point she was 36-24-34. According to ASOS thats a 10/12 on hips and 4/6 on the bottom UK size

those are the CURRENT measurements for those sizes. Back in the day that would have been a UK 14/16

I have a skirt from my college days -1986 - a size 14 skirt - it fits my size 8/10 daughter. Vanity sizing is real.

[malificent7]

I like my boobs and bum but not my tummy ...so not all curves ate equal in my eyes.

The thread is not about Monroe only you know although i can see that sizing has changed. I am 12/14 round waist and size 18 up to. ( massive boobs/ top heavy)

I just wonder if it's healthy to aim for a size 10 if it means being on a permant diet/ exercise regime.

[ikeepaforkinmypurse]

we should celebrate diversity
only to a point. We have all different height, shapes, and forms but because we are getting fat, we are trying to pretend it's acceptable, normal or even healthy! It's not better to be fat than to be anorexic, shaming should not be tolerated, but neither fat or too skinny are to be encouraged.

[raisedbyguineapigs]

I agree curves and get are completely different things. And some fat on women is healthy on the hips and boobs as it's used for breastfeeding but the fat most people have nowadays is on the belly, which is unattractive and unhealthy. I'm far and even I don't 'hate' my curves. I've lost a lot of weight off my stomach though and I feel much better about myself. I haven't thought to ask my DH what he thinks, as a negative answer would probably lead to me pointing out his beer belly!

[ikeepaforkinmypurse]

if it's healthy to aim for a size 10 if it means being on a permant diet/ exercise regime

you are asking the wrong question. Is it healthy to exercise and be active: yes.
Should we stick to healthy portions instead of being glutons on processed food: yes

It should be a lifestyle, not a punishment, not a "diet" as such. Keep treats as treats, not as your main food group