to be irritated by "real women"

[MoreLikeMiranda]

Sneering that the likes of Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Claudia Schiffer or any successful, rich and beautiful woman isn't a real woman.

FFS, they are not robots or plastic.. they are extraordinary women... hurrah for them!

I've always liked Maya Angelou's take on this kind of thing.

I say that Maya has a big head. Was she wearing just a thong when she waled past those men?

If I was Maya I'd have a big head too. She is extraordinary.

but if she has a big head, then ALL women should have big heads as she is describing herself to be 'a real woman'. Its all about the confidence and the images that we have been subjected to throughout our lives. If we dont have good role models then who do we learn from.

my mum hated her tits so got a boob job after my lil bro 12 yrs ago. She also hated her nose as it was broke when she was 3 and so got a nose job shortly after.
I dont think it makes her less of a real woman as shes birthed 4 children, had 2 miscarriages, been married for 25 yrs and just divorced. She is now terminally ill, although still works full time and cares for her grandchildren. Shes been abused as a child and adult in many ways but has grown stroner because of it. Shes loving, kind and beautiful to me. She gets stressed and also can be very happy at times. Loves her children uncondtionally and would die for us. In my eyes shes a real woman!

Th only reason I could think a female is not a real woman is if:
She sits at home on her lazy ass, on benefits, takes drugs and swears like its her first language. Feeds her children shit and they stand in dirty smelly clothes - even though she gets enough money to support them properly shed rather smoke weed or take something more.

fucking hell chellesgirl-don't mince your words...
whether you find it palatable or not-for some people they have no aspirations other than breeding\benefits-and there's not a lot of difference between smoking dope and a glass or 3 of wine...
one doesn't have to have a life of trauma-i am sorry that your mum is sick but she's no more 'real'than the rest of us. if we were all the same then it'd be really really dull.

I think the term "real" has somehow acquired some very different meaning somewhere along the way.

I liked that Maya Angelou poem, and I think it is something about Xenia's point too. Being happy in your own skin and proud of who you are is such a key part of being happy and attractive, and full of vitality. Nothing to do with being "feminine" or somehow accepting that you should sit at home and brood children.

Accepting just who you are in all your peculiarities and greatness as a person is the key to me. I am not defined by my gender/genitalia. Obviously being a woman is an important part of who I am, but there is much more to me (and to everyone else) than that, I am also my intelligence, my aptitudes, my sense of humour, my interests, my experience, my education, my self.

Some women have a shining inner confidence and grace that wipes out any skinny/curvy/quite frankly fat debates. I guess Maya Angelou would fall into that category.Some sleb women can be a size 14 and look fantastic, some find themselves falling out of a bacofoil dress in the Pages Of Shame the next day.
But if we're going with the majority, I guess Angelina and the like are the ones that make it look easy, and the real women are those of us struggling in tracksuits with roots showing.But I don't see how it follows that being real is something to aspire to in that case...

No they dont sleep, what im trying to say is a 'real' woman cares. I didnt say my mum was the only real woman in the world! What im saying is that all woman (who care) are different. You obviously just had a bad day. And 3 glasses of wine...well it depends how much your body is used to it, if you do it for relaxation in the evening or are an alcoholic...If you get 'drunk' off 3 glasses of wine when you have children around you - your not a decent woman let alone a real woman.

oh bollocks you can be drunk around children and be a decent woman, isn't it exhausting being perfect the whole time?

Yes nooka the word 'real' has been miscontrued in someway. There are two types of real:

1. referring to size, weight, hair, face, clothes, presentation etc...

1. perosnality, aspiring to be YOU and no one else. Being happy, confident, etc...

Angelina jolie is No1. We dont 'know' her. She could be a real nast bitch for all we know. Everyone has a different idea of what 'beautiful' looks like. And us women are forever going to argue over it.

well i think its irresponsible to be 'drunk' around your children. Especially if you have young children.

Perfect?
Im sitting in my bright pink fleece dressing gown from Primark, with dd on my lap and my hair in tatters (roots showing) and no make up.

Theres no such word as perfect. Tell me...what is perfect?Someone whos a size 10, 5,8. Blonde, tanned, no blemishes, hair as silky as a babies bum,

Haven't read whole thread, but in response to the OP - Claudia Schiffer is extraordinary? Why? How? .

I wish we lived in a culture that spent more time celebrating truly extraordinary women and less time marvelling at someone just because they are extraordinarily thin.

Or hear, hear even.

BTW capital O for Oh

Um, I would argue that everyone with XX chromosomes is a women. The only fake ones are men in dresses . There are fat ones, thin ones, famous ones, frumpy ones, beautiful ones, bitchy ones, maternal ones, career-minded ones, intelligent ones and stupid ones. But none more 'real' than any other!

Well, you do get people who are XXY...

And XO women.

Well, yes, but I was trying not to get too complicated (I have a degree in gentics, you know)! I should re-phrase....

Excluding chromosomal abberations.... etc etc

i agree that society seems to perceive "real women" as being "curvy" god, i hate that word. and am fed up of being bombarded with images of overweight women on programmes such as gok's and colleens and hearing about how much sexier they are than slim women. i am slim, have been anorexic but am naturally v small framed. get fed up of people suggesting that i "just eat more" and would never exclaim to someone "gosh, aren't you fat" it seems acceptable to comment on someones size if they are smaller than a 10, and i find that frustrating. being "real" and sexy is about much more than weight.

and not all men prefer women "with a bit of meat" some men prefer women who are a healthy size (after all, being overweight is just as unhealthy as being underweight), some men prefer women who are underweight, some men prefer blondes, some redheads, some like women with grey hair.

Perhaps a woman who is 'real' just means a woman who is psychologically strong and comfortable with herself. A woman who is obsessed with body size to the point that she is constantly having plastic surgery or dieting to within an inch of her life (or chronically overeating) surely cannot by definition be psychologically strong.

Perhaps 'real' and 'curvy' only means a woman who is not obsessed by how she looks? To that extent I agree with the statement.

I do hate it when really fat people describe themselves as 'curvy' though - they seem to have confused a roll with a curve.