"Women are women, curvy are not"

[factmonger]

Recently while perusing the interwebs, I came across this great article.
http://www.adiosbarbie.com/2011/07/r...rves-and-have/

American culture is one that seems to be hyper focused on body image. There is a huge pressure on women to be "perfect", that is, have the American standard of an ideal female body. At the same time, this ideal of the perfect physique is being challenged. As a result, many movements are happening. One side says that women should be fit and toned while another says that only real women have curves. It's confusing for a woman in this era to figure out whether as a woman, she is acceptable to herself and society.
Over the past few years, I gained a bit of weight. Having been the same weight all throughout my high school and middle school years, I was horrified. I struggled with accepting my new body. I had this exaggerated idea of my body. It was ugly. Unhealthy. Fat. My self esteem plummeted.
Over the course of a year or two, I gained a new awareness of my body. I learned that it was womanly and sexy. Yes, it did have it's imperfections, but it was mine and it was beautiful. Unfortunately with this new way of thinking came a new negative view. I had a narrow definition of curvy. To me, a curvy body was a voluptuous one. There were no exceptions. I became more proud of my curvy body, but at the same time, began to denigrate other, less fleshy bodies. To me, the only womanly, curvy body was one like Kelly Brooks or Kim Kardashian's. Only after a discussion with a friend did I realize how narrow my idea of "curvy" or "womanly" was.
What the discussion I had with my friend and this article helped to illustrate was that you are a woman as long as you have the sex traits of a woman. Once you think about it after considering the true definition of curves (A line that deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion), ALL bodies have curves, whether they are slim or plump or anything in between. A ruler-shaped woman still has curves. In her face, in her legs, on her torso and all over are curves. There is so much variation and so many things to be celebrated in the female figure. We need to learn to gain an acceptance and appreciation for the loveliness of all of them.

That being said, what are your thoughts on this article?

[identitycrisis]

Personally, I think that anyone who identifies as a woman is a woman.

Agreeing wholeheartedly with this sentiment in that article.

I've found myself attracted to women of all sorts of body types. Some people have a very specific physical archetype in their head when they explain what attracts them, but I've always been much more interested in the personality attached to that body.

[ainsleigh]

I've recently been seeing a shift towards curvy women as being considered beautiful. This is a wonderful thing.

What happened soon though, was that all of a sudden I heard people saying that you had to be curvy in order to be a woman - beyonce, kim, etc. Soon there were images floating around social media comparing a skinny woman with a curvier woman and saying that the skinny was anorexic and latter was more beautiful.

I'm naturally skinny, and eat a lot. I hate to hear curvier women, and men who love the curvier figure dismiss us all as anorexic. I think women come in all shapes and that is a beautiful thing. The one thing we should have learnt by now is that stereotypes usually always blind us from the diversity and beauty of all human beings.

[Barette]

I'm just sick of the media telling us what we like and what we shouldn't like. If you have a curvy, overweight, thin, waify, whatever type figure, then that's fine. I don't need to be told whether or not my body type is acceptable to the masses.

[BobtheSaint]

To even the score, we men are men, muscular or not.

[WintersTale]

I think both curvy and skinny women are attractive. That is my own personal opinion.

[Duke of Prunes]

Fat isn't the good kind of curvy, despite what fat apologists might say.

Now, before I get impaled by pitchforks by said apologists... *runs away*

[Barette]

Originally Posted by Duke of Prunes

Fat isn't the good kind of curvy, despite what fat apologists might say.

Now, before I get impaled by pitchforks by said apologists... *runs away*

I don't care if I get flamed either, but I agree. Curvy and overweight are two different things, in my eyes. It's just PC to refer to overweight women as curvy or voluptuous.

[Crystalline]

Originally Posted by factmonger

What the discussion I had with my friend and this article helped to illustrate was that you are a woman as long as you have the sex traits of a woman. Once you think about it after considering the true definition of curves (A line that deviates from straightness in a smooth, continuous fashion), ALL bodies have curves, whether they are slim or plump or anything in between. A ruler-shaped woman still has curves. In her face, in her legs, on her torso and all over are beautiful curves. There is so much variation and so many things to be celebrated in the female figure. We need to learn to gain an acceptance and appreciation for the loveliness of all of them.

That being said, what are your thoughts on this article?

Agree.

Very, very tired of the "real women have curves" rhetoric, to come from the other side of the fence. It almost always gets posted when the issue of weight comes up. I'm a proudly flat chested skinny woman and it gets very old when people fling these labels about as some sort of defense mechanism when they perceive their own lifestyle being criticized.

I'm in favor of health.

[northstar1991]

I think all body types should be acceptable. This is gonna sound cliche, but we're all beautiful the way we are!

[meeps]

Originally Posted by Barette

I'm just sick of the media telling us what we like and what we shouldn't like. If you have a curvy, overweight, thin, waify, whatever type figure, then that's fine. I don't need to be told whether or not my body type is acceptable to the masses.

[Bon]

At the present time, I am now, somewhat over weight, I consider myself Rubenesque.

[merryk]

Originally Posted by Crystalline

I'm in favor of health.

^ this, most definitely!

[meganmila]

All women are real women. Any shapes and sizes.

[Neptunus]

Originally Posted by Bon

At the present time, I am now, somewhat over weight, I consider myself Rubenesque.

Yeah, me too, thanks to Paxil. Now that I'm off, I hope to shed my Rubenesqueness soon!!! (Great description, btw! )

To echo what others have said, there's nothing wrong with being curvy providing you're healthy. There are just some things that cause you to gain weight no matter how much you workout, such as endocrine disorders and, as I mentioned, taking certain medications.

[jg43i9jghy0t4555]

Sexualization is everywhere. Medicine packets, local council's magazine. Pretty women hand picked for no facial flaws. "Buy this and you can have this and your life will be better", is what it says.. in between the lines.

Well, it doesn't matter right? Because everyone will be beautiful in the future.

[PickleNose]

Originally Posted by jg43i9jghy0t4555

Sexualization is everywhere.

You don't say? Somebody must have sneaked and glued these sex organs on us all shortly after birth. Heaven knows sex ain't normal.

[Hiccups]

Originally Posted by meganmila

All women are real women. Any shapes and sizes.

+1


also... ***^ the media they're a bunch of slimy ***^ stains.

[jg43i9jghy0t4555]

Originally Posted by PickleNose

You don't say? Somebody must have sneaked and glued these sex organs on us all shortly after birth. Heaven knows sex ain't normal.

Don't know what you mean by that?

I'm talking about, most adverts I see exploit images of pretty, perfect women. And men too, but it's like how we have these figures that then materialize fully in film roles.

Sex is or isn't a thing you're comfortable with, but kids no less are exposed to this in very public adverts, anyway I'm not taking a stance on this, just conveying the pattern I found. It's kind of worrying that it gets everywhere, to the point you wouldn't notice. Women in TV adverts and news reporters are always very pretty. If you didn't notice this and want to make a point that I'm somehow wrong then I'm not interested in going down that road, I'm just presenting a view here.

[PickleNose]

Originally Posted by jg43i9jghy0t4555

I'm talking about, most adverts I see exploit images of pretty, perfect women. And men too, but it's like how we have these figures that then materialize fully in film roles.

Ummmmm. Actually they don't do it alone. They do it with the permission of the women in question. They don't need your permission to sell their own image to a mouthwash company.

Sex is or isn't a thing you're comfortable with, but kids no less are exposed to this in very public adverts, anyway

They'll live. Usually.

I'm not taking a stance on this, just conveying the pattern I found. It's kind of worrying that it gets everywhere, to the point you wouldn't notice.

Doesn't worry me.

Women in TV adverts and news reporters are always very pretty.

Actually, they're not. My next door neighbor looks better than half of them. And she doesn't even know it.