Fat versus Skinny

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:12 AM

So I was looking at Beyonce's BEAUTIFUL LIAR video ( I know iI know -- I'm weeeeeeak! I couldn't help it.....waaaaaaah...)

Anywayz, Both Beyonce and Shakira are curvy , perhaps considered fat by the Music Industry but as I watched them dance, I couldn't help but find them beautiful and alluring.

Have you seen this video -- makes me wish I were a man...lol

Then I started thinking about the media and the powers that be are pitting us against one another, thin versus fat blah blah blah. I feel that beauty is beauty, no matter your size. Beyonce carries her weight well -- she seems secure in her own skin -- is this what makes her pretty to me? Likewise, naturally thin (not anorexic people -- those poor souls are on Karen Carpenters road) women can be lovely too --like Cate Blanchette -- I think she is gorgeous.

Besides, Shakira and Beyonce are in their late twenties, heading for thirty, they aren't supposed to look sixteen. A woman's figure tends to become a wee bit more curvaceous and that is not a bad thing -- we won't have the shapes we did when we were fifteen, nor were we meant to -- only a small percentage of women manage to retain that, and this is due to genetics....

People shouldn't be vilified, overweight or thin, for their body chemistry.

Like me -- I am a medium build -- a little larger than a J-Lo, but most magazines make me feel as if I need to lose twenty pounds to be considered attractive --

I will go on the record to say that extreme obesity and thinness is not healthy -- people on both ends of that spectrum have a litany of health issues that can only be overcome by the love and support of others, but where an anorexic person may get sympathy an obese person may not.

It was pointed out to me, and I concur, that if someone can be naturally thin (you know the ones -- eat everything they want never gain an ounce dah bastards), then the opposite end is true -- someone whose body chemistry is so off, that they gain weight no matter what they do...and their hunger trigger may be larger than someone with a normal, healthy trigger.

I dunno -- we need to develop a way to create more positive body images, so we can embrace our beauty, large or small big or tall.

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:14 AM

Oh yeah -- here's the link to the video -- I admit it, I am a sucker for middle eastern inspired pop...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtIHBRsy1lI

MollyMac · 07-12-2007, 08:24 AM

I's take Tura Satana over a skinny chick any day of the week. In truth? I care less about build than general health and confort in one's skin.

Saddiction · 07-12-2007, 08:25 AM

I could do with losing 40 pounds.

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:27 AM

Yep! Thats' what I am talking about -- how many times have you seen a girl most wouldn't consider attractive, but as soon as you start talking to her, she becomes gorgeous. Show them a picture, they don't get it, but if they met her, it becomes clear...-- and vice versa...I knew a guy who had a good friend who was a model. He was attractive, so I asked why they never hooked up. He said though she was okay in many respects, there were various aspects of her personality that turned him off...

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:28 AM

Saddiction -- only do it for you -- no one else...

Methadrine · 07-12-2007, 08:29 AM

I like women with shapes and a little more on the..uh.. upper front, thus I find the media damn annoying when they want everyone to be as skinny as.. as a tree! What's next? Duct-taping themselves to various objects to look even thinner?

It's not that I've got something against thinner people, it's just that every other bodyshape other than that seems "wrong" according to the media and mainstream and that's just plain wrong. *Grrrr* I don't want boys and girls to starve themselves to death, I don't want their selfesteem to drop to dangerous levels because of some.. fad. Bleh...

(but in the end it's not the looks that grabs my attention, but that's another discussion..)

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:31 AM

LOL...amen to that -- I am bi, and I am most often drawn to curvy -- nothing against thin, but curvy seems more womanly to me...and it's so soft to hold...

MollyMac · 07-12-2007, 08:32 AM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2EHwtVg_hWk

It's Tura... droool...

May teh gods bless Russ Meyer.

Meh, I'm 5'7, 165 but barely a size ten due to dance and weight lifting. I'm happy and strong, and if you don't like it, I don't care. you don't pay my bills.

PinstripesAndPithHelmets · 07-12-2007, 08:38 AM

There's something to be said for self-confidence, but there's also a line between being happy with your image and deluding oneself. There seems to be a tug of war between factions in our society: there are those that press their image of beauty (in this case one of near anorexia), and then there are those who believe that you should be happy with your physical appearance, no matter how disgustingly corpulent you become.

Neither one is healthy; neither is really desirable. One is born of a desire to shape oneself into an false and unattainable form, and the other spawned from complacent self-pity. There's a reason that this country has some of the fattest people in the world who, ironically enough, yearn to be the skinniest. It seems as though excess on both ends of the spectrum is the order of the day.

Saddiction · 07-12-2007, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rae Ven Rae

Saddiction -- only do it for you -- no one else...

It would be only for me. 140 is the optimal weight for my height. I'd feel more comfortable at that weight and less self-conscious. I'm trying to make an effort to eat less junk and be a bit more active.

MollyMac · 07-12-2007, 08:43 AM

Pinstripes- Thank you!

Too often I have had too-thin clients with the attitude that it was OK and they had a moral supeority... And too heavy clients with teh "Goddess" attitude. Although I like confidence, and size is not be-all, end-all... what is it without health? Why be anything if you cannot be healthy and strong?

Minyaliel · 07-12-2007, 08:44 AM

Curves on a woman are beautiful, no doubt about that. I must admit that I do prefer skinny or "athletic" in a man, though... But in the end, it's personality that's the most important.

Underwater Ophelia · 07-12-2007, 08:45 AM

Wait. Let's be honest here, when you guys say "curvy" do you really mean "chubby?"
I'm not trying to be a bitch, I'm trying to get what you guys are talking about. What I'm saying is, if someone is thin, but also very curvy, is that it? Small waist, big boobs, round hips. Is that what you're saying, or do you mean some extra meat?

PinstripesAndPithHelmets · 07-12-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MollyMac

Although I like confidence, and size is not be-all, end-all... what is it without health? Why be anything if you cannot be healthy and strong?

Agreed. There's nothing sexy about emaciation. Nor is premature arthritis and an inability to move under one's own power attractive. Healthy and strong, as you so aptly put it, is what we need to be.

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:47 AM

Well--as I said in my above post -- obesity and anorexic are both undesirable for a number of reasons. A thin woman is so unhealthy she loses her mensus and can't even procreate...an overlweight person can't perfrom normal functions and their muscles can actually atrophy...

But I also think simply stating that obesity is due to a mental issue is like saying anorexia is as well. That is disengenius. Case in point. After my baby, I began to gain mad weight -- I was practically starving myself but couldn't keep it off.

Turns out I was hypothyroid condition, meaning I didn't make enough of the thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism.

Since taking synthroid, I have been right as rain and able to lose like I did when I was twenty five...

How many more people have similar physical issues but don't know -- or don't look into it only assuming it's them, getting depressed, and in turn, eating more.

vicious cycle.

I think people should get themselves to their own individual HEALTHY and managable weights, which may make some people thin and others more robust...

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:50 AM

Ophelia I am talking about a Beyonce, a Tara maybe a bit bigger...

I like boobs too...lol

My first time was with a girl who had a small waist and hips but was a playboy centerfold on top -- blond and gorgeous -- made me understand why men chase women...it was a wondrous thing, the softness...

Minyaliel · 07-12-2007, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

Wait. Let's be honest here, when you guys say "curvy" do you really mean "chubby?"
I'm not trying to be a bitch, I'm trying to get what you guys are talking about. What I'm saying is, if someone is thin, but also very curvy, is that it? Small waist, big boobs, round hips. Is that what you're saying, or do you mean some extra meat?

My definition (well, perhaps a little exaggerated) of thin - http://www.sixwise.com/images/articl...3/anorexia.jpg

Curvy, to me is like Marilyn Monroe or in the video up there ^

Methadrine · 07-12-2007, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minyaliel

Curvy, to me is like Marilyn Monroe or in the video up there ^

That sounds about right.

Underwater Ophelia · 07-12-2007, 08:54 AM

I got you. So you mean actually curvy, not chubby.
A lot of people I know use "curvy" as a polite euphemism.

Anyway...I could say so much on this issue, because I have a lot of weight issues. To be honest, I have a hot body. I know I do, and I don't flaunt it, but for some reason...it's never good enough. So sometimes I see curvy people and love it, and sometimes I hate it and actually want to be anorexia thin--which I know very well is completely unhealthy...I just can't help it. Sometimes I love my body, and sometimes I just wish I could be tiny.

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:55 AM

Me too...I'd say, for me, personally, a Monroe is the largest I would go for personall attraction...I think Beyonce is juuust right -- and Shakira...OMG!

I had dreams about that damn video...

Methadrine · 07-12-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Underwater Ophelia

I got you. So you mean actually curvy, not chubby.
A lot of people I know use "curvy" as a polite euphemism.

Well, I like chubby too... *scrapes foot on floor*

Minyaliel · 07-12-2007, 08:57 AM

I've always thought that Marilyn was a very beautiful lady - but then she had a charisma I've never seen elsewhere, too.

PinstripesAndPithHelmets · 07-12-2007, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rae Ven Rae

But I also think simply stating that obesity is due to a mental issue is like saying anorexia is as well. That is disengenius. Case in point. After my baby, I began to gain mad weight -- I was practically starving myself but couldn't keep it off.

Turns out I was hypothyroid condition, meaning I didn't make enough of the thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism.

Since taking synthroid, I have been right as rain and able to lose like I did when I was twenty five...

I've had hypothyroidism since birth. Currently, I'm on 200mcg of Synthroid daily. I understand what you're saying, but cases like ours are, proportionally speaking, relatively rare. I have no doubt in my mind that if someone feels that they may be suffering from a thyroid disorder they should consult their general practitioner (and, if the case warrants it, an endocrinologist), but physical ailments leading to rapid weight gain are definitely not the leading cause of obesity in America. People should learn to take responsibility for their own actions and assume a healthier lifestyle.

Rae Ven Rae · 07-12-2007, 08:58 AM

Ophelia --I feel the same way and it is because even though we are not fat we don't see enough women like us heralded as beautiful.

I admit, I am trying to lose ten more pounds myself, but only because I have an internal idea of what I want to finally look like -- but it won't be Hollywood thin.

My arms are very muscular --like an Angela Bassette -- I just want to tone a bit more on the legs and stuff...

So I feel people should get healthy and get a point where they themselves feel comfortable...