Plus size models in Cosmo

[SummerDreams]

my preference for slender women is not a result of societal influences.

 

Haha. Or so you think....

[sweetjasmine]

I'm amazed by the number of people who are so gifted in medicine that they can assess someone's health by a quick glance. It's time the medical establishment were made aware of this technique and its superiority in accuracy of general health assessment.

 

Over back in reality, being a bit overweight tends to confer more health benefits than being a bit underweight, and a real physician's assessment based on history, a physical exam, and bloodwork is worth so much more than a layman's uninformed opinion about looks masquerading as a "concern" for "health".

[Taramere]

I'm amazed by the number of people who are so gifted in medicine that they can assess someone's health by a quick glance. It's time the medical establishment were made aware of this technique and its superiority in accuracy of general health assessment.

 

Over back in reality, being a bit overweight tends to confer more health benefits than being a bit underweight, and a real physician's assessment based on history, a physical exam, and bloodwork is worth so much more than a layman's uninformed opinion about looks masquerading as a "concern" for "health".

 

A bit overweight has certainly got to be preferable, from a health point of view, than underweight in terms of the latitude a person has (regarding how much more weight they can lose or gain) before serious health problems set in. Ten pounds above the highest level in their "healthy weight" range isn't likely to affect a person's health one way or another unless there's some other medical condition already affecting them which means they've got to be extra careful. Ten pounds underweight, on the other hand, and they're flirting with anorexic territory. If they lose any more, they're soon going to be in difficulties - and while some people are naturally a little underweight, once a grown women gets to 10 pounds or more under the bottom range of her healthy weight, there's a good chance that there's something more than a fast metabolism at play.

 

I've a friend who has probably spent a total of 10 years in hospital (on and off, for varying lengths of time) as a sufferer of anorexia. It's a horrible condition, stemming from very troubling mental health issues. It's terrifying to observe a friend get so thin that you're spending your time with them mentally calculating the time it'll take to get them to hospital if they collapse while they're in your company. Somebody who's 20 or 30 pounds overweight is likely giving way to temptation more than is good for them but it's not indicative of a serious mental health condition. Somebody who is diets to a seriously underweight condition, on the other hand....well, anybody who's ever been close enough to an anorexic individual to get a true sense of how they view the world, their body and other people's bodies will know the score there. My friend thinks most ballet dancers and models are "unrealistically fat for their profession". She'd never criticise a friend or acquaintance to their face about their weight, and insists to me that she doesn't see me or her other friends as overweight...but she has this very unforgiving attitude to anybody who works in dance or modelling and isn't of anorexic proportions.

 

In terms of a person being sufficiently obese to face the level of serious and imminent risk my friend at her worst (thinnest) faces, they'd have to be of that weight where any moderate physical exertion on their part makes you think "Oh my God, is this person about to have a heart attack?" I can fully understand a guy being worried about a woman's health if she's at that level, but if she's just a stone or so overweight then her weight probably isn't either a health issue nor much of a fitness one. I refer to medically healthy weight ranges not with the intention of insisting that anybody who isn't in their healthy weight range is automatially unhealthy, but because I think they're a good reference point for any women who are finding themselves on the receiving end of insulting commentary from people who hold unrealistic expectations. The fashion & entertainment industry and the gym industry are the main arenas in which mature women of a healthy, appropriate weight will find themselves coming under "fat...could do better" fire.

 

Most of us won't have enough (if any) contact with the former for it to matter. The gym is a bit different. Lots of women attend a gym, and I think there's a different sort of pressure from the guys regularly frequenting those environments. The pressure on women isn't to be waif-like (in the way that the fashion or even music industry requires) but to be strong and defined to a degree that quite a few women will equate with losing some of their femininity. I once had a male gym instructor tell me that my fat ratio of 23.5 was too high and that I could get down to 12%. It seemed as though the better I was doing, the more pressure and expectations he started to heap on me - which is very demotivating. I was 40 years old at the time, had become a bit hooked on the gym and that guy's comments ended up being a bit of an "it's time to spend a bit less time on the treadmill" wake up call.

 

The guy, somebody who was actually being paid to assess people on stuff like that, was evidently assessing women with reference to guidelines for men - which are quite dramatically different when it comes to healthy fat ratios. I didn't bother arguing with him, because he was pretty obviously the type who wouldn't countenance any disagreement - but all I needed to do was look at any of the hundreds of charts available online to know that he was completely skewed in his assessment of appropriate targets for women. Perhaps I should have mentioned something to the gym management, but to be honest they were all much of a muchness in there.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Taramere

[ascendotum]

Haha. Or so you think....

I think there is a country in Africa where fat women are prized, but its certainly an anomaly. I think also some European countries a few centuries ago overweight women were in vogue, but it was really an upper class thing where being overfed signified your wealthy status. Personally I really don't think if we were living in times were those cosmo women were typical of what was on magazine covers or in tv shows or movies it would alter what I found attractive. As a long term skinny guy I was/am definitely more attracted to women at my end of the gene pool. The physically compatibility aspect is strong with me, plus it helps to keep the Masculine/Feminine ying yang strong for me if the woman does not look bigger than me (which also suits most women).

 

I have mixed feelings on this topic. For me if BBW women had been hot property it would have been better for me, in that there would have been less competition for slim/thin/skinny women. Would it have flipped things totally around where the thin women are looked down on, I doubt it very much that the media and who the wealthy married could over ride what I think is a strong natural preference for a slimmer waist. I think it would influence things when it comes to attraction but no way not a 180.

 

At the same time if the image of the BB cosmo women is embraced more in media then it would mean more women would be fine with being overweight, so there would be less slim/thin women around so the competition for them would be even greater because men would not shift there preferences to the same degree, so it potentially be worse for the skinny thin dudes wanting a similar woman. If media could influence men in their taste for BBW that would suit me, but I doubt it. I personally though would like to see a lot more diversity in the media when it comes to the representation of women. Don't think slim/pretty women in media is all being driven by young men's need for eye candy. Young women (major cash demographic for marketing) very much like seeing attractive women in their media.

[Maleficent]

I'm amazed by the number of people who are so gifted in medicine that they can assess someone's health by a quick glance. It's time the medical establishment were made aware of this technique and its superiority in accuracy of general health assessment.

 

Over back in reality, being a bit overweight tends to confer more health benefits than being a bit underweight, and a real physician's assessment based on history, a physical exam, and bloodwork is worth so much more than a layman's uninformed opinion about looks masquerading as a "concern" for "health".

 

Good call. imagine the $$$ saved in med school tuition fees!

[TigerLilly78]

At the same time if the image of the BB cosmo women is embraced more in media then it would mean more women would be fine with being overweight, so there would be less slim/thin women around .

 

 

I really don't think so cause there will always be thin women no matter what they eat cause thats just how their body's work. Some people can eat a horse and not gain a pound this happens for men to. Im sure most people have or had a friend like this at one point or another.

 

When I go out honestly I see more average size women then "big" ones I just don't see how its going to drastically alter whats already happening? So with with all the average to thin women out there I really don't see how some men cannot find a match with in that pool.

 

Again I think the fact some men lack in the dating department in other areas to the point that in itself is limiting them when it comes to getting their ideal women to date them is more likely a factor. I wouldn't date a smoker but I also wouldn't blame them all for my inability to get a nonsmoker to want to date me its just not logical to me anyways.

 

Far as men being conditioned to not "like" over weight women I do believe that is a factor to a degree trends have always dictated whats in "fashion" and wither or not some want to admit it that its a factor to some degree in every day life decisions.

 

The cars we drive the phones we use what is seen as ideal and "desirable" in a partner im not saying personal preference doesn't also play a good role but for most there is always that second thought about what others will think thats undeniable...

[TigerLilly78]

Good call. imagine the $$$ saved in med school tuition fees!

 

 

Ive always been over weight to some degree in my 37 years my doctors scratched their heads when they saw I have cholesterol and blood pressure better then some "fit" people still don't have that diabetes im "suppose" to have (go figure)

 

I also don't drive so I walk every were I go between being offered a ride and walking I will choose to walk and be independent 90% of the time. I can walk for hours at a shot with a heavy back pack on my back. My bf who is smaller then me cant keep up some days im the one always getting him to eat vegetables and walking instead of getting a ride.

 

I told him I was thinking about weight loss surgery at one point he said why you don't eat enough Tiger. You eat less then me and your way more active. Come to think of it the only time ive been really sick ironically was when I over did it on a weight machine at the gym and ended up with a hernia. I was pushing myself to to do near 300 pounds on the leg press my calves are like rocks...

 

So all that said agreed I love it when they see a over weight person and automatically know everything about their life styles and health just from a glance as well..lol

[elaine567]

 

Far as men being conditioned to not "like" over weight women I do believe that is a factor to a degree trends have always dictated whats in "fashion" and wither or not some want to admit it that its a factor to some degree in every day life decisions.

 

The cars we drive the phones we use what is seen as ideal and "desirable" in a partner im not saying personal preference doesn't also play a good role but for most there is always that second thought about what others will think thats undeniable...

 

Conditioning is all.

 

If it was suddenly thought to be very unhealthy to be thin and the govt. mounted a campaign and all the corporations were on board, then the "ideal" would shift onto bigger women. Bigger women would be everywhere, on cat walks, in ads, in the media, everywhere, and what was considered "the norm" now ie stick, thin women, would be derided in the same way big women are today

Trophy wives would be big women, desirable women would be obese, and once that precedence was set in people's minds, it would be difficult to shift. Kids would be brought up to consider big is beautiful, Barbie would be modelled on a 20 stone woman and clothes and fashion would reflect the change. Anyone seen with a thin woman, would find themselves laughed at or pitied.

[serial muse]

guys arent as much of complainers or "victim" mentality as women are...Thats why you dont hear about it...

 

At least on LS, that is really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really not true.

 

:lmao:

[SummerDreams]

I know stories of men who dated fat women (over weight and/or obese) and they were really happy but they were embarrassed to introduce them to their friends and family, and I assure you they were not scared that their friends or family would say "Oh poor girl, she will have health problems due to her weight". They were afraid they would make fun of them and of what they are turned on with. Another thing I want to say is that evolution itself is proving that both thin and fat women are supposed to exist. If being fat was that catastrophic, then evolution would have made fat people vanish. Also, in my mind I think that if losing weight was so simple and easy for everyone, then all people would have the same metabolism and everyone would gain and lose weight the same way. The fact that this doesn't happen shows me (I may be wrong) that every person has their own way to exist in this planet.

[HazyCosmicJive]

If you're going to personalise the debate using the tired method of speculating that women you disagree with, or who challenge any commentary you make, have a weight problem, then you're fairly likely to receive "in kind" responses speculating about any personal problems you might have. If you don't agree with that method of debate, you might contemplate the wisdom of not employing it yourself.

 

I can see this is a very touchy subject with women. Maybe you shouldn't bring it up in the first place. Believe all the crap you want about how men are "conditioned" to like what we like, but the reality is it's simple biology. If you can't deal with that, then just drop it already.

[HazyCosmicJive]

Haha. Or so you think....

 

More deep denial here.

[serial muse]

I can see this is a very touchy subject with women. Maybe you shouldn't bring it up in the first place. Believe all the crap you want about how men are "conditioned" to like what we like, but the reality is it's simple biology. If you can't deal with that, then just drop it already.

 

This sounds an awful lot like guys shouldn't complain about being short. Is that really where you want to go with that?

 

People have different opinions. Tell you what, don't accuse people of denying reality, or try to tell them to stop talking because you think they're being touchy when they're expressing their opinions and discussing things openly, just like you are. Just because you say something vehemently ("you're denying reality", "men have always loved thin women") doesn't actually make it true or anything resembling a "fact", it just means you really believe it. Which is fine. For you. Who cares? But shutting people down by telling them they're being "touchy" isn't OK.

 

I'd like to see you spend some time in the short guy threads, offering up the same advice. But I know I won't.

 

Edit: And let's not assume that those who are disagreeing with you are of any particular body shape, either. Non-starter of an argument.

Edited December 22, 2014 by serial muse

[thefooloftheyear]

At least on LS, that is really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really not true.

 

:lmao:

 

 

OK, fine, just dont group me in there....

 

 

Here is the thing....

 

My own mother makes fun of how short I am....yes, I am serious....

 

I dont care..Im thrilled to be the height I am...And as guys we grew up making fun of fat guys, bald guys, or whatever.... and they really didnt care...They rubbed their Buddha belly or shined their dome and laughed about it..Heck, I even have a buddy that says he's hung like a doorbell and laughs about it...We generally dont take all this too seriously..

 

Now, if someone, man or woman, were to tell a woman that she has an ass like a Salvation Army sofa, well., you will likely completely crush her spirit, be called an insensitive bastard and send her to a therapists chair...

 

There are differences when it comes to gender...maybe not in this Petri Dish, but in the real world, generally there are...

 

TFY

[xxoo]

This is some SERIOUS denial here.

 

When I see an attractive woman, my pulse quickens, my heart pounds in my chest, and I will probably get an erection. If Cosmo magazine starts putting fat chicks on the cover, the type of women who inspire those reactions in me will not change.

 

Not for you, but possibly for the next generation of boys growing into men.

 

I don't think there is any fear of obesity becoming the new size to be. But as the average magazine model has become thinner, the average American woman has become fatter. Seeing healthy women of attainable sizes in magazines would probably benefit both young men (in developing sexual tastes) and young women (in developing body confidence).

[Phoe]

I think many folks will have a different idea of what is average, and I also think that there are many different types of average, which are all correct in being called average.

 

I'm tall and thin, large breasts and wide hips make me "curvy", but I'm still slim. I also have a decent amount of muscle tone.

 

I'm average!

 

I am one example of average. A 5'2 petite girl with small breasts is also average. A 5'5 girl who is not particularly curvy, eats normally, and doesn't exercise is average. A 5'8 girl who works out alot, is average.

 

There are so many types of average.

 

And I too, see more average types on a normal day than those who are particularly big. I realize that America is getting "bigger and bigger", but I suppose that alot of that is regional, or in particular demographics, because where I am, most of the people I see really are average.

[contact1]

I think many folks will have a different idea of what is average, and I also think that there are many different types of average, which are all correct in being called average.

 

I'm tall and thin, large breasts and wide hips make me "curvy", but I'm still slim. I also have a decent amount of muscle tone.

 

I'm average!

 

I am one example of average. A 5'2 petite girl with small breasts is also average. A 5'5 girl who is not particularly curvy, eats normally, and doesn't exercise is average. A 5'8 girl who works out alot, is average.

 

There are so many types of average.

 

And I too, see more average types on a normal day than those who are particularly big. I realize that America is getting "bigger and bigger", but I suppose that alot of that is regional, or in particular demographics, because where I am, most of the people I see really are average.

 

It's a very good point and I think it more comes down to proportion when you consider average. Though than again, "average" in the definition of the word itself, would be what is most common. So doing some quick google search on potential bias information, the average woman would have to be:

 

Bust size 34DD

 

A height of 5' 4"

 

Weight of 166.2 pounds

 

A waist measurement of 37.2 inches

 

Given these stats, you'd be consider some tall, anorexic twig But the point stands, in that average, to me anyway, it more about proportion of body frame and height, and the range of the proportion can vary greatly.

[Mangina]

I guess society tells girls to be attracted to tall guys too

[HazyCosmicJive]

It's a very good point and I think it more comes down to proportion when you consider average. Though than again, "average" in the definition of the word itself, would be what is most common. So doing some quick google search on potential bias information, the average woman would have to be:

 

Bust size 34DD

 

A height of 5' 4"

 

Weight of 166.2 pounds

 

A waist measurement of 37.2 inches

 

Given these stats, you'd be consider some tall, anorexic twig But the point stands, in that average, to me anyway, it more about proportion of body frame and height, and the range of the proportion can vary greatly.

 

Oh brother. You know when you're fat. You don't need numbers to tell you.

[HazyCosmicJive]

Not for you, but possibly for the next generation of boys growing into men.

 

I don't think there is any fear of obesity becoming the new size to be. But as the average magazine model has become thinner, the average American woman has become fatter. Seeing healthy women of attainable sizes in magazines would probably benefit both young men (in developing sexual tastes) and young women (in developing body confidence).

 

 

Look, people are more sedentary, don't exercise, and eat too many calories. People are getting fatter because they don't do the things they need to be doing to stay in shape. I still wear the same size jeans I wore when I was 22 (I'm in my 40s now) and it's because I control my diet and get a lot of exercise. It's annoying when I have to hear about how "lucky" I am to be so slim when it takes a lot of hard work, self-control and discipline.

[Phoe]

It's a very good point and I think it more comes down to proportion when you consider average. Though than again, "average" in the definition of the word itself, would be what is most common. So doing some quick google search on potential bias information, the average woman would have to be:

 

Bust size 34DD

 

A height of 5' 4"

 

Weight of 166.2 pounds

 

A waist measurement of 37.2 inches

 

Given these stats, you'd be consider some tall, anorexic twig But the point stands, in that average, to me anyway, it more about proportion of body frame and height, and the range of the proportion can vary greatly.

 

 

 

I don't even know what I weigh anymore. I stopped weighing myself. Whatever my weight is doesn't matter!

 

 

I just pay attention to how I look and feel, and how my clothes fit. If my pants get loose or snug, I adjust accordingly.

 

 

No person would ever consider me anorexic though. I eat like nobodies business. I love food!

 

 

But all in all, I think the "average" spectrum is pretty wide!

[Taramere]

I can see this is a very touchy subject with women. Maybe you shouldn't bring it up in the first place. Believe all the crap you want about how men are "conditioned" to like what we like, but the reality is it's simple biology. If you can't deal with that, then just drop it already.

 

Oh for God's sake. You're the one who keeps going on about what men are evolved to like as though it's any news to women. Considering most of us start getting regularly informed of what men like from the moment we hit puberty onwards. It's no big mystery. The chances are that a man will like a woman who's in the healthy weight range and with enough curves to look feminine. Some will like the waifish small breasted look, some the busty earth mother, some the gym bunny. There will be usually be skin and hair colour preferences,

 

There will be the occasional outlier with a fetish for anorexics, midgets, amputees or very large women who they can act as feeder to...but most will be along the lines of "slim but healthy with curves" or "thick but healthy with curves" - and most women will fit into that since we're generally equipped with boobs, hips and a smaller waist than men have.

 

I don't think any of us are going to go ballistic to hear that men do in fact like tits and waists and hips and all the rest of it. But sometimes women just like to have the opportunity to have conversations about common media portrayals and how they influence the way we feel about our own bodies. And sometimes when we're trying to have those discussions and men barge in to start banging on about what they're "evolved" to fancy as though that should be central to everything it's like...okay we know, but give it a rest, mate. Let us have a chat about our own bodies without making it all about you and your desires."

Edited December 22, 2014 by Taramere

[HazyCosmicJive]

Oh for God's sake. You're the one who keeps going on about what men are evolved to like as though it's any news to women. Considering most of us start getting regularly informed of what men like from the moment we hit puberty onwards. It's no big mystery. The chances are that a man will like a woman who's in the healthy weight range and with enough curves to look feminine. Some will like the waifish small breasted look, some the busty earth mother, some the gym bunny. There will be usually be skin and hair colour preferences,

 

There will be the occasional outlier with a fetish for anorexics, midgets, amputees or very large women who they can act as feeder to...but most will be along the lines of "slim but healthy with curves" or "thick but healthy with curves" - and most women will fit into that since we're generally equipped with boobs, hips and a smaller waist than men have.

 

I don't think any of us are going to go ballistic to hear that men do in fact like tits and waists and hips and all the rest of it. But sometimes women just like to have the opportunity to have conversations about common media portrayals and how they influence the way we feel about our own bodies. And sometimes when we're trying to have those discussions and men barge in to start banging on about what they're "evolved" to fancy as though that should be central to everything it's like...okay we know, but give it a rest, mate. Let us have a chat about our own bodies without making it all about you and your desires."

 

I'm not the one who can't let it go.

[elaine567]

This is some SERIOUS denial here.

 

When I see an attractive woman, my pulse quickens, my heart pounds in my chest, and I will probably get an erection. If Cosmo magazine starts putting fat chicks on the cover, the type of women who inspire those reactions in me will not change.

But you are already conditioned, you have been from an early age.

[HazyCosmicJive]

I get what you're saying and I get what they're saying. There is always a fair amount of social conditioning when it comes to beauty standards.

 

I'm not challenging your sexual preference in any way but from an evolutionary standpoint, women with wider hips were considered more 'apt' at bearing children.

What has been the norm in the last 100 years or so would have been considered ugly 400 years ago because then it meant they were 'actually' starving so they were poor.

 

I'm not saying your particular attraction is based on social conditioning but you can't deny that's what it is in some cases.

 

I don't think so. Many of the women I find attractive would be considered too skinny even by other men. I like women who are petite and skinny and I don't care about breast size like a lot of men do. I don't really care what anyone else thinks of the women I find attractive. There's something I find to be a turn on about the size difference between me and them and that's why even though I'm tall I don't really like tall women that much. Basically, I'm not usually attracted to large women, whether it's because they're overweight or because they're tall. I just find smaller women to be more feminine and I think they're usually prettier.