"Curvy Women" Syndrome

OK, here's something i've been thinking about.


5 years or so ago, all the crappy magazines like "Heat" were printing pictures of super-thin women, and women were idolising them.

Now, this idea seems to have backfired. "Heat" is printing pictures of skinny people like Paris Hilton, and saying "nice dress sense, but far too skinny", or something along those lines. Women who are fatter (or, as the magazines like to put it, "curvier") are much respected.

I think that the whole idea is good because it encourages women not to be so worried and stressed out about their figure, and it discourages them from crash dieting, and over-exercising. However, i think the whole thing has been overdone a touch. if you're naturally skinny, then you're not curvy enough. If you're plain fat, you're a "big beautiful woman". Skinny people are viewed as fat people were viewed 5 or so years ago.

I think a balance needs to be struck; the ideal body should be not too fat, and not too skinny. But it is important to remember that everyone has a different frame with different bones, and some people suit different amounts of bodyfat.

I hate how magazines are doing this, I'm thin, I always have been and it's never really been an issue until recently (I'm a UK size 6). I did put on quite a bit of weight at Uni but that's because I did no exercise during my first year, once I started exercising again in my second year the weight fell off.

Anyway, I'm now being made to feel like a freak because I'm thin. I have tiny bones and it doesn't look that bad on me. I've actually tried to put on weight recently because I feel pressured to but it's so much hard work I've given up and decided people have to accept me for who I am. (oh, and the pressure doesn't come from the magazines, it comes from people).

i think at the end of the day, magazines are trying to tell us that we should be looking for a Scarlett Johansen type figure. Yes she looks good but that is just not acheivable by 90% of women. She's not skinny, she's not overweight, but what's there to say that she is actually perfect? As long as you are healthy and you haven't got a GP breathing down your neck telling you to lose/gain weight then you are absolutely fine and no-one can tell you otherwise.

I read yesterday that some British shops were going to start stocking UK size 0's - I didn't even know that a size that small existed! I wonder how long it'll be before women start slimming into negative-sizes...

Have to love the discrepancies between the UK and US sizes though - only in America am I a size 6/8. Normally a size 10/12 in England, and H&M produce the labels for most of their clothes in a European size and US size, which means I can feel 2 sizes smaller! *grin*

I'm one of the cursed curvy women - very slim waist, hourglass hips, larger bust. Kinda works for me in a redheaded, pre-raphealite way :P