Hmmm...
Let's discuss that info-graphic a bit.
So women think they need to, ideally, be size 8s.
But men think they only need to be svelte size 12s.
How to interpret this???
The girls believe they have to lose soooo much weight to be ideal that....that they don't even bother to try?
And men, those infinitely shallow neanderthals....all they're begging for is a tiny, Marginal cellulite reduction! (Sorry ladies, taking the stairs instead of the elevator after lunch, once in a while, doesn't actually do anything. NOR does frozen yogurt!)
This all reminds me a bit of my perma-bachelor cousin.
He once told me that he requires no more than a *size 4*. How's that for being picky?!
Meanwhile, over the course of his multi-decade search for a suitable life partner....he's morphed into a bit of a pear-shaped chunk-a-do himself, most ironically. (His weakness is one of *portion control*.)
But getting back to the female form...
Of course, it's very possible that men and women are answering two different questions.
Perhaps, the elusive size 8 that they idealize to has nothing at all to do with satisfying dudes. Perhaps that's just the weight they would prefer to be for their own self-esteem? So they can more easily shop for clothes?
While I probably couldn't articulate it, there's certainly a corollary discussion on the *ideal man* (a guy who'll love them no matter what they look like?).
That image above hints at it; so does this song.
See also:
For Wannabe Ideal Wives
Yoga Goddesses - In Harmony With Men
7 comments:
Women only dress up, wear make-up and control their weight to impress other women. Men are a distant second. If you don't believe me, ask a few honest women.
As a man, I wish I'd known this about a decade ago ...
Of course they want to be a size 8, just take a perusal of the magazines they read. Were I a woman, I'd want to take a 357 to the temple after page 18.
Good grief, most of the women in those publications aren't that way before photoshop, and for the life of me I don't know why women still choose to read them.
Size 16, or 12 for that matter, doesn't make it on the cover of Women's Fitness, Elle, or any of that other garbage they put out.
One thing about larger women though...
They are a whole lot *friendlier* at the bar and whatnot.
Dude, I have to say I am shocked (and offended) at the porn. I'm not joking. That picture certainly qualifies as porn.
You could have made your point using a picture with women fully clothed.
And for anyone who might think my issue is because of my own body image - I wear a size 6 so that's not the issue.
I'm not sure if you're aware that more and more porn today uses women who are being sexually trafficked. No, I am not saying that is the case with the women in the picture - I am saying that when we treat the objectification of women as a joke or "harmless" we are desensitizing people to the problem of pornography and the very real fact that women are being forced to engage in it.
Same goes for strip clubs. It is becoming more of the case that the "women" (who are sometimes actually minors) are being forced to perform.
The problem of sexual trafficking in this country is HUGE and most people have no clue. And the real root of it is the proliferation and acceptance of porn.
Anne,
Sometimes I throw the groundlings in my audience a bone...
To your point about the prevalence of p0rn - I think I found this image/story in a major media outlet, the Guardian or something.
@size6 Anne:
If there were more women your size in the U.S. you wouldn't be such a rhymes with "itch". You'd have to be a lot nicer to compete with such peers. And there would be less market demand for porn.
After two years in Ukraine, a size 6 seems normal to me. So do girls who are nice and don't mind being referred to as "girls."
-The Nut's older brother
The ideal woman? A woman comfortable enough with herself to smile at YOU while naked (doesn't count if she's drunk or the lights are off).
ChopperPapa is right, Women's magazines are a problem but it's much more. It's the whole culture and it starts very early. Here's a post with some useful links and some pretty ridiculous photoshopping links:
http://lauragraceweldon.com/2010/10/13/when-girls-think-their-looks-mean-everything/
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