NationStates Jolt Archive

In light of the recent hype surrounding the ban of models with an underweight BMI in Milan to London, the media's effect on body image, eating disorders and society itself has come to my attention.

Do you think that the media is partially to blame for the rising numbers of individuals (not just anglo-saxon upper-middle-class teenage girls) developing EDs, or is the media completely separate from it?

How are eating disorders portrayed in the media? Many people think "anorexia" and "bulemia" (yes, because most people spell it that way too) are the only eating disorders, which simply isn't true. The range of EDs is wide, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compuslive over eating, and EDNOS (ED not otherwise specified), and not all of these sufferers are neccissarily thin, either.

How does tv, music, magazines and so on effect body image? Is the rise of EDs connected to the change of the ideal body over the years (from volumptious in the romantic era, to curvy in the 50s, to baywatch babe in the 80s, to stick thin in recent years etc)?

Tell me anything.

In light of the recent hype surrounding the ban of models with an underweight BMI in Milan to London, the media's effect on body image, eating disorders and society itself has come to my attention.

Do you think that the media is partially to blame for the rising numbers of individuals (not just anglo-saxon upper-middle-class teenage girls) developing EDs, or is the media completely separate from it?

How are eating disorders portrayed in the media? Many people think "anorexia" and "bulemia" (yes, because most people spell it that way too) are the only eating disorders, which simply isn't true. The range of EDs is wide, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compuslive over eating, and EDNOS (ED not otherwise specified), and not all of these sufferers are neccissarily thin, either.

How does tv, music, magazines and so on effect body image? Is the rise of EDs connected to the change of the ideal body over the years (from volumptious in the romantic era, to curvy in the 50s, to baywatch babe in the 80s, to stick thin in recent years etc)?

Tell me anything.

Yes it is! Nearly everyone wants to be what the media calls beatiful, handsome or cool.

ED's among women is among many of the reasons I'm pissed at the media, either women in the US are too thin or too fat. :eek: :(

I think it does, the only women the media shows are extremely skinny ones with digitally enhanced images to make them more attractive, they set the standard unrealistically high.

*walks in, mutters "goddamn liberal media" walks out*

The media complain about skinny models on one page, and then plaster pictures of celebrities thighs on the next one, with less than flattering words about their appearance.

But, they do it because people buy it. So does the media drive attitudes, or do attitudes drive the media?

But, they do it because people buy it. So does the media drive attitudes, or do attitudes drive the media?

Both. It is a positive feedback loop.

Tell me anything.
Rabat is the capital of Morocco.

Atleast one of those scare pictures of skeletal supermodels turned out to be from a pro-ana website.

The media complain about skinny models on one page, and then plaster pictures of celebrities thighs on the next one, with less than flattering words about their appearance.

But, they do it because people buy it. So does the media drive attitudes, or do attitudes drive the media?

You're looking at 'The Media' as one book where you can see one thing on one page and another on the next, and it's more complex than that.

There have been attempts in the past to create womens magazines that do not cater to the '50 Things to Drive Your Man Wild' and '6 Make Up Tips to Make Him Notice' etc, but they where torpedoed primarily by advertisers. Tradition 'female' advertisers for things like clothes and make up would not advertise in a magazine that told women that clothing and make up where not important-and this isn't just a speculative connection, there where agreements about the distance an article about make up and its content could be from an ad for make up, and this is prevasive. To get away from that the magazines tried to court other advertisers such as automobile manufacturers who turned it down because, and this is the quote from one of the essays I read on the subject, "Women don't buy enough cars." (as a side note, have you ever noticed the difference between selling cars neutral (but really, for men) and selling cars to women? Despite all the bluster about men buying cars to impress women that is hardly ever the angle in a mens car ad, but in a womens car ad it is almost always in relation to the way men will react to it, even the new Ford Fusion ads, though with them not always).

But the magazines that are catty about a celebrities thighs are not really all that likely to also carry and expose on body image in the same issue, those are two different magazines. Though, to be fair to your statement, they might carry an article on body image that really just re-hashes again the surface of the issue and then a much longer article on 'How to Lose Those Holiday Pounds in Three Short Weeks.' Under the guize of health, mind you.

I like stick thin. Not those skeletal figures, but damn skinny.

*ducks*

Tell me anything.

Wanna know something creepy? You know Peter Pan and the Lost Boys? Well in the slang of the time, lost boys referred to people who died young.

The media is just one part of it. Its not the sole reason.

Another is that there are many women who arent encouraged to develop other ways to get self-steem. If a woman has something other than her looks to feel good about herself, the chance of geting an eating disorder is much smaller.

Its a cultural thing. Culture takes a lot of time to change. Women have been working for a bit more than 150 years, there are still a lot of things that need to be changed so women can feel good about themselves without carrying too much about their looks.

In light of the recent hype surrounding the ban of models with an underweight BMI in Milan to London, the media's effect on body image, eating disorders and society itself has come to my attention.

Do you think that the media is partially to blame for the rising numbers of individuals (not just anglo-saxon upper-middle-class teenage girls) developing EDs, or is the media completely separate from it?

How are eating disorders portrayed in the media? Many people think "anorexia" and "bulemia" (yes, because most people spell it that way too) are the only eating disorders, which simply isn't true. The range of EDs is wide, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compuslive over eating, and EDNOS (ED not otherwise specified), and not all of these sufferers are neccissarily thin, either.

How does tv, music, magazines and so on effect body image? Is the rise of EDs connected to the change of the ideal body over the years (from volumptious in the romantic era, to curvy in the 50s, to baywatch babe in the 80s, to stick thin in recent years etc)?

Tell me anything.

(Prefers Baywatch babes)

(Drools) :D

Maybe if women realised that those magenta-coloured "gossip" magazines have little-to-no basis in the opinions of straight males, things wouldn't be so bad.

I'm going to comment on the age group that typically suffers from eating disorders: teenagers. Now before you go "Zomg! Ageist!" I'm 17. Frankly, the way the media influences teenagers is unbelievable. They get all of their ideas about attractiveness, sexuality, and social norms from media outlets. Advertisements dictate to most teenagers what is considered to be "cool" or not. We really don't buy things because we want them, we buy things because they make us cool. Who dictates what is cool or not? Marketing agencies, companies which cater to teens are literally merchants of cool. Getting back to the main point, the influence of advertising is beginning to spill over, before they used to determine what clothes, shoes, or shampoos were cool, now they're beginning to control what acts, hobbies, and body types, are cool.

This is the way I've observed it as a high school student, and from what I've seen, I have to conclude that the media is definitely contributing to problems with eating disorders among teens.

Atleast one of those scare pictures of skeletal supermodels turned out to be from a pro-ana website.

...Explain?

I like stick thin. Not those skeletal figures, but damn skinny.

*ducks*

Why? Because you prefer it because that's your idea of beautiful, or because the media tells you it's beautiful?

The media is just one part of it. Its not the sole reason.

Another is that there are many women who arent encouraged to develop other ways to get self-steem. If a woman has something other than her looks to feel good about herself, the chance of geting an eating disorder is much smaller.

Its a cultural thing. Culture takes a lot of time to change. Women have been working for a bit more than 150 years, there are still a lot of things that need to be changed so women can feel good about themselves without carrying too much about their looks.

The thing is, that EDs aren't just about appearence. Therein lies the problem of whether you can blame the media or not.

I remember watching some sort of special about Barbie (anniversary?), and seeing these little (six, seven and eight year old) girls comparing their bodies to Barbie's. "My thighs aren't right." "My chest needs to be bigger." It made me sick.

I don't know if the media causes these problems, but I do find this attitude that the only way to be attractive is to be skinny annoying at best and scary at worst. Beauty comes in all sizes and forms, dammit!!

i dont particularly blame media. eating disorders are more complicated than seeing pictures of skinny girls and wanting to be like them.

but i do think that it is very important for the modelling industry to start thinking about the health of its employees. there should be a ban on using models who are so thin that its risks their health. the sick opinion of clothing designers should not dictate the size of models.

it is wrong to require a person to starve themselves in order to get work.

I remember watching some sort of special about Barbie (anniversary?), and seeing these little (six, seven and eight year old) girls comparing their bodies to Barbie's. "My thighs aren't right." "My chest needs to be bigger." It made me sick.

I don't know if the media causes these problems, but I do find this attitude that the only way to be attractive is to be skinny annoying at best and scary at worst. Beauty comes in all sizes and forms, dammit!!

i think they get those attitudes from their mothers. when they seem MOMMY be dissatisfied with her body and talk about her thighs being too big or breasts being too small, they internalize that kind of thinking.

You're looking at 'The Media' as one book where you can see one thing on one page and another on the next, and it's more complex than that.
Oh, it is, like most things in life, undoubtedly a more complicated picture than can be summed up in a couple of lines. Having said that, however, there seems to be a growing trend towards the homogenisation of the media, as newspapers and other outlets become more concentrated in the hands of single businessman. Most mainstream papers and news channels are incredibly similar; the only place you're likely to find much variation on the norm is in niche publications that, by their very nature, do not reach a significant part of the population.

There have been attempts in the past to create womens magazines that do not cater to the '50 Things to Drive Your Man Wild' and '6 Make Up Tips to Make Him Notice' etc, but they where torpedoed primarily by advertisers. Tradition 'female' advertisers for things like clothes and make up would not advertise in a magazine that told women that clothing and make up where not important
This is an interesting point, and one that I don't have any difficulty in believing. It's also something that's unlikely to change in the near future, although some companies are starting to advertise using 'real women'. Whether this is simply an attempt at a different campaign strategy or the realisation that women are getting fed up with being told that they should look like a doll, only time will tell.

I'm going to comment on the age group that typically suffers from eating disorders: teenagers. Now before you go "Zomg! Ageist!" I'm 17. Frankly, the way the media influences teenagers is unbelievable. They get all of their ideas about attractiveness, sexuality, and social norms from media outlets. Advertisements dictate to most teenagers what is considered to be "cool" or not. We really don't buy things because we want them, we buy things because they make us cool. Who dictates what is cool or not? Marketing agencies, companies which cater to teens are literally merchants of cool. Getting back to the main point, the influence of advertising is beginning to spill over, before they used to determine what clothes, shoes, or shampoos were cool, now they're beginning to control what acts, hobbies, and body types, are cool.

This is the way I've observed it as a high school student, and from what I've seen, I have to conclude that the media is definitely contributing to problems with eating disorders among teens.
We really should be teaching kids to critically read media the same way we teach them to critically read literature. While I think the latter is important, the former is paramount. It is possible to be inundated with media and still be media illiterate, and in fact advertising and the like rely on it. The more clever we become as consumers and audience the more clever they have to become to disguise their influence. And they do a good job...they'll be the first to agree with you that you're not influenced by advertising. As long as you're not aware of it it can work its magic.

But there are a number of things besides just sneaker ads etc. that have contributed to this kind of media illiteracy and the harm that a population so inundated with media being media illiterate can have is immense.

Teens and youth are good targets becuase they aren't media weary yet, you don't have to be as tricky. (Well, for a while you kind of did as my generation took 'not being impressed' as a fashion, but even then we turned out to be pretty empty on that promise)

Oh, it is, like most things in life, undoubtedly a more complicated picture than can be summed up in a couple of lines. Having said that, however, there seems to be a growing trend towards the homogenisation of the media, as newspapers and other outlets become more concentrated in the hands of single businessman. Most mainstream papers and news channels are incredibly similar; the only place you're likely to find much variation on the norm is in niche publications that, by their very nature, do not reach a significant part of the population.



When I first started studying media, this chart (http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/chart.shtml) was bigger.

When I first started studying media, this chart (http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/chart.shtml) was bigger.

It's a similar story here in the UK, with Murdoch owning several of the largest papers and the main satellite TV provider. It's one of the main reasons I'm such a passionate supporter of the publicly funded BBC; unlike the other news sources, it doesn't spin its stories to match the political beliefs of its owner.

I remember watching some sort of special about Barbie (anniversary?), and seeing these little (six, seven and eight year old) girls comparing their bodies to Barbie's. "My thighs aren't right." "My chest needs to be bigger." It made me sick.

I don't know if the media causes these problems, but I do find this attitude that the only way to be attractive is to be skinny annoying at best and scary at worst. Beauty comes in all sizes and forms, dammit!!

Agreed.

i dont particularly blame media. eating disorders are more complicated than seeing pictures of skinny girls and wanting to be like them.

but i do think that it is very important for the modelling industry to start thinking about the health of its employees. there should be a ban on using models who are so thin that its risks their health. the sick opinion of clothing designers should not dictate the size of models.

it is wrong to require a person to starve themselves in order to get work.

It's not neccissarily the opinion of clothing designers that dictates what models they use. To sell a runway line, you need the most "now" models, like the skeletal Jessica Stam or Chanel Iman. Armani himself said he'd prefer to use the equivalent to AUS size 10 and 12 girls, not size 4s and 6s.

i think they get those attitudes from their mothers. when they seem MOMMY be dissatisfied with her body and talk about her thighs being too big or breasts being too small, they internalize that kind of thinking.

Yet another person who blames family. I, for one, could never blame my mother for me developing bulimia, but I can understand how someone could think it was wrong that she didn't realise for 5 years.

I don't know if it can all be boiled down to something as simple as 'the media's fault'. People have a tendency to attack the media at the same time as they're eating it up. (It was particularly ironic to see people lining up for tabloids about Princess Di's death, all the while blaming the media for her death.)

Yes, people do tend to look at media images and respond to that. This is true. I think another part though, is the lifestyles we lead. North America is one half high calorie and obesity prone, and one half exercise-crazy. The solution to dealing with body image always seems to be to starve oneself. Why is that? What ever happened to eating healthier and exercising? It's true that it gets a little gimmicky with some things, but then again, it's just the media and the marketplace reacting to consumer's demand for a 'quick fix'.

Body image, and how we decide to deal with it, ultimately resides with us. There's no blame game here. The media will sell what we want to see, and the exercise industry will cater to our needs and desires. We just have to make these choices ourselves.

It makes me feel unhealthy when people talk about underweight people as bad, because my BMI is quite below the cut off level for what they banned (mine is 17.4, I think.) I don't like it when people try to imply that I have an eating disorder, when I don't.

I'm going to comment on the age group that typically suffers from eating disorders: teenagers. Now before you go "Zomg! Ageist!" I'm 17. Frankly, the way the media influences teenagers is unbelievable. They get all of their ideas about attractiveness, sexuality, and social norms from media outlets. Advertisements dictate to most teenagers what is considered to be "cool" or not. We really don't buy things because we want them, we buy things because they make us cool. Who dictates what is cool or not? Marketing agencies, companies which cater to teens are literally merchants of cool. Getting back to the main point, the influence of advertising is beginning to spill over, before they used to determine what clothes, shoes, or shampoos were cool, now they're beginning to control what acts, hobbies, and body types, are cool.

This is the way I've observed it as a high school student, and from what I've seen, I have to conclude that the media is definitely contributing to problems with eating disorders among teens.

That may well be true, for you. Personally I haven't done anything like buy something not because I wanted it but because it was "cool".. I do agree that a certain portion of individuals do in fact make decisions that way. I would not say it is a majority however.

It's not neccissarily the opinion of clothing designers that dictates what models they use. To sell a runway line, you need the most "now" models, like the skeletal Jessica Stam or Chanel Iman. Armani himself said he'd prefer to use the equivalent to AUS size 10 and 12 girls, not size 4s and 6s.

we arent talking about 4s and 6s anymore. we are talking about 0s and 2s for women who are 5'8" and taller. girls who look like they could have just walked out of a concentration camp. perhaps armani isnt a problem but every designer who hires a skeletal model IS the problem.


Yet another person who blames family. I, for one, could never blame my mother for me developing bulimia, but I can understand how someone could think it was wrong that she didn't realise for 5 years.

saying that you learn to hate your body by watching your mother's hatred of her own body is not claiming that this is what causes any particular person's eating disorder. you dont learn to hate your body by playing with barbie. its not obvious that you are "supposed" to compare yourself to her. (although you might reasonably come to think that you should have far more fashionable clothes than you do at 4 years old) you learn to criticize your body by seeing "the big girls" do it.

bulimia is too easy to hide to blame your mother for not noticing.

eating disorders are extremely psychologically complicated. you cant just hand out blame to any particular person.

In light of the recent hype surrounding the ban of models with an underweight BMI in Milan to London, the media's effect on body image, eating disorders and society itself has come to my attention.

Do you think that the media is partially to blame for the rising numbers of individuals (not just anglo-saxon upper-middle-class teenage girls) developing EDs, or is the media completely separate from it?

How are eating disorders portrayed in the media? Many people think "anorexia" and "bulemia" (yes, because most people spell it that way too) are the only eating disorders, which simply isn't true. The range of EDs is wide, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compuslive over eating, and EDNOS (ED not otherwise specified), and not all of these sufferers are neccissarily thin, either.

How does tv, music, magazines and so on effect body image? Is the rise of EDs connected to the change of the ideal body over the years (from volumptious in the romantic era, to curvy in the 50s, to baywatch babe in the 80s, to stick thin in recent years etc)?

Tell me anything.


I'll tell you that the way you frame your questions, with phrases like 'How does tv, et. all, effect body image?' already assumes that it does. This has yet to be determined. In point of fact, I would say that men's preferences have if anything remained fairly stable, as your imputation that standards of beauty have shifted are mistaken

http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/mmdress.htm

Marilyn was about the same size and weight at her physical peak as someone in the vein of Scarlett Johanssen or Elizabeth Hurley is now. I'm therefore highly dubious that we've at all been conditioned to accept differing standards of beauty.

...Explain?




There was a picture circulating a while back of a supermodel so skinny her ribs were clearly visible. Pro-Ana means Pro-Anorexia, and they photoshop pictures like that to give themselves something to aspire to.

And I am not creative enough to make something like this up.

Why? Because you prefer it because that's your idea of beautiful, or because the media tells you it's beautiful?

The media would tell me I want boobs, and big ones. I don't. Same with ass, although to a lesser (greater?) extent.

So, no, not because the media tells me. I just like it that way.

It makes me feel unhealthy when people talk about underweight people as bad, because my BMI is quite below the cut off level for what they banned (mine is 17.4, I think.) I don't like it when people try to imply that I have an eating disorder, when I don't.

That is normal. I was quite thin when I was younger, going so far as having 9% of fat in my body, without any kind of work or exercise whatsoever (when I was like 16).

I did start to get fater when I crossed the 20´s barrier. Now I have to watch out, otherwise even if I dong get fat anywhere else, I do start to get a belly.

Anyway, there are three body general body types.

Thin and tall (models usually look like this, and its the "perfect" for women).
Tall and athletic (perfect for males, and women who have a lot of curves)
Short and big (big boned, the "fat" people").

Mainly, you cant change that for your entire life. Its all about the way your bones have been set and developed. A thin woman can get boob implants, do exercises, but will never get as many curves as the athletic ones. Men like me, very thin, has to work out so that the void gets filled with muscles. Athletic and thin types can get fat, but its much easier, and they dont look as bad as those with a diferen frame.

But for those short and big, everything becomes even worst. The diference is too big. And those are the ones that suffer the most, specially if they try to look like models, and believe in can be done with diet and exercises.

For me, there should be an ideal of beauty for each body type. Thin and athletic have it easier, but the fat people dont. And no matter how much diet you do, how much exercise you perform, you just cant change your bones, and that is why it just isnt worth it if you are trying to become perfect..

The media would tell me I want boobs, and big ones. I don't. Same with ass, although to a lesser (greater?) extent.

So, no, not because the media tells me. I just like it that way.

it is so pathetic when men deny their true preferences in a woman because they dont fit the standard of what society says he SHOULD like.

its a good thing to know what you like and stick with it no matter what "the guys" drool over.

Actually, the way we want our women is pretty biological.

You see, men like curves. Curves are meant to show the women has a big hip (good for birth), big breasts (she will be able to feed properly and has a lot of fat to make milk) and big butts, to show the women has enough fat to produce a baby.

If you have a woman with a small waist, that just exacerbates everything else. If a woman has low body weight, that just makes her butt and breasts look biger.

The idea that a man in the XVIII century would look upon one of our models and think she is ugly is pretty damn stupid. I`m pretty sure our women are trying to look as perfect as they can, and this "perfect" visuals is quite based on biological reasons, even if we use them to cheat a lot.

Now, it may be sounding like I think women are cows. They arent. But that is how nature works.

That is normal. I was quite thin when I was younger, going so far as having 9% of fat in my body, without any kind of work or exercise whatsoever (when I was like 16).


Ok. My brother is the same way (he weighs a little bit more than me but he's two inches taller and 2.5 years younger), so it's probably just our body type (although my dad has been obese since he was a child:( )

I'm actually sort of surprised no one is shocked by the Pro-Ana stuff. It seems like that kind of thing would get people pretty riled up. (I wasn't trying to rile up people, it just somewhat surprises me no one is.)

Actually, the way we want our women is pretty biological.

You see, men like curves. Curves are meant to show the women has a big hip (good for birth), big breasts (she will be able to feed properly and has a lot of fat to make milk) and big butts, to show the women has enough fat to produce a baby.

If you have a woman with a small waist, that just exacerbates everything else. If a woman has low body weight, that just makes her butt and breasts look biger.

The idea that a man in the XVIII century would look upon one of our models and think she is ugly is pretty damn stupid. I`m pretty sure our women are trying to look as perfect as they can, and this "perfect" visuals is quite based on biological reasons, even if we use them to cheat a lot.

Now, it may be sounding like I think women are cows. They arent. But that is how nature works.

you think that a man from the 1700s would be attracted to a woman several inches taller than he is who is so thin that she looks like a poor girl from the streets?

I'm actually sort of surprised no one is shocked by the Pro-Ana stuff. It seems like that kind of thing would get people pretty riled up. (I wasn't trying to rile up people, it just somewhat surprises me no one is.)

ive heard about it before

besides, its a symptom of an illness. i know many people here love to go off on things like this but what is there to say but "thats just wrong?"

you think that a man from the 1700s would be attracted to a woman several inches taller than he is who is so thin that she looks like a poor girl from the streets?

I dunno, maybe Benjamin Franklin...

Kidding, kidding...

it is so pathetic when men deny their true preferences in a woman because they dont fit the standard of what society says he SHOULD like.

its a good thing to know what you like and stick with it no matter what "the guys" drool over.

It's good to hear that I won't be ridiculed for it here. What can I say, I'm just not into it. Hell, you could say I'm AHEAD of the curve, with the nations obesity epidemic.


The idea that a man in the XVIII century would look upon one of our models and think she is ugly is pretty damn stupid.

I can't read your Roman numerals. I fail, don't I?

The idea that a man in the XVIII century would look upon one of our models and think she is ugly is pretty damn stupid. I`m pretty sure our women are trying to look as perfect as they can, and this "perfect" visuals is quite based on biological reasons, even if we use them to cheat a lot.


Considering that the models of today lack breasts, hips, and buttocks, I think it'd be safe to say that a man from the 1700s would not like them.

I can't read your Roman numerals. I fail, don't I?

Yeah. He's saying 18th century.

There is no real proof that the media has any greater influence over body image and eating disorders than learned behaviours, or particular mental health issues that the people who experience them have.

Far as I am concerned, if the media influenced eating disorders as heavily as people think, there would not have been anorexics in the 18th and 19th centuries.

I also think this idea of banning models under a certain BMI is ridiculous. There are plenty of perfectly healthy people out there, who have BMI's well below "healthy" levels. In fact, BMI's are a notoriously unreliable method of determining healthy weight.

http://life.familyeducation.com/weight/health/35880.html

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=19571

I know that this is mainly to do with obesity, but if it is unreliable in deteremining one, why not the other?

One thing I always find amusing however, is how magazines aimed at women have stick figures and tell us this is what men want, but if you look in men's magazines, most of the women are curvaceous.

I don't know why women get so fussy about their appearance like this. Seriously pretty much anything goes with me. Beggars can't be choosers after all. :)

you think that a man from the 1700s would be attracted to a woman several inches taller than he is who is so thin that she looks like a poor girl from the streets?

Yes, specially if she didnt smell like horse shit. Didnt had flies in her hair and pubic hair. Didnt had crooked teeth or a skin that looks like shit. And didnt had hair on her face or in places you dont want to find it (like legs and armpits).

Trust me, if a guy from 1700 saw a women from our age, he would think she is a goddess. A real goddess.

Why? Get a shapely woman. Nice muscled legs. Big boobs. Firm ass. Nice long blond hair. Smell like flowers. Perfect white teeth. Hair only on her head and a bit down there. Perfect health and smooth skin. That is what we have nowadays, something very hard to come by back there.

Btw, people back then used used to marry 13, 14 or 15 year old women. And many women on this age are very thin, naturaly thin. Also, if they liked fat women, why did they used those streching stuff in their waist to make it smaller? They liked the hourglass back then just like we do today.

I can't read your Roman numerals. I fail, don't I?

That is because you´re an english speaking barbarian, directly responsible for the destruction of our Holy Roman Empire of ages past.

Anyway, there are three body general body types.

Thin and tall (models usually look like this, and its the "perfect" for women).
Tall and athletic (perfect for males, and women who have a lot of curves)
Short and big (big boned, the "fat" people").


I am short, thin, fairly well-endowed in the T&A department, and puzzled as to why you think I don't exist. :p

I am short, thin, fairly well-endowed in the T&A department, and puzzled as to why you think I don't exist. :p

Midgets doesnt count :p

That is because you´re an english speaking barbarian, directly responsible for the destruction of our Holy Roman Empire of ages past.

Does that mean I'm a terrorist?

Does that mean I'm a terrorist?

Are you a native-american or aborigene? If the answer is yes, then you´re a terrorist.

Sorry.

Are you a native-american or aborigene? If the answer is yes, then you´re a terrorist.

Sorry.

Oh, sorry, I guess I'm not a terrorist then. I forgot I had to be a Mohawk in Canada to be a terrorist.

Midgets doesnt count :p

While I may be a "little person" in the sense of "a person who is fairly small in size," I promise you that at 5'3'', I'm hardly a little person in the sense of "person with dwarfism." :p

Yes, specially if she didnt smell like horse shit. Didnt had flies in her hair and pubic hair. Didnt had crooked teeth or a skin that looks like shit. And didnt had hair on her face or in places you dont want to find it (like legs and armpits).

Trust me, if a guy from 1700 saw a women from our age, he would think she is a goddess. A real goddess.

Why? Get a shapely woman. Nice muscled legs. Big boobs. Firm ass. Nice long blond hair. Smell like flowers. Perfect white teeth. Hair only on her head and a bit down there. Perfect health and smooth skin. That is what we have nowadays, something very hard to come by back there.

Btw, people back then used used to marry 13, 14 or 15 year old women. And many women on this age are very thin, naturaly thin. Also, if they liked fat women, why did they used those streching stuff in their waist to make it smaller? They liked the hourglass back then just like we do today.

i dont think we're talking about the same models. yeah a victorias secret model would be freakishly tall but a man might be able to get past that. a runway model who looks quite close to dead, no breasts, no ass, no muscles, no nothing but a freakish height, im thinking she would be creepy no matter how unpock marked her skin.

EDIT**

and why do you think that a man from the 1700s would be particularly attracted to a woman without much body hair? do you think they were all pedophiles?

we arent talking about 4s and 6s anymore. we are talking about 0s and 2s for women who are 5'8" and taller. girls who look like they could have just walked out of a concentration camp. perhaps armani isnt a problem but every designer who hires a skeletal model IS the problem....

I wish people would realise that there are DIFFERENT types of sizing. I work in the fashion industry and in Australia alone there are several types of sizing. the size "0" you refer to is an AUS4 or AUS6. this type of sizing goes from the 00 to a 3, which is an AUS12. most stockists don't have a 4, even though an AUS14 is smaller than the average australian woman according to various polls. there is also US sizing, European sizing, and S,M,L sizing (extra-small to extra-large being an AUS6 to an AUS14). Sizing is very complicated. If you're really confused google a national women's sizing chart, and even then every style and make is different. I'm sometimes an AUS10, sometimes an AUS14! Also, it's expected of designers to hire thin models, and while it is definitely wrong, there is also a problem with agencies.

There was a picture circulating a while back of a supermodel so skinny her ribs were clearly visible. Pro-Ana means Pro-Anorexia, and they photoshop pictures like that to give themselves something to aspire to.

And I am not creative enough to make something like this up.

I'm actually sort of surprised no one is shocked by the Pro-Ana stuff. It seems like that kind of thing would get people pretty riled up. (I wasn't trying to rile up people, it just somewhat surprises me no one is.)

LOL. The pro-ana movement came in and died down quite a while ago. Most pro-ed sites have been shut down. There are still many ED-related communites on sites such as livejournal, however as eating disorders are coming more and more into the spotlight and body image revolutions are being supported by companies such as Dove, many of these communites offer support rather than promoting self-harming behaviour. Those images are everywhere, but I assure you there are real girls that thin as well. For Example:

http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o185/Haitiamanian/Real%20Thin/

That is because you´re an english speaking barbarian, directly responsible for the destruction of our Holy Roman Empire of ages past.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_empire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire

;)