NationStates Jolt Archive

More than two times as likely.

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2006.088419v1

Objective. We sought to determine whether lesbians have higher rates of overweight and obesity than women of other sexual orientations.

Methods.We compared population estimates of overweight and obesity across sexual orientation groups, using data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth.

Results. Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analyses showed lesbians have more than twice the odds of overweight (odds ratio [OR]=2.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.40, 5.18) and obesity (OR=2.47; 95% CI=1.19, 5.09) as heterosexual women. Bisexuals and women who reported their sexual orientation as "something else" (besides heterosexual, lesbian, or bisexual) showed no such increase in the odds of overweight and obesity.

Conclusions. Lesbian women have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than all other female sexual orientation groups. This finding suggests that lesbians are at greater risk for morbidity and mortality linked to overweight and obesity. This finding also highlights the need for interventions within this population.

Care to speculate on the reasons why?

I'll be back online in about four hours to continue this - I can't come up with a reason why, but the OR of 2.47 for obesity is really, really high.

Not my lesbians.

Not my lesbians.

Of course you know, this thread is useless without pics.

Of course you know, this thread is useless without pics.
Fris just told me that that is a bad idea.

I guess it's not a mythical stereotype

http://www.nedic.ca/knowthefacts/documents/Broadeningourunderstandingofviolenceagainstwomen.pdf

Someone will have to rewrite that one.

Nonsense, I've seen loads of lesbians' pictures in the... Educational areas of the internets, and almost all of them have been skinny!

And we all know that the por^H^H^Heducational materials on the internets are always right! *nods*

(Also: giggle at "National Survey of Family Growth" ;) )

Nonsense, I've seen loads of lesbians' pictures in the... Educational areas of the internets, and almost all of them have been skinny!

And we all know that the por^H^H^Heducational materials on the internets are always right! *nods*

(Also: giggle at "National Survey of Family Growth" ;) )
Ah, is that what I should call it now?;)

Makes sense. On The View last month, Rosie O'Donnell was talking about how in many lesbian relationships, there comes a time where they stop having sex and just cuddle a lot. (She had attended a seminar on how to keep the romance in a lesbian relationship.)
If there's no need to be skinny to turn someone else on, why not get fat?

If there's no need to be skinny to turn someone else on, why not get fat?

Health concerns? Dunno.

Health concerns? Dunno.

"Mmm but chocolate is my new sex."

Or maybe: fat people are more prone to lesbianism?

[This opposing viewpoint has been provided by Greyenivol Colony]

More than two times as likely.

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2006.088419v1



Care to speculate on the reasons why?

I'll be back online in about four hours to continue this - I can't come up with a reason why, but the OR of 2.47 for obesity is really, really high.
Because they aren't pretty enough to get guys.

Lots of women gain weight when they stop giving a fuck about being attractive to guys. :D

But wouldn't lesbians, at least some of them, give a fuck about looking attractive to women?

Or am I just talking nonsense again?

But wouldn't lesbians, at least some of them, give a fuck about looking attractive to women?

Yes. But (in my experience) women who are attracted to women tend to have much more realistic views of female beauty. Maybe because they themselves have a female body? I don't know.

Lesbians just tend to be less crazed about SKINNY SKINNY WOMENZ than heteroboys tend to be. Probably related to media input, at least in part, because guys view skinny girls as status symbols. If your woman is the hawtest (read: skinny with big boobies) then you are The Man. Never mind that a lot of heteroboys don't actually give a shit about these things...they still can respond to the homosocial pressure.

Funny thing is, the people who seem to be the harshest about fat are hetero women. I don't know why this is. I'm not saying lesbians are immune to weight issues, or anything of the sort, but hetero women are the ones I hear being meanest about it, both to themselves and toward others. Anybody have guesses why this might be?

Yes. But (in my experience) women who are attracted to women tend to have much more realistic views of female beauty. Maybe because they themselves have a female body? I don't know.

Lesbians just tend to be less crazed about SKINNY SKINNY WOMENZ than heteroboys tend to be. Probably related to media input, at least in part, because guys view skinny girls as status symbols. If your woman is the hawtest (read: skinny with big boobies) then you are The Man. Never mind that a lot of heteroboys don't actually give a shit about these things...they still can respond to the homosocial pressure.

Funny thing is, the people who seem to be the harshest about fat are hetero women. I don't know why this is. I'm not saying lesbians are immune to weight issues, or anything of the sort, but hetero women are the ones I hear being meanest about it, both to themselves and toward others. Anybody have guesses why this might be?
Apart from trying to lure a man with what is percieved to be the ideal body?

Yes. But (in my experience) women who are attracted to women tend to have much more realistic views of female beauty. Maybe because they themselves have a female body? I don't know.

Lesbians just tend to be less crazed about SKINNY SKINNY WOMENZ than heteroboys tend to be. Probably related to media input, at least in part, because guys view skinny girls as status symbols. If your woman is the hawtest (read: skinny with big boobies) then you are The Man. Never mind that a lot of heteroboys don't actually give a shit about these things...they still can respond to the homosocial pressure.

Funny thing is, the people who seem to be the harshest about fat are hetero women. I don't know why this is. I'm not saying lesbians are immune to weight issues, or anything of the sort, but hetero women are the ones I hear being meanest about it, both to themselves and toward others. Anybody have guesses why this might be?

Yeah, but gay dudes are just the opposite. They are all into being skinny/buff.

Apart from trying to lure a man with what is percieved to be the ideal body?
But they're so mean to themselves about it. I don't get that.

I can understand, sort of, why maybe they would cut down other girls. I mean, those girls are their competition, right? But I hear straight girls say such horrible things about themselves and their own bodies, and I don't see what purpose that serves.

Unless they are just fishing for compliments...?

I dunno. I was reared in a very unusual household when it came to weight stuff. My mom was an anorexic back before they had a name for "starving yourself down to 90 pounds." She put a lot of time and energy into figuring out how to shield me from food issues and fat obsessions, because she didn't want me to end up making her mistakes. I think I missed out on a lot of the stuff that "normal" girls are exposed to, so I don't know about a lot of the messages they might be getting about their bodies.

Yeah, but gay dudes are just the opposite. They are all into being skinny/buff.
Appealing to the male gaze, again.

For some reason, people who are trying to attract men tend to have much higher levels of obsession with being skinny. I happen to think that this is more about corporate/media pressures than about actual male desires, since most guys I know are turned off by stick-figure types. But I could be wrong about that. Maybe dudes are all about the skinny bods.

Anybody have guesses why this might be?

The skinny wimminz wish they could just ditch their "eat like a rabbit" diet and go wild at an all you can eat buffet, and are jealous of anyone they think does this(i.e, all the women with more than an ounce of fat)

The skinny wimminz wish they could just ditch their "eat like a rabbit" diet and go wild at an all you can eat buffet, and are jealous of anyone they think does this(i.e, all the women with more than an ounce of fat)
Hahahaha, could be!

There's this girl where I work who keeps saying how she wishes she could eat the way I do. I usually have a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a snack, spread out over the course of the day (8am to 4pm). She says I am "always eating" and wishes she could "pig out" like that.

I wonder, why can't you? What would happen if you (gasp) consumed as much as 600 calories over an 8-hour work day? Would you explode?

But they're so mean to themselves about it. I don't get that.

I can understand, sort of, why maybe they would cut down other girls. I mean, those girls are their competition, right? But I hear straight girls say such horrible things about themselves and their own bodies, and I don't see what purpose that serves.

Unless they are just fishing for compliments...?

I dunno. I was reared in a very unusual household when it came to weight stuff. My mom was an anorexic back before they had a name for "starving yourself down to 90 pounds." She put a lot of time and energy into figuring out how to shield me from food issues and fat obsessions, because she didn't want me to end up making her mistakes. I think I missed out on a lot of the stuff that "normal" girls are exposed to, so I don't know about a lot of the messages they might be getting about their bodies.
Well even the skinny ones can call themselves fat.
It's a Hollywood thing.

Hahahaha, could be!

There's this girl where I work who keeps saying how she wishes she could eat the way I do. I usually have a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a snack, spread out over the course of the day (8am to 4pm). She says I am "always eating" and wishes she could "pig out" like that.

I wonder, why can't you? What would happen if you (gasp) consumed as much as 600 calories over an 8-hour work day? Would you explode?

Some day you should bring and extra sandwich for her. You'd probably be her hero.

Some day you should bring and extra sandwich for her. You'd probably be her hero.
But what if she really can't eat that way?

What if, like, an evil genie put a terrible curse upon her, and she will transform into a hideous giant hog-beast if she allows a sandwich to pass her lips? What if the aliens installed a detonator in her stomach which will cause her to go KABOOM if she consumes solid food?!?!

The risk is just too great.

But what if she really can't eat that way?

What if, like, an evil genie put a terrible curse upon her, and she will transform into a hideous giant hog-beast if she allows a sandwich to pass her lips? What if the aliens installed a detonator in her stomach which will cause her to go KABOOM if she consumes solid food?!?!

The risk is just too great.

The food related risks facing women today are numerous indeed.


And it's really hard to clean up after someone explodes. Your clothes will be ruined, and don't get me started on the carpet.

Hmm most of the lesbians I know arn't fat. Really depends on what kind of lesbian you're talking about. Lipsticks tend to skinny and pretty and butch more muscular and masculine. Also what is consiedered skinny to mee is anorexic. Most women should be between a size 7-12.


As a gay man I know the pressures of being skinny/muscular.

My favorite fictional lesbian (http://www.the-link.ws/stars/photos/378731/melanieandlindseyqueerasfolk-michelleclunie.jpg) couple.

Appealing to the male gaze, again.

For some reason, people who are trying to attract men tend to have much higher levels of obsession with being skinny. I happen to think that this is more about corporate/media pressures than about actual male desires, since most guys I know are turned off by stick-figure types. But I could be wrong about that. Maybe dudes are all about the skinny bods.

Or that men just have better visual memories, and lean people do look better.

Because they aren't pretty enough to get guys.Yeah, but gay dudes are just the opposite. They are all into being skinny/buff.I am one sport-minded heterosexual white male.
but I can see..

this thread is going to end up hurting the feelings of some.
and It is not going to serve any purpose.

Or that men just have better visual memories,

Recent studies have found that women actually spend more time looking at another woman's body, while men spend more time looking at the woman's face.

Of course, men also spend more time looking at the crotch regions of other men. I guess there are some physical features that they really want to fix in their memories...;)

and lean people do look better.
To whom? What are you basing this upon?

this thread is going to end up hurting the feelings of some.
and It is not going to serve any purpose.
I'd say that's true of pretty much all our threads.

:D

Recent studies have found that women actually spend more time looking at another woman's body, while men spend more time looking at the woman's face.

See! We said we weren't looking at your tits, but you never believed us!
Now we have science to back it up!
HA!

This survey says nothing as to causality. Did they become fat and then realise that they are lesbians. Or did they realise they were a lesbian and then become fat.

All this survey says is that you get less lesbians per pound of weight than you do straight women.

The survey doesn't even begin to suggest why lesbians have a higher chance of being overweight. This survey has more flaws than an industrial diamond. I demand a recount! Denied says the supreme court. :(

Recent studies have found that women actually spend more time looking at another woman's body, while men spend more time looking at the woman's face.

Of course, men also spend more time looking at the crotch regions of other men. I guess there are some physical features that they really want to fix in their memories...;)

Ah, but how good is the mental image that the respective sexes assign to people when they think about/remember an individual? I would guess that men have a better/more accurate mental image of the people they know making it more important that the person looks good in reality.

To whom? What are you basing this upon?

The popularity of women's tennis compared to the shotput. I'm not talking about anorectic catwalk models, but rather a leaner more healthy athletic look.

And it makes sense that it is more attractive. It means a fitter partner, better for potential offspring etc. Probably the same reason that young people are more attractive than old people.

I don't know why this is. I'm not saying lesbians are immune to weight issues, or anything of the sort, but hetero women are the ones I hear being meanest about it, both to themselves and toward others. Anybody have guesses why this might be?

I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of women are really fucking mean.

Funny thing is, the people who seem to be the harshest about fat are hetero women. I don't know why this is. I'm not saying lesbians are immune to weight issues, or anything of the sort, but hetero women are the ones I hear being meanest about it, both to themselves and toward others. Anybody have guesses why this might be?
women are indoctrinated in the US to always be in competition with other women, I have had to step back and ask myself before "why am I being so bitchy?"

if you tear down someone else it builds you up (or it has the appearance of building you up) which is why the other mom's tend to say bitchy things about me, I on the other hand always compare myself to the other mom's to try to get ahead of the competition, and am always finding places I am lacking, so in turn I tear myself down (in the name of constructive criticism) and then resent them because I feel crappy, and so I try to tear them down so that I feel better (not that I do any of this consciously, I only recently realized that it goes on and I am trying to curb my bad behavior, I have been doing quite well, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on the mommy politics so... I continue for my own reasons, even if they are still bitchy)

I do remember before I was married (and shortly after) feeling threatened by other women who were "better" than me, logging in my brain their strengths and weaknesses and comparing them against my own, if you talk to just about any woman, after a while she will admit she does this too...... I have seen it happen in very young girls, I guess my mission in life is to try to make them aware of it, so the next generation won't have this problem.

Read the rest of the report:
“The results of these studies indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women,” they wrote."

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21635542-5012769,00.html

The thread title is a bit misleading as it implies some degree of causality - lesbians are not twice as likely to become obese.

Lots of women gain weight when they stop giving a fuck about being attractive to guys. :D

So it's ok to get fat to the point where it radically shortens your lifespan?

I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of women are really fucking mean.
Yes, I have, and that's what I was talking about in my post. I'm simply confused about why HETERO women seem to be meaner. Or at least, more VOCAL about how mean they are. Maybe lesbians think mean things just as often and say them less, I dunno, but I tend to hear hetero women actually saying mean things (about their own bodies as well as other womens' bodies) much more often.

My current guess as to the reason for this is along the lines of what Smunkee was saying; something to do with competition between hetero women.

The thread title is a bit misleading as it implies some degree of causality - lesbians are not twice as likely to become obese.

Look at the study results. 2.45 OR (overall ratio) for lesbians being obese.

We're not talking regular vs. model-skinny. We're talking the medical definition of obese.

Yes, I have, and that's what I was talking about in my post. I'm simply confused about why HETERO women seem to be meaner. Or at least, more VOCAL about how mean they are. Maybe lesbians think mean things just as often and say them less, I dunno, but I tend to hear hetero women actually saying mean things (about their own bodies as well as other womens' bodies) much more often.

My current guess as to the reason for this is along the lines of what Smunkee was saying; something to do with competition between hetero women.

Men compete over everything too, it's a constant competition to one up each other. We're just not as vicious about it. What the difference is I don't know.

So it's ok to get fat to the point where it radically shortens your lifespan?
Research from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control has found that people who are overweight but not obese have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight.

There was a nice Paul Campos article from the New Republic, called “The Weighting Game,” that included information like this:

A major American Cancer Society study published in 1995 concluded in no uncertain terms that healthy “overweight” and “obese” women were better off if they didn’t lose weight. In this study, healthy women who intentionally lost weight over a period of a year or longer suffered an all-cause increased risk of premature mortality that was up to 70 percent higher than that of healthy women who didn’t intentionally lose weight. Meanwhile, unintentional weight gain had no effect on mortality rates.

In addition, University of Virginia professor Glenn Gaesser has estimated that three-quarters of all medical studies on the effects of weight on health between 1945 and 1995 concluded either that “excess” weight had no effect on health or that it was actually beneficial. He's got a book, "Big Fat Lies," that you could check out for more information.

I think that what most people currently identify as "overweight" is actually MORE healthy than supposedly "normal weight" ranges.

Of course, this hasn't stopped me from frequently trying to reach perceived "ideal weights" that are pretty much entirely based on aesthetics. I try to convince myself that I'm doing it for "health reasons," but that's really bunk.

Of course, this hasn't stopped me from frequently trying to reach perceived "ideal weights" that are pretty much entirely based on aesthetics. I try to convince myself that I'm doing it for "health reasons," but that's really bunk.

what's wrong with trying to look good?

Yes, I have, and that's what I was talking about in my post. I'm simply confused about why HETERO women seem to be meaner. Or at least, more VOCAL about how mean they are. Maybe lesbians think mean things just as often and say them less, I dunno, but I tend to hear hetero women actually saying mean things (about their own bodies as well as other womens' bodies) much more often.

I think men say the same kinds of things, but they mean it with humour, and it's taken as such. Women don't seem to make/take derogatory jokes like that very well.

Research from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control has found that people who are overweight but not obese have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight.

Ooh, less than 1? :p

Way to go , lesbians!

I think it's great that lesbians are only half as likely to buy into the 'skinny' beauty myth.

This is a good example of how lesbianism can help us move forward as a culture: by showing everyone that you can be larger than Hollywood wants you to be, yet still be perceived as beautiful.

Thank you, Remote Observer, for giving me yet another reason to enjoy the fact that my daughters spend alot of time hanging around queer women.

Awesome!

what's wrong with trying to look good?
If, in your efforts to look good, you engage in behaviors that negatively impact your health, I believe that is a problem.

maybe it's a calculated attempt to achieve a more androgynous body shape to go along with the short hair and men's clothes. that's all i can come up with.

I think men say the same kinds of things, but they mean it with humour, and it's taken as such. Women don't seem to make/take derogatory jokes like that very well.This is probably why I'm more likely to end up in a gay relationship than a straight one. I need someone to take my derogatory insults as they were intended - as jokes, and that person not be afraid to throw them back in my face with good humour.

Of course, this hasn't stopped me from frequently trying to reach perceived "ideal weights" that are pretty much entirely based on aesthetics. I try to convince myself that I'm doing it for "health reasons," but that's really bunk.


Your book is pwned by this:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_gdlns.pdf

It's riskier to be obese. Period. I'm surprised that as a scientist, you dismiss the risks of obesity, in the face of evidence reviewed by far more experts than a single book author who obviously wanted to make a quick buck peddling bullshit.

The guidelines are based on a systematic review of the published scientific literature found in MEDLINE from January 1980 to September 1997 of topics identified by the panel as key to extrapolating the data related to the obesity evidence model.

If, in your efforts to look good, you engage in behaviors that negatively impact your health, I believe that is a problem.

yes, but that's only when you're already healthy. i don't think the study says that you shouldn't trie to lose weight, as long as you do it in a healthy way (a balanced diet, and a lot of movement for instance)

Oh boy...There is a joke about lesbians being obese because of..um...eating out so much....


:headbang:

Oh boy...There is a joke about lesbians being obese because of..um...eating out so much....


:headbang:

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q100/TheSteveslols/1174329819-fail.jpg

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q100/TheSteveslols/1174329819-fail.jpg

but....... :(

but....... :(

The joke, not you.

Your book is pwned by this:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_gdlns.pdf

It's riskier to be obese. Period. I'm surprised that as a scientist, you dismiss the risks of obesity, in the face of evidence reviewed by far more experts than a single book author who obviously wanted to make a quick buck peddling bullshit.

Your PDF was released in 1998, and was probably based on many of the same studies that were discussed in the book, as the book apparently focuses on studies done in the early to mid-90's.

Here is an article from 2005, which seems to support Bottle's claims:

People who are overweight but not obese have a lower risk of death than those of normal weight, federal researchers are reporting today.

The researchers - statisticians and epidemiologists from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - also found that increased risk of death from obesity was seen for the most part in the extremely obese, a group constituting only 8 percent of Americans.

And being very thin, even though the thinness was longstanding and unlikely to stem from disease, caused a slight increase in the risk of death, the researchers said.

The new study, considered by many independent scientists to be the most rigorous yet on the effects of weight, controlled for factors like smoking, age, race and alcohol consumption in a sophisticated analysis derived from a well-known method that has been used to predict cancer risk.

Here is the source. (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/20/health/20fat.html?ex=1178164800&en=4d0263a1d37e78fb&ei=5070)

It requires a log-in.

I used a client name of: privacyyes
and password was: blowme
(just saving you a trip to bugmenot.)

More than two times as likely.

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2006.088419v1



Care to speculate on the reasons why?

I'll be back online in about four hours to continue this - I can't come up with a reason why, but the OR of 2.47 for obesity is really, really high.

“The results of these studies indicate that lesbian women have a better body image than do heterosexual women,” [researchers] wrote.Source. (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21635542-5012769,00.html)

Oh boy...There is a joke about lesbians being obese because of..um...eating out so much....


:headbang:

I loled.

More than two times as likely.

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2006.088419v1



Care to speculate on the reasons why?

I'll be back online in about four hours to continue this - I can't come up with a reason why, but the OR of 2.47 for obesity is really, really high.

because no guys want obese women unless the guys are Mongolian so women who are obese are usually forced into lesbianism.

(I know the fact about Mongolians because I learned they did in class and I am part Mongol, which explains like a bulgy belly on a lady makes me as horny as a bulgy ass on a woman)

Secondly I learned that the ingredients for fats and steroids are the same, so I have a theory that the fatter one is the more sexually active.

I'm against it.

hmmm it was my impression from recent reports that everyone has come to accept and even prefer a slightly larger body type. it was suggested that it reflects our larger reality--with the average person being somewhat "fat" these days and with the average person tending to be attracted to the average person.

Overweight, but not obese. Overweight means nothing. The BMI "overweight" and "obese" categories were recently revamped,

Frankly, at my heaviest, I fluctuate up to 185 pounds. Since I am 6 feet tall, this is, according to the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/results_overweight.htm?pounds=185&inches=72), "overweight" (barely) with a BMI of 25.1.

I had my body composition analyzed last summer while working at a weight loss camp; I was, at the time, a little over 170 pounds (my "light" weight), and at the bottom end of the "healthy" range for body fat. Actually, borderline "unhealthy" range, I was pushing the dangerous end of things in spite of my best efforts to keep weight on.

Meaning that at my peak weight, I am at close to the "ideal" (healthiest) body fat percentage, even though by the new standards, I qualify as "overweight" when I hit it.

Granted, that's me at my heaviest - but I'm still thinner, fitter, and more muscular than average. (The average adult male is - according to the CDC's definitions - overweight with a BMI of 25.8. The average adult male also runs a mile and a half in more time that I run two, and has a single rep leg press max of 230 pounds, whereas I do my 2 rep sets up to 1200 pounds.) Lots of athletes are, according to BMI, "overweight."

However, very few, aside from professional body builders, are "obese" by the BMI definition. I would have to be over 220 pounds in order to qualify by BMI. So the overweight figures aren't really of concern, but the obese figures are.

Frankly, I'd like to see a more detailed study following up on this one, with more attention to body composition and fitness. The BMI category itself doesn't mean much the way the lines are drawn right now.

Uh, why did they feel the need to measure this? If somebody is overweight, consider interventions. I can't imagine a doctor saying, "So, you're a pretty good weight...but you self-identify as a lesbian, so we're going to have to talk about obesity in your near future."

Geez!

More than two times as likely.

Not if Internet sites are any judge.

The person questioning the causality of this research was quite correct. It says lesbians are twice as likely to be overweight, it does NOT say that lesbians are twice as likely to BECOME overweight. Given diseases like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which both increases the weight of woman AND increases the male hormone levels in her body, this study is essentially meaningless. Tis like the chicken/egg question...were these women always lesbians? Or did they gain the weight first?

If a case is to be made for causality, there needs to be a study where a certain number of lesbians and a certain number of hetero women who are all NORMAL weights are followed over many years (more than 10) to see if there is a statistical difference in how many BECOME overweight during this time period.

The answer should be in competition as outlined by Smunkee.

Any creature in a comfortable environment tends to put on weight, just as species tend towards giganticism if there's no environmental pressure causing otherwise.

There's an advantage to being lean in an uncomfortable environment, it makes our brain more alert and hence, more competitive.

Yes, I have, and that's what I was talking about in my post. I'm simply confused about why HETERO women seem to be meaner. Or at least, more VOCAL about how mean they are. Maybe lesbians think mean things just as often and say them less, I dunno, but I tend to hear hetero women actually saying mean things (about their own bodies as well as other womens' bodies) much more often.

My current guess as to the reason for this is along the lines of what Smunkee was saying; something to do with competition between hetero women.

Hmm. In my history professor's recent lectures, one of the main points was that American society began creating and enforcing competition between women starting around 1920, in response to the success of certain women's movements (temperance and suffrage in particular). In this paradigm, one of the major results of this new competition was a world where women were judged by the man they were going out with (reinforcing competition between women for men in the process). Naturally, women would try to make themselves look "sexier" (sexier defined by what the man finds sexy, no duh!) in order to help - by a historical coincidence, this happened at about the same time that men started to define skinny women as sexy.

Lesbians, in this paradigm, wouldn't be affected by the same selection pressures as hetero women (they wouldn't have to conform to the man's view of attractiveness, at the very least). It might make sense, then, that lesbians wouldn't conform to society's view of a healthy weight to the same
extent that hetero women try to.

Food for thought.

More than two times as likely.

http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/AJPH.2006.088419v1



Care to speculate on the reasons why?

I'll be back online in about four hours to continue this - I can't come up with a reason why, but the OR of 2.47 for obesity is really, really high.

A fat woman cant get a man so they get a woman to play with their female parts buried under those mounds of she flab.

Also women like to look good to attract a man even if they do ocassionally "baste the tuna". If a woman is not into men why should she try to look good? There is no biological need to attract a mate because two big fat lesbos getting it on will not a baby make.