Something to ponder: The Ideal Woman's Body
BhagavadGita
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BhagavadGita
Posts: 1,748
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Predictable... and sad. :(
Great video. Thanks for posting.
I watched the video and it had its disturbing parts but I don't think it really tells us anything new about anorexia. I saw it as more of an artistic expression than anything.
Truth is, the perfect body lies somewhere in between Paula Deen and Lara Flynn Boyle
But I was distracted.
Is it the difference in social circles between men and women?
I'm gonna stir up the hornets nest here, but I disagree that it's "mostly men" who ruined the female body image... Us guys will take what we can get... if no women looked like that blonde above, we wouldn't really care...
Here's an analogy for you... we like sports cars... we'll look at pictures of Ferrari's all day, but are perfectly happy driving our Toyota sedan or whatever we have. Just because we like to look at something, doesn't mean that only want that. I'd love to have a big house with 50 acres of land, but I'm happy with our 1500 sq/ft house and small lot in a decent neighborhood.
It's women who buy Cosmo and magazines like that who constantly compare themselves to the sick-thin models... it's mostly women who watch the E! Channel and the TMZ, People, celebrity gossip shows/magazines where these celebrities are shown and criticized (by other women) if they gained 1 pound or didn't get back to heroin-thin 3 weeks after having a baby.
When women get all dressed up and all made up, a lot of the time it's to impress their girlfriends.
Do some men do it? absolutely, but besides the small amount of completely shallow douchebags out there who women probably don't want to be with anyway (but oddly enough some women are attracted to), the rest of us really don't expect a 105 lb model or whatever.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
I totally agree that with Blackredyellow here that the idea that it is mostly men who are the problem is kind of ridiculous. I will also add that not only is it women who buy those fashion magazines like Cosmo, the editor’s in chief for pretty much all of those big fashion magazines are women. So if men really were to blame, why don’t these women who actually have a position of power do something to change things? Instead pretty much all of them fill their magazines photos of super hot women, who they then touch up to look even hotter and unrealistic.
In answer to the question: What is the ideal female body like? I don't think that there is one ideal type, different strokes for different folks, as always.
I don't have a "perfect" body, but I like it. More on some days and on others. But the important thing is that I'm fine with it. And as an added bonus, my boyfriend likes it too.
Negative body image, trying to achieve the often unattainable "perfect" body and eating disorders are all serious issues. I don't think a person can be truly happy if they're not comfortable in their own body. Like someone said earlier, a lot of blame for women's body issues is laid on men. That's unfair as it's members of both sexes that contribute to the vicious cycle. And yes, women are probably the bigger culprit - the magazines, the clothes (trends), the diets, the belief that men only like that one specific type of female..
What I think is worst, is that children learn these misconceptions on how they should look and act, at an increasingly early age.
Excellent.
If you're healthy then great! (by the way I'm sorry for my sloppy use of pronouns by "you" I didn't necessarily mean the OP).... And like I was saying just don't pay attention to what others say or think. "Just stop feeling that way"...??? Maybe... "how you choose to feel is how I am" That doesn't mean that I mean to give people with anorexia no voice or "drown out their comments" it is just a suggestion for GETTING OUT OF YOUR HEAD.
And no, I don't own a TV or see magazine covers! Well I guess I get a quick glilmpse of magazine covers at the grocery store but thats it.
Yeah, "most men"!?
wtf is that?
I completely agree with you blackredyellow...
anorexia/bulimia is a terrible thing, but it is in the mind of the person who is suffering.
The only fix i see to the problem would be if everyone stopped buying the fashion magazines, stupid gossip shows, ect...
However, to lay that at the feet of men generally, I see as unfair at best. I always wondered about why "man-magazines" have these half-naked models etc on the cover, and the women's magazines have the same women on theirs. The rationale seems to be to show men some eye-candy, but women focus on how to become the eye-candy, instead of getting some for themselves. I mean in all fairness, women' magazines should have half-naked, oiled, muscle-bulging hunks on the cover.
As for what men wants, I sure as hell dont want sickly thin with silicon breasts for my own. (I dont even like much looking at them either, but that's me) I like mine with a little meat on them, as you wont get any nice soft curves without them. And a happy woman comfortable in her body is 100x more sexy than a super-skinny one who clearly isn't comfortable with her body, and whose sole focus is keeping pounds off her.
Anywho, in this, I'm afraid women are their own worst enemies. It's women that fuss over details in clothing/make-up etc which I can guarantee that most males don't really even see or care about. Most of those women's magazines have women editors, you know?
Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
Yeah, who wants a fat model?
For one thing, the body image presented in the picture above is NOT healthy.
A. The height/weight ratio is not within a healthy range. This woman is 5'8" and weighs 110 pounds. She would have to gain about 15 pounds to even be on the skinny side of a healthy weight. This is according to BMI and also personal experience. Up until a few years ago, I was the exact same height and weight - and, even though I was in no way anorexic, my doctor always told me I needed to gain weight to be healthier. And when I was just a few pounds lighter and still a minor, my parents were threatened with child neglect charges if I didn't gain weight. So, yeah, REAL healthy! :roll:
B. Her tan, as a body image ideal, is unhealthy. Setting this as the goal that girls should strive to achieve tells them that appearance is more important than physical health, and that they should purposefully do something that will harm their physical health (tan) solely to fit a socially contructed ideal of beauty. And, before anyone suggests that women should achieve this ideal with fake tans, let's remember that setting up a standard that cannot be naturally achieved is not healthy either.
C. The same thing goes for the fake breasts. (I'm not going to say that I know for sure that the woman in this picture has fake breasts, but I do know that that size breasts are rarely naturally-occuring on that size frame.) Since it is extremely unlikely that a woman will have a waist that small and breasts that large, that leaves surgery as the only means by which to achieve this standard. There is absolutely no argument to be made that undergoing unnecessary surgical procedures is healthy.
So let's get real here. This is not in any way about being healthy. If it were, everyone would be saying that women with healthy habits are most attractive, or at least that the ideal body is one that is more representative of what the average healthy woman looks like. Instead, this arbitrary ideal for women's bodies is totally socially constructed based on men's perceived desires. (And before anyone says this doesn't represent their desires, let's remember that most of the discussion in this thread is a response to the desires expressed by the first 3 men to post on here - so that image is what we're talking about.) Not only is this "ideal" not healthy, but it blatantly promotes UNhealthy behaviors in women and girls.
(I know I started by saying "for one thing," but I'll have to get to the other things later.)
Godfather.
Hmm well she has good muscle mass which requires good eating habits... without taking in enough calories she would lose that muscle fast. And weight is not always the best indicator of health. For example, I am 6 foot and 200 lbs and by that measure not only am I overweight but I am borderline OBESE... I won't be too egotistical here and post a picture of myself but I guarantee you I am not overweight. For Marisa Miller, 110 lbs may be about right because she has a small frame. Also, she is an avid surfer! You can't be a good athlete without eating right and being HEALTHY.
As for the fake boobs, yeah I HATE fake boobs! Seriously, they feel weird and I am all for a "natural" look. As for the tan... as long as it is done in moderation and with sun block it is okay. I read a report recently that said that people are now not getting enough sun! Granted, too much can lead to skin cancer so it is a fine line.
The bottom line is that anorexia and body issues are a horrible problem, I honestly feel for women who don't like the way they look, but I'm sticking to my point that Miller is HEALTHY and there is no problem with the way she looks. The problem MAY BE that the media bombards women with images of her and tells women they should look like her... which is unrealistic. So women, stop worring about what you look like... and worry about living a healthy lifestyle. The byproduct may be that you like the way you look.
This could just be a trend / phase / fad in the grand scheme of things.
Actually I disagree...it has everything to do with being healthy.
You make a good point though about the arbitrarty ideal for womens bodies, exactly -- socially constructed based on men's PERCEIVED desires. Women need to stop perceiving and do what is healthy - that should give them a desirable body to someone.
Another problem is definitely cultural/social... I was in CVS the other day and there are walls and walls and racks of candy. So much fucking candy everywhere. Then right next to it is the magazine stand telling women the 15 reasons they need to eat light and pluck things to get a man. the irony is sickening. Fast food, preservatives, sugar... all the marketing... it has sucked too many people in. If we learned to think for ourselves and eat right so that we can enjoy life to the fullest, our bodies would be fine and ideal.
I have dated women of all body types, and i found all of them attractive in some way, but i didnt learn about a real attraction until I met my current g/f who is a vegetarian and doesnt eat ANY junk food. THAT is very attractive and it results in a very health body. She has rubbed off on me, and i hardly eat junky food and i have never felt better in my whole life.
I certainly see what is meant by the OP, not sure your skills of persuasion are really working out for ya though.
It's important for fathers & mothers to be the great equalizer to ensure that their daughters grow up with higher self-esteem based upon the things that truly count such as kindness, integrity, etc and not how you look in a bathing suit.
IMO the truth is it isn't all what the media tells us we like. Some of it is human nature and uncontrolled urges for certain things.