Yet Another Study Proves Skeletal Look Not Attractive
Posted by: Erin Flaherty
Filed in:
style
4:40PM, Tuesday October 27th 2009
The online scientific journal Perception just published findings that claim young men rate women with healthy BMI’s (between 18.5-25) as “the most attractive and healthy looking,” as opposed to thinner ladies. Shocking, we know. Additionally, women were also more into guys with average builds, and both sexes were not turned on by the overweight either, which may be attributed to the fact that they were perceived as unhealthy. A professor associated with the study had this to say: “A take home message for young people is that maintaining a normal weight benefits current health and will improve good looks.” Uh-huh. While none of this information is the slightest bit revelatory, given the current model debate raging on and on, here’s some more conclusive evidence for the advertisers and editors that insist (extreme) thin is in. (Evidently, it’s not and never has been?) [Daily Mail]
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hannahsguy
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 03:44 pm: [report]
Give me a girl with curves ANY DAY. Size 0 models are not a turn on for me at all.
Shriekback68
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 03:48 pm: [report]
I do not know, nor have I ever met, ONE man who likes the “skeletal look.” Not one in my 40+ years. Every man I’ve ever spoken to on this subject likes curvy (no, not fat) and fit.
I suspect that this skeletal look is for women’s benefit - in their never-ending quest to out-do each other. Sad, since it’s a turn-off to most men.
SouthOC
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 03:57 pm: [report]
Give me a woman with some meat on her bones!
Nothing personal against her, but the Keira Knightley look makes my skin crawl.
Raugiel
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 04:05 pm: [report]
And isn’t it interesting how the ultra-skinny girl looks horrible whenever you put her next to someone of a healthy weight?
afp1
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:11 pm: [report]
Some girls are naturally skinny! What are you saying, skinny girls are ugly and deformed? You shouldn’t starve yourself to look like a model but non-model skinny girls are pretty much screwed. Everyone makes them feel like freaks and calls them anorexic even though most of them can put away more food than an average weight person. Everyone talks about not being skinny but my overweight friends are far more likely to get hit on than me because they have hips and tits. I’m all for curvy women but its not somehow “unattractive” to be skinny. Zero is a natural size just like 12.
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:26 pm: [report]
How about we stop snarking on every body type?
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:28 pm: [report]
Oh and for the record my husband thinks I’m beautiful thank you very much as have many of my previous dates and male friends. Guess the “No man will ever want that” theory goes out the window.
Shasta
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:29 pm: [report]
STOP THE MADNESS!
And stop believing surveys and magazines and nut jobs.
I posit that the most unattractive trait on a woman is not a little extra fat or a bony hip, but neurotic self-loathing.
We women are cool and smart and nurturing and gorgeous. We give life for Christ’s Sake.
CAN WE PLEASE STOP HATING OURSELVES.
Little Lamb
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:47 pm: [report]
But, what would men say if they had to choose between the unairbrushed, cellulite dented butt of Scarlett Johansson or the unairbrushed butt of an unhealthily skinny woman??? I wonder if they’d actually pick the unairbrushed version of a “curvy” woman (though even Scarlett seems to be slimmer than your average curvy girl).
By the way, not trying to pick on Scarlett…just assuming she is built like every healthy woman (with a little cellulite in the thigh/butt region).
xifeng882
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:48 pm: [report]
I’m with Shasta. I wish we could all simultaneously put down the magazines and stop caring about these silly studies and take a good look at ourselves. It’s not about making other people love you, its about loving yourself. Once you manage that everything else will come along with it. It may seem idealist but we have so much to present to the world other than appearances.
Shasta
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 06:53 pm: [report]
@Little Lamb brings up something that the ubiquity of magazines has perpetrated:
That MEN get their pick of models. That they just sit back and eliminate throngs of adoring women based on their perceived flaws.
That is such garbage. MEN are so lucky to get any one of us. Most should be sitting at home playing World of Warcraft by themselves with a blow up doll.
Quite honestly, men are so happy to have any interesting pretty woman be with them.
They may put on a front for their buddies, the “Yeah. I hate marriage because it prevents me from sleeping with models” thing, but that is such bullsh**.
We shouldn’t let them get away with that stuff.
AND some men prefer skinnier girls, some prefer a little more meat on their ones. Just like we women prefer different types of men.
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 07:20 pm: [report]
Women of all shapes and sizes can be beautiful and should be celebrated as such. Just as men can come in all shapes and sizes and be attractive.
It’s just frustrating that the sites I frequent (liberal, women-oriented, feminist) seem to have an undercurrent of “it’s ok to mock skinny girls.” Now I’m not claiming that this mentality is in anyway as common as the anti-overweight sentiment that other girls have to face everyday or that I have suffered societal judgment on the same level as someone who is overweight. I deliberately choose not to frequent sites that have this kind of attitude and its disappointing to see a site I admire in other ways have comments that are blatant body snarking. We can’t lift ourselves up by tearing others down. How about we all stand against societal norms that say we have to look a certain way to be beautiful, that our physical appearance is the most important thing we have to offer, that we can’t be healthy unless we fit into a narrow range of sizes?
Trust me skinny girls know how they look. We know society wants us to have larger breasts and asses, we’ve had “eat a sandwich” yelled at us out of car windows and been called anorexic at high school. My elementary school sent me to a child psychologist without talking to my parents because I was growing up but not out despite the fact that my teachers watched me eat a large meal at every lunch. We’re as vulnerable to the beauty culture in western society as the rest of you and have totaled up all the ways we don’t add up. I’m just a little tired of seeing back-biting and undermining instead of building each other up as the beautiful, multi-faceted women (and men!) we are.
For the record this isn’t directed at everyone at The Frisky, just a few comments. Most people here are very supportive and against any and all body snarking.
peeps1313
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 07:32 pm: [report]
mmmmmm, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy along with corn….Oh sorry what were we talking about?
Laurel
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 08:24 pm: [report]
@bumbler, great comment!
Erin Flaherty
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 09:24 pm: [report]
@bumbler: i so agree. (for the record, most of my life i have been a size 0 so i know what skinny girls face.) but more to the point when it comes to these issues i am writing from the perspective of someone who has also worked in the fashion industry for a long time who is sick of one single body type being put on a pedestal when so many others are ignored. and i can tell you that for every healthy, naturally thin model there are many with eating disorders due to this standard. my idea? more diversity, more celebration of beautiful women in all sizes, shapes and colors, less self esteem issues, less haterade.
tubbyhumptydance
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 09:31 pm: [report]
every time any website or magazine feels they have to post articles of this fashion it demeans themselves and women.
Seriously. We get it. Men on average (myself included) prefer women with curves.
You aren’t going to change the minds of the men that insist on the skinny minis and you aren’t going to change the fashion world overnight. The more you harp on it, the less people want to hear it.
bethlynn00
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 09:54 pm: [report]
Every woman is beautiful in her own way and all men don’t have the same idea of what beauty is, so let’s all just be ourselves and work from there. These studies mean nothing, because all men are not attracted to the same type of woman.
The big issue with the size debate is that it is hurtful when young girls/women are starving themself to meet some unrealistic goal of what beauty is or are not taking care of their health, then it’s a problem. We don;t want girls starving themselves to look like models or hating models so much that it drives them to eat or whatever. We just need to accept that no two women are alike, if we were it would be very boring.
My sister is a size 2 and she is beautiful. I am not a size 2, but beautiful all the same. Do I want to look like her? Well I do, but I don’t need to fit into her clothes to be happy or hot and her gaining weight and wearing my size is not going to make me feel better, whne I see models I don’t want to be them, I want their clothes, but who wants to look like anyone else? Again, totally boring….
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:07 pm: [report]
@Erin I definitely agree with the need for more diversity and the celebration of women of all shapes and sizes. I can even sympathize with those who lash back against the fashion standard with statements like “real women have curves” and “skinny girls look like little boys.” I do have many friends who are not a size zero and I see the hardships they face everyday navigating a world that seems determined to belittle them. I can sympathize but not condone. There seems to be a misconception about skinny girls that we breeze through life in our designer clothes. While it may be that way for big name models I can assure everyone that my life at least has never been anything resembling that. At any size we all have to deal with #&@$% who think it’s their god given imperative to let you know exactly what they think of your body. I’ve seen idiots call my friends fat and had idiots tell me I’m too skinny, scrawny, anorexic, bulimic etc. Society, fashion, idiots are pulling us in a hundred different ways telling us how we should look, I just hope the posters think in the future that there are real women with real bodies behind these “types” or numbers. It would be a step backward to just idealize a different body type from the current norm. We should be more inclusive not just set a new narrow standard for beauty.
Sorry everyone I’m just kind of ranty and idealistic tonight.
dandrean
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:26 pm: [report]
I’ve seen ‘healthy’ and ‘skinny’ women who, next to a slightly overweight women, looked but ass #&@$% ugly. in my opinion it all depends on the person, their grooming habits, and the way they carry themselves. I have a friend who is under 100 lbs, and i think she’s beautiful. i have a friend who’s 170 ish, who i’m so jealous of, i think she’s gorgeous. it all depends on perspective.
retro chic
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:27 pm: [report]
@bumbler: //Sorry everyone I’m just kind of ranty and idealistic tonight.//
It’s a dirty job, but someone had to do it… and you did it!
I was one of the skinnies (size 0) who felt invisible ‘cause anyone, men and women, felt your waifness was fair game for comment about you, in front of you, but not to you. One day out of sheer reflex, I turned the tables. They felt what I felt, remarking, “I didn’t know someone would have feelings about that.” ???
Let it be said, ignorance comes in all shapes and sizes too.
canadiancutie
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:48 pm: [report]
I’m sorry I know it’s not PC, but I fully agree with this statement/study. I understand that skinny women will be offended. I fully understand that fat women will be offended. I also understand there is a better than even chance that I will one day be a fat chick, as many of the older women in my family are. That unfortunately, will not make the results of this study any less fundamentally true. Men and women, generally speaking, look best at a healthy BMI. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles, way I see it.
canadiancutie
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:49 pm: [report]
I know it’s not fair that people know this to be true (healthy weight range = most attractive). LIFE’S not fair. Underweight models will be glamourized for many years to come in the media. That’s life. Let’s quit whining about it and face facts.
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 10:56 pm: [report]
@canadiancutie are you really suggesting we not talk about unfair things? That we not oppose them? Think of where we’d be if everyone did that.
retro chic
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 11:07 pm: [report]
But… but… then 99% of all mags and blogs would go under. Then where would we be? *lone tear poised to drop*
Seriously, I don’t care about models and media darlings, only rude people IRL.
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 11:23 pm: [report]
@retro exactly, I haven’t seen anyone complaining about the study or the article. Only some of the thoughtless things people have posted following the article or people who have harassed them for their size in real life.
As for the BMI I’ll repeat what I said in another thread. According to the BMI index I need to gain 40 lbs to be at my ideal healthy weight. The BMI does not take my frame into account at all. It does not consider that my rib cage is 28” around. It does not consider that my frame could not hold that extra 40 lbs comfortably in any way. It is at best a rough guess of what my ideal body weight should be based solely on my height. It certainly can’t make any determination on how HEALTHY I am let alone guess how I carry my weight.
Shriekback68
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 11:52 pm: [report]
@shasta: you really come off as a man-hating jerk. Sorry, but that’s the way I read your post.
Us men are as wide and varied as you women. To lump us all into the group that we “prefer models” is insane. Most guys I know prefer REAL women, not “models.”
Grow up.
bumbler
wrote on October 27 2009 @ 11:58 pm: [report]
@Shriekback please define “REAL” women and how a woman based solely on her size or profession might not qualify for full humanity to you.
VX967
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 12:43 am: [report]
Geez many people cannot follow that inaccurate BMI. the easiest definer is proportion!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway.
adamjs
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:02 am: [report]
@bumbler: good call
canadiancutie
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 07:33 am: [report]
bumbler, you make a good point. My annoyance comes more from the fact that the “powers that be” in fashion & the media know damn well and always have what “the masses” find attractive. It doesn’t stop them from promoting their ideal anyway. They do what they want. I wish I could see that changing. But, well, you heard that gay guy in fashion. They’d rather just stop eating than change the “look” to something that would make sense.
canadiancutie
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 07:35 am: [report]
Case in point, Victoria “I took an 11-hour plane ride and all I consumed in that time was my own special tea” Beckham.
spatula
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 08:20 am: [report]
@bumbler: SO glad you said what you did!! I have never understood why it’s okay to openly hate on people, just because they are smaller than the “desired range of sizes”, rather than larger.
brandyalexander
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 08:23 am: [report]
@spatula and bumbler: Ditto. If I said anything about a larger girl on this site i would get jumped on by at least five people for “fat shaming,” whereas other people can imply that you have to be 20 pounds overweight to qualify as a “real woman.” Skinny shaming anyone?
dtrumpet
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 08:39 am: [report]
Take it from an old guy whose been married 47 years most men are happy with a woman who is happy about being a woman and shows it. We are even happier when you are happy with us.
Looks are what attract us. It is everything else that keep us.
My two cents with the hope you all find what you are looking for.
Love is a wonderful thing if you remember you cannot make it happen. Enjoy it.
DancingGeek
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 11:18 am: [report]
For the record, I’m a very tall, naturally thin woman who eats like she’s going to the electric chair.
I don’t think the point of the article is to dis naturally thin women, I think the point is that we have UNNATURALLY thin women thrust in our faces all the time as the “ideal”, which is what fills many women with self loathing because it is an impossible standard to acheive for most people. Every woman is beautiful and if she perceives herself as beautiful and exudes coinfidence her sexiness is evident. For many women the constant barrage of unnaturally thin supermodels eats away at that confidence, and it is really difficult to turn off those images.
IMHO, Thin people want to hear “OMG you’re SO skinny!” about as much as an overweight person would like to hear “OMG you’re so fat!” I know the former sounds like a compliment, but it’s not. Why is it even something to comment on- how about I love your hair, outfit, shoes?????
C.Munro
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 01:47 pm: [report]
Of course no one body type should be considered a societal ideal.
That said, I have always had a thing for thin-limbed women myself.
DancingGeek
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:04 pm: [report]
@C there’s a lid for every pot, or an ass for every seat- any way you look at it.
C.Munro
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:13 pm: [report]
Ah. I must be the ass in that equation.
SMUDGEDLIPSTICK
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 02:51 pm: [report]
Okay, “studies” like this one always make me feel like total crap about myself, being a natural “waif”. However, I console myself with the fact that Audrey Hepburn, who would probably be a size zero today, was never wanting for male attention. Nor have I ever been- men seem to like me just fine and I know tons of naturally skinny girls who are pretty and get lots of male attention. I don’t put down “curvy” girls (and I have to say that I think we need a new definition for that word since it seems to be way overused) so why is it okay to put down “skinny” girls? Also, I don’t see much difference between ScarJO and Posh- sorry but I don’t.
bettyboo
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:45 pm: [report]
AS far as I can see it, the issue here is the difference between naturally skinny and artificially starved.. Someone who’s natural weight, determined by their skeleton and their metabolism, is a size zero, will look good at that weight, just as someone who is naturally larger or curvier will look good at the weight they are naturally supposed to be at. What gives size zero a bad name is the women who are naturally supposed to be larger, like Victoria Beckham, if you look at pics of the early days of the spice girls she looks great at probably a UK size 8-10 (US 6-8), now, she looks borderline ill, as she’s too skinny for her body. Over the last decade it seems to me that the ‘ideal’ size for women has crept downwards, when I was a teenager (I’m 32 now) size 10 (US 8) was the ideal, I didn’t even realise people could be smaller than size 8 as a normal adult (that was the smallest i ever saw in clothes shops) now teenagers are presumably looking to models who are much slimmer and feeling fat at size 10 which is very sad. For the record, I’m an hourglass UK size 14-16 (US12-14), a little tubbier than I should naturally be after several years in a sedentary job, the smallest I’ve ever been is a UK size 10 (maybe 8 on occasion, I was borderline anorexic at the time and may have over estimated my size) and am frequently told how ill I looked then, I view my ideal for my frame as a UK size 12 and now I’m working on a nature reserve rather than a computer and far away from vending machines I’m hoping to get back to that in the next few months :0)
ootie grl
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:49 pm: [report]
doesnt it really depend on what the person likes or is attracted to in some one else? Its different for every one.
ohheyitssophia
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 03:58 pm: [report]
Yeah.. everyone just needs to chill out. Skinny ladies, you can be beautiful; fat ladies you can be beautiful too- and so can everyone in between!
Just treat your body like it’s the only one you have- because it is! Don’t eat too much crap, exercise it in the manner it was designed for (we as humans should be active! Not pop-diet-pills-and-work-out-till-you-puke active, but we weren’t designed to sit on our asses all day!)And if you’re healthy and happy you will be attractive!!
and @dtrumpet- so true! as a woman I’ve noticed men rarely notice body types (barring extremes) the way we think they do.. they subconsciously just seem to pick up on how confident and happy with herself a woman is!
develange
wrote on October 28 2009 @ 10:23 pm: [report]
@ ohheyitssophia - Amen.
freepeople1986
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 11:06 am: [report]
Fashion models need to be skinny. I am sorry. I personally do not find it attractive but I understand from a sizing/fit perspective, from a photography perspective, from a runway perspective, that it’s just what works. Okay? Let it go. Certain professions require certain physical attributes. No 90 lb. woman is going to get a job as a stock room attendant.
You were born with your body- and after that, it’s what you make of it. I am 5’3”, size 0 or less, and have a D cup. Obviously, people make a lot of comments about how I must have gotten implants (NOT true) or that I could “be a stripper with those things!” (no thanks), which I absolutely hate, so you know what? I cover up a little bit up top, and try my best to not have my boobs all over the place. Everyone dislikes something, it’s just what you make of what you have (or where you hid it!).
txninmn
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 08:10 pm: [report]
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the majority of this artificially-thin, celebrity- and fashion-driven standard of most concern not for aesthetic reasons (as purported here) but for physical and mental health reasons, primarily for young girls who are developing their ideas of self? I’m just curious, then, why this particular study was focused towards ‘young men’ and ‘young women,’ indicating ‘not developing adolescents or teenagers more susceptible to advertising influences.’
I linked back to the Daily Mail but they didn’t have a link to the study; however the DM quoted the male participants as 18-26 yet did not say how old the women they were judging were. Interesting. Personally I would also like to see a study were women viewed & judged the same women that the men did, for we are often our own worst critics.
canadiancutie
wrote on October 29 2009 @ 10:14 pm: [report]
freepeople1986, you may have a point. Initially, the purpose of the protypical fashion model’s body type was to come as close to a walking clothing hanger as possible. This is an issue of “which body type do clothes hang loosely off of to display the garments best,” not “which feminine body will produce the healthiest offspring.” It’s kind of a no-brainer. Maybe that’s why I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
stiffinp
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 04:25 pm: [report]
I prefer the thin type, but not the skeletor type (I won’t tell that to a dear friend of mine, for she is a size 1).
equnsuocha
wrote on October 30 2009 @ 04:43 pm: [report]
Just ban the BMI altogether, when Arnold won Mr Universe ( or was it Olympia? IDK the weightlifting title) his BMI showed him as MORBDILY OBESE. BMI is #&@$% and causes far more harm to people than any good it may have done a million years ago when someone came up with it. If you are healthy, confident and comfortable the number on the scale shouldn’t matter.
That said, healthy looking women are rarely shown in high end fashion that is marketed to young girls who WILL try to emulate “unnaturally” thin women. I have friends that are naturally thin and they have heard the “OMG you are so skinny” shtick their enture lives, yet even they, when placed next to an anorexic model or a wickedly airbrushed photo of a normal looking model, would look large. THAT is the problem.
mel_b
wrote on October 31 2009 @ 02:53 pm: [report]
@DancingGeek
@bettyboo
@equnsuocha
You guys all made my points for me.
I know loads of people who are incredibly, and most importantly naturally, skinny and they have nasty comments made about them all the time. But having said that when I was bigger people said terrible things to me and only now when I carefully watch what I eat and exercise religously am looked at by both genders as most attractive. BMI is ridiculous in my opinion - people of different weights, sizes and shapes while the same height can all be healthy.
The biggest problem is that an unnaturally, sick and often airbushed image of skinny is perpetuated by the media and the fashion industry. That is what the article is pointing out and most of the comments are about. And to me, for the health, both physical and mental, of all women that image must change.