Some time back I read a post by a blogger whose blog I really haven't read much. It bugged me, and I still think about it, as you can tell by the fact that I'm still thinking about it and wanted to write about it. I didn't comment on her blog at the time, and as time passed, decided not to, but it still bugged me. In her post, she talked about how she had read that the average dress size for women in America is 14. Then she went on to say that she couldn't believe any woman would ever get that large, and that she couldn't imagine being even a size 5. She just couldn't believe that women on average are that large, and couldn't imagine how they could get that way. As I said, I didn't argue the point, but now I want to post my response on my own blog.
First of all, I am assuming several things about her. First, she must be petite. By petite, I don't mean just small frame, but also short. I would guess that she must be under 5'5". If I belonged to the petite world, I might have some views the same as hers, but I am 5'8 1/2" tall, and am larger framed. By that I don't mean fat, I mean my bones are actually larger, and my skeleton is larger.
What she doesn't realize is that for a woman my height, a size 14 is normal. Marilyn Monroe was said to be a size 14, and I read online that she was 5'5" tall, yet she was lauded for her beauty. I think in recent years, our perceptions of beauty and size have been so manipulated by the media, that we would probably not accept Marilyn Monroe's beauty today if she were born in this generation.
When I was young, I was very thin. I was this same height, but I weighed about 125 lbs. That is way to thin for my height. I guess I had a high metabolism, because I couldn't gain weight even if I tried. Some people use to be insensitive and accuse me of having an eating disorder, but I never had an eating disorder, I was just naturally skinny. At my skinniest, I wore a size 7 pants. But I can tell you that at 125 lbs, I didn't like my body. I was too skinny. Somewhere I have a picture of this, but couldn't find it, but my hip bones stuck out. I have a picture of me wearing a prom dress, and in the picture you can see the front of my hip bones protruding through my clothes. That really isn't attractive. I now weigh quite a bit more than I did back then, but I can tell you in all honesty that if I had to choose between being over weight or under weight, I would take my body as it is now. It is so uncomfortable to be so skinny. I honestly don't think that if I had lost weight that I could have even then gotten in to a size 2 or size 5 pant, because I was already wearing the skinniest size for my frame. So for someone to say that they can't imagine anyone being larger than a size 7, it just shows that they have never been in a large frame body before. Below you can see a picture of me when I was at my skinniest. This particular picture was taken when I was a missionary. I think there is such a thing as too skinny, and I don't think it's attractive.
I'm not making excuses for my extra weight now. I would like to lose weight. But for those who think a size 14 is too large, or abnormal, I would like to say that for someone my height, it is just about right.
6 comments:
I agree with almost everything you've said here. Of course, I NEED to lose weight, but love to eat. I think I will post a video link on my blog about this sort of thing that you may find not only powerful, but educational for those who believe like the writer of that other blog....
I agree with you - I think everyone's body is different and we shouldn't all be trying to be a size zero (though I do fantasize about that). Kaleb had a time when he was really really skinny because he had gotten e.coli and was hospitalized, he looks AWFUL skinny, he is so much more handsome being the husky guy I love. I think people need to quit being so sizest all the time. At MY skinniest I was a 14 and even though I didn't really see it at the time, I agree with you that was just about the perfect size for me.
No matter what size clothing we wear (mine is extra large :0)), if we are active and healthy, the size shouldn't matter. Like Mr. Giggles, I do need to lose weight, and have already begun that process, but weight should be an individual choice as much as anything else. I realize that health concerns must come into play too, but each person should decide for themselves what body image they want, and not let society dictate. I will never have a bodybuilder physique, nor do I want one, but I do see that for me, my body is "out-of-shape". Chose for yourself, and don't let others influence your choice. I agree with Delirious, for many people a 14 is normal and healthy. My daughters range from a 0 to a 6 right now, and I think they are all fine. I have friends who are a 22 who are also fine.
By the way, my verification word is "retterbi". Is this Scooby's way of saying "let her be"?
The thing that irks me is that society has allowed "someone" to say that a size 0-6 is supposedly the "perfect" or "accepted" size. I quit listening to the media and fashion designers a long time ago. As a teenager I was also way too skinny and was even made fun of because I was skinny. And being raised in a time that "skinny" was in, you know I had to REALLY be skinny to be made fun of. I knew all the skinny jokes: Do you have to run around in the shower to get wet? If you turn sideways and stick out your tongue you'll look like a zipper. Etc. Etc. I wish the fashion designers could get off of their anorexic kick. Fashion wasn't always this way.
When Twiggy became famous and everyone made fun of her, I took it all personally because we were the same height, weight and measurements. My, how times have changed. :0s I say we stop making fun of everyone for whatever reason, accept all people for who they are, and realize we cannot change anyone else. And it would help if we didn't compare ourselves or anyone else to anybody.
My New Years' resolution is to lose weight, and get in shape. But I, like you, don't want to be as skinny as I was as a teenager. I like certain aspects of my adult body better. I think my upper body frame was entirely too small when I was a teenager, but I'd like to be about the size I was when I was 20-21. :)
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