Real Women

[Los Furias Tiki]

So here's the thing that's been bugging me lately... I hear a lot about how girls are really comfortable with their shape because they have a 'real woman's body'. It's a phrase I hear a lot in the pin up business... 'I love pin up because it celebrates real women/real bodies'.

Now, I'm no expert on anatomy, but I'm pretty sure that most people have real bodies... It's just that they all come in a good variety of shapes and sizes. That would be what makes them real; some are big, some are small, some curvey some not so curvey and so on... Surely the joy of pin up is that it celebrates the personality of the model and not how exactly a girl can fit whatever the current body type trend in 'high' fashion' may be.

And (pay attention Whitney from ANTM!) if people do give you a hard time for not meeting their percieved expectations, don't then snipe back about how it's better than being a stick insect or twig or whatever... It's equally as obnoxious as some idiot proclaiming that only thin people can be attractive. Im happy for people to be comfortable with their bodies - it's swell - but not at the expense of everyone else.

Just a rant. Sorry.

[Lady Kadi]

Ahhhh....thank you for touching on this matter. I struggle with this quite often. People assume that thin women are not real or worthy of the same pinup status as the naturally curvy. I have dealt with the lack of curves all my life. My sisters, who are naturally curvy, were born of the same mother as I. We are all blood related, but very different in shape and size. And you know what? We are all beautiful in our own rights!

[Anita Fixx]

Yeah it used to really piss me off when women would say s*** like "I have a real woman's body". I used to be the "stick thin insect" that they loved to hate. But honestly I do feel that adult women should have some flesh, some curves to them. I WAS bone thin as a 18 year old when you're 45 I think it should be cause for concern...time to wonder if it's not a medical problem? It's just natural to gain a bit more with the years.
And truth be told I was NOT happy being that thin. I'm much happier with my body now..with some curves. Even if it means I can NEVER model in the high fashion industry.. F*** em! Don't need their approval anyway!
I feel more attractive now then ever before no matter what anyone else says about it. : )

[Wink Holliday]

I wholeheartedly agree with your slap on the hand to any gal (or guy) who snipes about anyone else's natural figure as being somehow "unreal." Surgical enhancements are obviously unreal, but we shouldn't be sniping there, either. Obviously, some gals feel uncomfortable enough to risk surgery, and they are no better or worse than I am for taking control of their insecurities. Unless it's that freaky chick with her new 38KKK boobs, which look like a GINORMOUS butt on her chest. That's just weird.

I think the problem we run into with "real women's bodies" is that we maybe mean "realistic." Not that women don't come in all shapes and sizes, but that mainstream modeling celebrates an unusually tall, thin frame, whereas traditional pin-up modeling emulates the Girl Next Door look. By definition, the girl next door could be anyone. Now, if you've seen the photographic model studies that Elvgren, Vargas, et al. used you know that "realism" isn't necessarily part of the story. But I do think that pin-up fans are more accepting of a broader range of figures, and when gals grow up being force fed 6-ft tall glamazons in every fashion magazine, it's nice to find a niche where you feel accepted as you are!

[Lady Kadi]

Amen Wink! It is all about appreciation for DIVERSITY...not "PERFECTION."

[Helen Highwater]

Yeah, I think when people say "I've got a real woman's body" it's more cocking a snoot at the mainstream media's choice of models which you see everywhere, be it the unrealisitically buttock-shaped implant girl or the willowy runway waif, figures which are repeated everywhere as if they're the only acceptable way for a woman's body to be.

I don't think it's meant as an insult to people who are naturally slim, if you see someone saying "I'm curvy, I've got a real woman's body", it's just women trying to reinfornce a positive view of their bodies that the mainstream media doesn't give them. It's more, therefore, a case that saying that is directed at the media than at other girls.

If that makes any sense!

[Anita Fixx]

Yeah maybe...but I have had women make pretty DIRECT insults at me personally. Sad but true.

I remember bumping into a girl on the bus by ACCIDENT and she called me "a stupid giraffe" because I'm tall and skinny. And they drew pictures making fun of my skinny body on the blackboard..shall I go on?

Helen Highwater said:

Yeah, I think when people say "I've got a real woman's body" it's more cocking a snoot at the mainstream media's choice of models which you see everywhere, be it the unrealisitically buttock-shaped implant girl or the willowy runway waif, figures which are repeated everywhere as if they're the only acceptable way for a woman's body to be.
I don't think it's meant as an insult to people who are naturally slim, if you see someone saying "I'm curvy, I've got a real woman's body", it's just women trying to reinfornce a positive view of their bodies that the mainstream media doesn't give them. It's more, therefore, a case that saying that is directed at the media than at other girls.
If that makes any sense!

[Wink Holliday]

I like giraffes. For the record. :)

Anita Fixx said:

Yeah maybe...but I have had women make pretty DIRECT insults at me personally. Sad but true.
I remember bumping into a girl on the bus by ACCIDENT and she called me "a stupid giraffe" because I'm tall and skinny. And they drew pictures making fun of my skinny body on the blackboard..shall I go on?

[Delyssia LaBelle {Madam}]

Amen! i think this is a rational and a rare view point. sure i get jealous at the 5'11 supermodel with willowy limbs, being a 5'4 R.Crumb thick thang, but i realize that variety is the spice of life and that healthy bodies are beautiful, no mater if healthy for you is stick thin because of your structure or plump because your shaped that way. health is beautiful. we all want what we cant have, be what we cant be. and we can either appriciate it or get mad and jealous about it. i do a bit of both heee. but on the flip side i dont like overly skinny and shapless because of steriotypes to be the norm of model and in the pinup world that i find the models to be of all shapes and sizes!

[Delyssia LaBelle {Madam}]

me too! giraffes are graceful and beautiful.
Wink Holliday said:

I like giraffes. For the record. :)

Anita Fixx said:

Yeah maybe...but I have had women make pretty DIRECT insults at me personally. Sad but true.
I remember bumping into a girl on the bus by ACCIDENT and she called me "a stupid giraffe" because I'm tall and skinny. And they drew pictures making fun of my skinny body on the blackboard..shall I go on?

[Edson Carlos]

AMEN LFT, I actually wanted to post something similar, but instead I'm waiting for some naturally thin chick to deck a naturally thicker chick for talking smack so I could smile internally. Its funny but the weird feelings go both ways. EVERYONE IS PERFECT FOR SOMEONE, NOONE IS PERFECT FOR EVERYONE.

[Los Furias Tiki]

I like giraffes too... AND Robert Crumb girls!

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets a 'little' bit annoyed by this attitude.

[Helen Highwater]

Anita Fixx said:

Yeah maybe...but I have had women make pretty DIRECT insults at me personally. Sad but true.

There's no excuse for personal insults, methinks!