Average size of women-a statistic that does more harm than good.

Emmzi

I'm impressed it took until post 30 this time, well done MSErs!

happy35

clothes sizes have definitely got bigger, I took a size8 in my teens and still take a size 8 now, however I am definitely a lot fatter than I was then and at least a stone if not a stone and a half heavier.

I am 5' 3'' and am slim, but definitely not skinny whereas I did used to be skinny.

I eat a lot of healthy food, but am lucky as I dont put on weight easily and same to maintain a weight of the top end of 8 stone

moomoomama27

skintchick wrote: »

Yes. It's tiny. Most women of that size have heads that look oversized because they are too thin to look proportional. It's not a size to aspire to.

I'm smaller than that! I'm pretty sure my head looks in proportion! Some people can be skinny without being out of proportion! Why should someone not aspire to be slim?

babymoo

I have found clothes sizes are getting smaller and it definitely depends where you shop. Before you all think i'm putting on weight, I've never changed. I have clothes I have owned for 10 years and they still fit like a glove, still in good shape. Most of the clothes I have that are that old are size 12, now I am lucky if I get into a size 14, I am really big chested so most tops I am buying are now size 18 where as I still can get into my "old" size 12.

At one stage I refused to buy anything bigger than size 14 till I realised that actually it doesn't matter what is on the label as long as I am comfortable and happy.

Women are damned if they are "too small" and damned if they are "too big". If they dont have a perfectly toned stomach and tanned body they are wrong, if they are skinny with bones sticking out then they are wrong also. We will never win so the sooner we all stop listening to the media and realising that as long as we are healthy and happy that size and shape of our bodies is not important the better.

I have friends of all shapes and sizes and I find the older girls (late 20s) in my group of friends are a damn sight happier with their bodies be them bigger or smaller than the younger girls. There is soooo much pressure on women, especially young girls to be perfect nowadays that that is the reason we have unhealthy views of ourselves.

I'll be quiet now and go back into my corner lol

Callie22

moomoomama27 wrote: »

I'm smaller than that! I'm pretty sure my head looks in proportion! Some people can be skinny without being out of proportion! Why should someone not aspire to be slim?

Wanting to be 'slim' is hardly an 'aspiration'. Wanting to write a novel, or be a brain surgeon, or make a million pounds (or be the best you can be at whatever your talent is) are 'aspirational' things. Spending your life 'aspiring' to look a certain way is fairly shallow, and somewhat pointless. Bodies change as you get older, bits sag, wear out - they don't remain the same. Being healthy is a far more senisble thing to aim for, not a certain weight or body shape - being healthy can and should be a lifelong goal for everyone. Thin/skinny is not necessarily healthy, being 'overweight' is not necessarily unhealthy either (and I'm not talking morbidly obese here, I think everyone, the morbidly obese included, realise that's not healthy). Also, I find it very unpleasant the way body shape is given some kind of moral significance. That's just weird ...

Gloomendoom

Callie22 wrote: »

Thin/skinny is not necessarily healthy...

Conversely, it is not necessarily unhealthy either.

BitterAndTwisted

I don't care what the average dress-size is, it has no effect on how I view my own weight and size. I know that I'm probably a bit too thin if I need a size 12, about right in a 14 and getting a bit chubby in a 16. What I choose to do about the size clothes I need to wear is up to me. I really don't care what size other people are as long as they\re happy with it. One of the most beautiful and sexy ladies I know is quite large. Men flock. But then she knows how to dress to her shape and size properly. No stretched-taut leggings for her.

Isn't it true that men prefer ladies about two dress sizes bigger than they like themselves? I think I'd rather be squeezing myself into a snug size 18 if it meant I had a line of blokes lusting after me.

Callie22

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Conversely, it is not necessarily unhealthy either.

As I inferred in my post. But it should not be assumed that just because someone is slim they are healthy. I sit next to a very slim person at work - who shovels down crisps, chocolate, fizzy drinks and god knows what else like it's going out of fashion. I'm not as skinny as she is, but then again I don't get breathless walking up the stairs in the office, and she does ... Someone's size doesn't say anything about a person other than what size they are.

And I still find it really, really sad that someone posted on here that people should 'aspire' to be skinny. It's no wonder so many kids (young girls especially) are so messed up when we're telling them that's what they should 'aspire' to - a certain body shape and nothing else. Especially 'size zero' - I find it incredible that we're telling young girls that they should aspire to be nothing at all.

Gloomendoom

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I don't care what the average dress-size is, it has no effect on how I view my own weight and size. I know that I'm probably a bit too thin if I need a size 12, about right in a 14 and getting a bit chubby in a 16. What I choose to do about the size clothes I need to wear is up to me. I really don't care what size other people are as long as they\re happy with it. One of the most beautiful and sexy ladies I know is quite large. Men flock. But then she knows how to dress to her shape and size properly. No stretched-taut leggings for her.

Isn't it true that men prefer ladies about two dress sizes bigger than they like themselves? I think I'd rather be squeezing myself into a snug size 18 if it meant I had a line of blokes lusting after me.

How do you work that out? I don't know of any men who choose women by a dress size. They choose them because something lights a spark somewhere. It could be be a slim figure, it could be a an amazing smile. I have a mate who will only date women with big busts (not my cup of tea at all.) It could be anything, and it's not always physical... although I'll bet it usually is.

I suppose in an ideal world we would all just have our clothes made for us. That way there would be no need for dress sizes and no need to get hung up on what is, after all, a pretty meaningless, randomly generated, number.

JC9297

Gloomendoom wrote: »

There is a middle ground. One can maintain one's slimness by eating sensibly, and that doesn't mean lettuce leaves.

Of course, many people who are slim do this. I was just commenting on the people who don't believe that anyone can be thin without being on a permanent diet, just because that's what it would take for them to be slim.