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

moomoomama27

Callie22 wrote: »

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.

They should aspire to be healthy, keep in shape! That doesn;t mean a size zero, heck it doesn't mean a size 12, 14. 16 whatever.

Clothes sizes aren't a true judgement of what a person looks like, if they are big or small, because it depends on the body shape!

I think it's fine to aspire to get the best health you can. It's fine to want to be slim, as long as it's done with a healthy attitude.

BitterAndTwisted

You are being much too literal. Or obtuse. Of course men don't know or care what dress-size women take unless they're out buying frocks for them. The average man prefers a woman to be rather more well-covered than the average woman prefers or aspires to be herself. Better? Understand what I meant now?

System

I know i'm fat, but to be honest if the average dress size was less than a 16 (something i still find hard to beleive-most people i know are a 10-14) then i'd probaby feel even worse and put myself under even more pressure to be thin. Don't get me wrong i'd love to be a size 12 again and i have lost about 3 stone so far and intend to lose more, but i have to watch myself as i get into negative habits like starving/fasting and binging which annoyingly is why ive weight so far).

If for example a size 12 was considered fat then i hate to think how negatively that would make me think.

SmallL

I do think emphasis should be on shape relative to your height rather then strict clothes size
As dress sizes, especially actuall dresses, take three measurements into account the proportion of each varies. I would take a 16 bust, 10 waist and 10 hips. Very few dresses actually cater for that variation in size sadly

MandM90

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.

:rotfl:

DW is about the size of that photo, slimmer even, wears a size FF bra (which I take to mean she can't be underweight), shovels down food, yet gets plenty of exercise and is - in my opinion - absolutely gorgeous. She is the healthiest looking person I know and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't love to have her figure. Thin bashing is just as ridiculous as fat bashing - the lady in the photo doesn't look out of proportion at all. She looks perfectly fine.

I couldn't care less what size other women are, or what they think of my size. I must admit I'm surprised the average size is a 16 I'm a size 10 at the moment and probably the 'largest' (though I'm quite comfortable with my figure) of my social group. I don't think I even know anyone nearing a size 16. The mind boggles.

squirrelchops

it definitely is a matter of perception within any gien culture as to what it deemed acceptable.

I'm a size 14/16 and 5'6" tall. In France compared to the average size I felt absoutely huge. Back in the UK I looked around and felt fine as there are so many grossly overweight people around.

Therefore i could convince myself based on what I saw around me that 'oh I'm not that big' - when actually my BMI is on the obese level at 30.

skintchick

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?

I specifically said some women, not all women, for this very reason. I'm sure you have heard the phrase 'lollipop lady' in reference to celebrities? It is a reference to women who diet down to propertions that are not right for them, so they end up with their heads looking massive compared to their bodies.

Of course some women are that size naturally, but I would suggest that it is very few - size 4 simply didn;t exist a short while ago and it is this weird American import of size zero that has people obsessed with trying to get down to a size that for the majority of women (obviously not you moomoomama) is simply not natural.

I was a size 8 before I had my DD (am a 12 now as body has been very confused by three miscarriages since and too many Pg hormones floating around) and although I thought (and think) I looked a-ma-zing, my friends have since said they thought I looked too thin (I'm 5ft 6).

Not sure what that has to do with the price of bacon but I thought it was interesting. Often our perception of how we look is very different to other people's, in both directions.

skintchick

SmallL wrote: »

I do think emphasis should be on shape relative to your height rather then strict clothes size
As dress sizes, especially actuall dresses, take three measurements into account the proportion of each varies. I would take a 16 bust, 10 waist and 10 hips. Very few dresses actually cater for that variation in size sadly

Have you tried Pepperberry? They do three cuts to fit generous boobage, so you can get a size 10 with super-curvy cut so your boobs will fit! I have a similar problem, my boobs are a size bigger than my body IYSWIM.

skintchick

MandM90 wrote: »

Thin bashing is just as ridiculous as fat bashing - the lady in the photo doesn't look out of proportion at all. She looks perfectly fine.

I'm not thin bashing. I've been thin all my life. Size 12 is the biggest I've ever been. I wasn;t referring specifically to the lady in the photo, I was replying to that poster's comment, and talking about how most women are not able naturally to be a size zero/UK 4 and that when they do achieve that it ends up with them looking a bit like famine victims. Of course some women are naturally that size, just as some are naturally bigger than that. Otherwise an average size would not be mathematically possible.

SmallL

skintchick wrote: »

Have you tried Pepperberry? They do three cuts to fit generous boobage, so you can get a size 10 with super-curvy cut so your boobs will fit! I have a similar problem, my boobs are a size bigger than my body IYSWIM.

I have looked however there dresses are much too long for me (im 5ft), they would all be knee length and below and i dont think that suits me!
However i am tempted to get some blouses/button up shirts if i manage to get my module in uni that means i get to work with school children!