Does being beautiful mean being a size 0?? I think not! While most children who develop eating disorders are between 11 and 13, studies have shown that 80% of 3rd through 6th graders are dissatisfied with their bodies or their weight and by age 9 somewhere between 30 and 40% of girls have already been on a diet. Between ages 10 and 16, the statistic jumps to 80%. Many eating disorder experts attribute this behavior to the effects of cultural expectations. Unnatural ideas of beauty bombard our little girls and teens for as long as they can remember, they need to know that they do not have to be as thin as bread sticks to be sexy or beautiful! Here are the Top 10 Sexiest “Plus-sized” (one hates to use the term) Models and Entertainers. Be happy with who you are, beauty is on the inside!
She is a 19-year-old Canadian plus-size model and actress whose beauty, confidence, and talent have earned her professional acclaim, and have made her a role model for a generation of full-figured girls.
Jones has modeled for Ashley Stewart, New York and Company, Target, Essence magazine, Vibe magazine, King magazine and Smooth magazine. Jones is currently a host for BET’s game show series Take the Cake. She made a cameo appearance in Trina’s music video for the song “I Got a Thang For You”.
Super sexy Dray is a plus-size model based in Paris and notably appeared in John Galliano’s ‘Everybody is Beautiful’ Spring 2006 prêt-à-porter show and subsequent French Vogue editorial of the collection, wearing what turned out to be Galliano’s best-selling dress of the show. Dray has appeared in editorials for Elle France and Gala magazine. She has worked with some of Europe’s leading photographers such as Nick Knight and Steve Hiatt, and with European clients such as Marina Rinaldi and Giani Forte.
A plus-size model from Derry, Northern Ireland. She’s has appeared in ads for Torrid and Marks & Spencer, in an editorial in the U.K. edition of Good Housekeeping magazine, and starred in a Channel 4 documentary titled “Fat Beauty Contest” in which she organized Britain’s first beauty contest for plus-size women.
Renn suffered from anorexia and became a plus-size model after regaining her health, and has notched up some remarkable successes in the few years she has been working at a larger size; multiple editorials in each of Vogue’s U.S., Italian, French and German editions, and an appearance on the catwalk of Jean-Paul Gaultier for his Spring 2006 prêt-à-porter collection.
Maggie Yumi Brown got her big break when, in November 2006, she won “Tyra’s Thick and Sexy Top Model Contest” on The Tyra Banks Show. Her title included modeling contract with Wilhelmina Models, a 1000$ from Lane Bryant, and photo shoot for an editorial in Bombshell Magazine coming to print in 2008. Since winning the Thick and Sexy Top Model contest, she has been featured on various covers of magazines such as the December 2006 issue of Bombshell magazine.
She was the first plus-size model to have an advertisement feature on a billboard in New York’s Times Square, an honor repeated four times by client Liz Claiborne. Laughlin was also the first plus-size model to appear in the U.S. edition of Glamour magazine.
Lovely Jill is a three-time Grammy Award-winning American R&B, soul, and jazz singer, songwriter, actress and poet. In 2007, Scott made her theatrical debut in the films Hounddog (as Big Mama Thornton) and in Tyler Perry’s feature film, Why Did I Get Married? That same year her third studio album, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3, was released on September 25, 2007.
Beautiful Whitney is the first plus-size model to win the reality-based TV show America’s Next Top Model. Thompson began her modeling career at age 15 in her home state of Florida, appearing several times on the cover of her local “Jacksonville” community magazine. Thompson is 5’10″, has declared herself to fluctuate between U.S. sizes 8-10, and was 20 years of age at the time of her appearances on ANTM. Thompson will be the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine, on the July 2008 issue.
Musician, Actor and Model, Queen Latifah is a a force to be reckoned with. Besides movies, TV and even her own talk show, she is a celebrity spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics and Curvation ladies underwear among others. Latifah is one of two hip-hop artists to receive an Academy Award nomination in an acting category (Best Supporting Actress, Chicago, 2002). The other is Will Smith. Go Figure.
Contributor: Tiffany H
Terrific list!
And I agree, Queen Latifa is one of the most beautiful full-figured women.
I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. I'm not saying that DNA accounts for weight, I'm saying DNA accounts for bodytype. You can have a large frame and still be healthy. And I'm certainly *not* saying that being overweight isn't unhealthy, because it is. Heart disease is the number 2 preventable cause of death in the US (caused by obesity) behind tobacco use. We should, as a group, try to eat healthier and exercise more. The US *is* becoming a "fat" nation, with obesity rates sky-rocketing. You can't walk down the street without seeing at least 1 out of every 2 people with some degree of flab around the midsection. Busy lifestyles prevent a lot of these things, but there are small things everyone can do to cut out fat and sugar from their diet and exercise more. And, believe me, I could be a lot better about these things myself. I take full responsibility for my extra weight. However, when I *was* working out full time and watching my diet *very* closely (for the wrestling team in high school) I was still hovering around the 235 mark.
trojan_man: Save me its becoming one of those too smart for me lists. Not that I've got anything against people discussing DNA or religion, its just that I don't get half of what they're saying.
I know what you're thinking. *just dont read the comments* if it were only that simple.
Queen Latifah rocks!
I was walking in NYC about a month and a half ago, and I noticed posters for I guess some show that was premiering on TV. I dunno exactly what it was, but it was called "Bulging Brides." I looked at it, and I was absolutely shocked to see that all of the women on the poster were completely normal-weighted. They didnt look overweight, they werent anorexic…they were absolutely fine. This stupid media-created image of woman's beauty is so ridiculous anymore.
slick: i understand what your're trying to say and i think your're completly right.
i think that the USA isn't getting fat…we're already fat
i have nothing against fat people but to me it is not okay to be morbidly obese and not do a damn thing about it except complain about your glands or hate thin people because they weigh less than you do.
that being said i love a thick(not obese)woman
Nice list, I dont really find big girls physically attractive, thought some of the girls on the list arent all that big. Im enjoying reading the comments!
Warningdontreadthis: Ok, here is what you need to do. Ask anyone who is stating scientific figures or postulates or theories where the hell they got that crap from and then they will send you a link. Read the abstract and the conclusion and then quote something from it and tell them that you will have to look at it differently from now on. Then get in a *****ing contest with someone else on the definition of common words and they will forget that you ever questioned the original idea. Works every time. Just keep it civil.
I love women who are healthy AND have a little bit of meat on the bones. Obviously, "lose some weight, fatty" has a past with the larger portions of the fairer *****.
the body mass index is utterly retarded, according to the BMI george clooney is overweight and michael Jordan is obese
what a joke!
trojan_man: Our argument in the other thread wasn't about the definition of common words, it was about the multiple definitions particular words have when used in a scientific context, which if you are involved in a scientific academic community, you should know implicitly. It is disingenuous and intellectually dishonest to pretend you gave someone the time of day, give them the lip service that you will "look at it differently from now on" and keep on believing the same old crap, even when you have proof right in front of you that you are wrong. It's also lazy. If you don't know something, be honest about it. No one will think any less of you (unlike pretending to know something you don't) and you might actually learn a thing or two. I don't know a lot of what Randall goes on about, but I keep my ears open, ask questions, and am honest about what it is I know and what it is I don't.
warningdonttreadthis: Don't follow trojan's advice. Like I said to him, if you find a topic of discussion interesting but don't know a whole lot about it, ask questions. Strive to understand, don't pretend like you learned something and actually brush it off. All that is is willfully wallowing in one's own ignorance, and how did that *ever* help anyone? Particularly if I am involved in a discussion, never feel afraid to stop the presses and ask a question. If I can answer it I will, and happily.
I love this list in theory, but I have a problem with the use of the word "celebrities." From the women on this list (all of whom are hot except #3…maybe bad picture), I only know Queen Latifah. My general rule is, if I haven't heard of someone, she's not famous!
Also, where's Mia Tyler? I'm not sure of her size, but she's always referred to as "plus-sized." All I know is she's Liv's half-sister, and she's very hot.
I have to agree with some of the other posters, that some of these women are kind of average-sized.
All in all, I'm just glad there's a hot chick list.
i learned about the BMI on an episode of Penn and Teller,s "Bull*****"
funny and interesting show.
What about Monique? She is gorgeous…kudos to the real curves (even though I'm super skinny)
anna nicole smith??? not nº1?
Marilyn Monroe was a size 14. Just saying!!
stormy617-It's amazing to think that size 14 is considered "plus-sized" these days, huh?
What about this woman?
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/IMC/…
You have to admit she is pretty hot.
So now tolerance is only for "fat", while "skinny" can be denigrated without reservations.
Um. It's like affirmative action without a good side.
Geez people no need to get all worked up over "plus sized" models. True, most of these girls are not truly plus size, but in the modeling world they are the fatties. It's too sad that you are considered big if you don't have every bone in your body visible. In the real world these chicks are completely normal. I love thick women!
That Christina Schmidt sure has gotten hot since Degrassi.
Haha, I'm glad you knew she was from Degrassi too.
slickwilly: easy, psycho. Warning and I were joking that we didn't understand what was being said. I did ask legitimate (in my mind) questions and was called an ***** by one of the original posters on this site. He then said that if I didn't like being insulted, don't say "stupid *****" (if you remember I also complimented you on your handling of my questions). Now, I have been a part of the scientific community for a while (degrees in applied mathematics and engineering) so I know the scientific process and its' function and meaning. I also know that it is bastardized to suit arguments many times (by both sides of any argument). You don't have to lecture me on the ways to find information. I do prefer to find my info in a myriad of ways (not just internet links and diatribes from posters). You cannot expect – or should not – everyone to understand everything that you are saying when they are not trained in your areas of expertise, just like I would not expect you to know how to tell me what types of friction course are best to construct roads in different parts of the United States. I was having a little fun with Randall and I was trying to have fun with warning. I have not lost my sense of humor but it is apparent that yours is fading. Believe, I read the responses in earnest and try to give each person their say… but I do NOT force my opinion on anyone else even if I think they are wrong. I do feel as if some posters on this site tell you their opinion (with whatever facts they have) and if you don't like it, your beneath them. That, my friend, is unscientific i.e. it makes no damn sense.
Funny thing is, most of those women don't look even slightly overweight. They're curvy and beautiful
Weird, there was more to my post that didn't go through o.o
Yeah, #2 isn't plus sized..
But yes, Christina Schmidt needs to be number one, but maybe for the Top 10 hottest celebrities list. I'm so jealous that she's the same age as me, but looks incredibly gorgeous and mature. She embodies glamour.
Jamie, you have a typo on number one. "Becides movies, TV and even her own talk show…"
It should be besides. Great list. ;D
The only good looking one on this list, to me atleast, is number 2. Plus sized women are about as attractive to me as the anorexic girls on catwalks. I like my women somewhere inbetween. Much respect to these women on the list though for not being ashamed of their bodies.
The perfect woman to me is Elisha Cuthbert…not "skinny-skinny" but inshape with great curves.
yeah shes skinny. apart from the fake looking boobs lol
I think it's not about the weight it's about the figure. But what about the boob and the bottom? I think boob is overrated. Or why don't we ask the men here to find out which attract them a big boobs or a rounded bottom?
Criminon, You are so wrong its not even funny. I guess Im a "frat" boy and I love women with some meat on their bones. As long as there healthy and live a healty life style Im prolly into her. And Im not beepin my own horn but my momma says I handsome and I usually go for a girl who dosent look like a stick. A cute face dosent hurt either tho lol.
107. carpe_noctem
I think that should be 19th century and Belgian
Queen Latifah at #1….are you kidding me?!! Im never coming back to this site.
size 14 is waaaay better than size 8
what makes “plus” size girls (and really, anybody) *****y is their attitude, confidence and mind-set. If you think you’re *****y, then you’re *****y. If you act *****y (flirtatious, not afraid of your body), then you’re *****y. I’ve seen so many “plus” size girls that are so much *****ier than their stick-figure friends, because the stick figures are snobbish, stuck-up or boring, and the “plus” sized girls are happier, friendlier and more interesting.
As far as the difference between “plus” sized and fat, for me it comes down to proportion and health. Fat people have no proportions and generally don’t look/act healthy. All the girls in the list have proportionate features (breasts/hips about the same width, waist slightly smaller) and look healthy (not anorexic nor blown-out).
Think “hour-glass”, but not “wasp-waisted”.
how about Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Anna Nicole???
for modern day – how about Kirstey Alley?
how about jordin sparks from american idol, she is definitely attractive
I really enjoyed this list.
I use to be one of those stick figures. After 2 kids and a busy lifestyle I too have thrown diet and exercise out the window and have put on a lot of weight. When I first began putting on weight and getting a tummy, hubby would tease me. It kind of bothered me. I asked him if it was bothering him that I had put on some weight. His answer, "No. I just think of it as one more curve." OOO he so scored Brownie Points with that one.
I was 5'6'' and 160 pounds. I went to my doctor due to gallstones. He ran all sorts of tests. He said, "Hmm I don't get it, your cholesterol is good, your bloodpressure is low, everything looks pretty good." I said, "Yeah it is odd. I smoke, I don't eat right, and I don't exercise and yet I am in relatively good health. Course I could stand to loose about 30 pounds." He said, "No, I think you will be too skinny then." I loved that doctor. Dammit why did he retire?
And I can say I had a much better attitude and outlook on my self and my body after putting on weight. I was self conscious and felt ugly when I was thin.
And to GApeach about us not caring about someone's self esteem, do you know how many girls end up committing suicide or killing themselves due to anorexia because they have a low self esteem?
Tke1382: "I guess I'm a Frat boy". Are in a fraternity? Don't know what state you live in but in NC, Frat boys are the ones with the No fat chicks bumper stickers and the anorexic gfs, thinking they are "Da Bomb" because Daddy bought me this ride.
When you hit college, you can tell me if your tastes have changed. But until you pass Rush Week, you're not a Frat boy. Your "Insights" have been noted.
I kept scrolling expecting to find Sara Ramirez…..*pout* otherwise great list.and i wouldnt exactly consider no2 'plus size'
pft…14 a plus size? Please, depending on your height average is a size 16.
I know GTA its crazy for sure…………sorry so long on answering but I went to work for 10 hours in between LOL
Ok…so I'm from England, I'm a size UK10 which i think is a size US size8, i am typical hourglass and 5ft 7, now I am considered perfectly normal and slim, so if me having a 27inch waist is considered "PLUS SIZE" in America I strongly think that the American Ideal takes a good long hard look at itself and can stand purely accountable for the vile, sickeneing and shallow self obsessed Industry it so prides itself on for encouraging the American Dream and ideal of looking like a malnutritioned pre bubescent ten year old boy! ANY size can be beautiful so long as people are responsible and healthy, being under weight is as unattractive and as unhealthy as being over weight. People need to realise we all come in different shaps and sizes and being healthy and active is the key in both looking and feeling great about yourself. These so called "frat boys" and their British equivilents are mearly the adolescent and socially uneducated bafoons that only strengthen the dim witted and impressionable minds of young girls. Men who like the stick look, i believe they must have some form of *****ual denial in wishing to have ***** with something that represents the body of a young boy. A woman overly obbsessed with unrealistic ideals of being a vouge cover model are in my experience, rather too full of their own quarms to be articulate, interesting and in short….fun! The mind of a person so obsessed with themseleves stuck in their own narcasistic little worlds fair poorley as an interesting, *****y and intelligent human being. I feel more than able to cast my opinion on this subject as a few years ago I was one of these self loathing, whinging, unrealistic people, constantly caught up in my aesthetics becuase I dont appeal to the modern ideologies of what a woman should look like! Now I've grown up, at 25…i can finally be happy, sure I'd like a more toned ass etc but I am happy with what i have, I eat healthly and I run twice a day, i may not have the body of a godess but its my body, its a healthy body and if nobody else likes it, dont look at it. I only wish I had felt this way when i was younger, i would've had alot more fun I can tell you!
excuse all the typo's! im at work and in a rush, i get crazy typin fingers when im hurring! pre-pubescent, not bubescent and all the others!
does America know of Nigella Lawson the cook! she is stunning!
Nr 2 doesnt look all that plus sized to me
My husband loves Nigella Lawson. She makes chewing *****y according to him. Are we maybe talking about oral fixation?
No fat chicks! I wouldn't consider some of these women plus size though.
where's Abbey Brooks?
trojan_man: Hey, you need to stop directing your anger at Randall towards me. *I* didn't call you an *****, *I* didn't say that you shouldn't say "stupid *****." Take a deep breath and grow up a little bit. I was *legitimately* trying to help you understand in the other thread. I was even *****ing cordial to you, so don't go blowing off your steam at someone else in my face. *I* certainly don't expect for everyone to understand everything I'm saying, anymore than I expect to understand everything that is being said. We had a brief argument over the use of the word "law," which I used in a different context than you were used to, and you challenged me on it. I explained my point of view and that was pretty much that.
Oh yes, yes, my sense of humor is fading…of course, that must be it. Because I haven't cracked a joke or laughed at anything anyone typed in the last day and half. No, trojan, my sense of humor is not fading. But the "joke" you were making towards warning hit a little bit too close to home…it was *exactly* what you did in the other thread during our argument. And you did not present it to him in a joking manner, so I could have only assumed that you were being serious. Sorry if I miconstrued that, but it doesn't make anything I said in my above post any less valid. It is patronizing and disingenuous to pay some lip service who is trying to help you understand a concept. I certainly wouldn't do that to you if you were helping me understand the physics of engineering, so forgive me if i felt a little slighted. And for god's sakes, again: *IM NOT *****ING RANDALL* Don't go getting angry at me because you felt someone else was trying to force their opinion on you. If you hung around the site a little more/paid a little more attention you would already know that I try to help anyone to understand who wants to, and I never intentionally talk down to them (barring those who deserve it).
Trojan, you're out of line here. Take a deep breath, swallow your damaged pride (which *I* had no part in) and lighten up. If it was a goddamned joke, just say it without throwing a hissy fit. It's hard to tell what is a joke and what is not over the internet.
slick: I didn't say you called me any names or insulted my point of view or forced your opinion on me. Never. I actually complimented you on your handling of the questions (it is right there in the post…so now this is the second time i've mentioned it). I also know that you are not Randall and I have never said that. I was just joking with warning about a list that is on this very site (10 ways to seem smarter than you are). I think warning, whomever he/she is would be intelligent enough to ask when they don't know, as I did. I don't do research into evolutionary theories or origins of species. That's why I asked. I don't think I ever said anything derogatory about evolution (or anyone's views on it) but I did see some contradictions about the subject that scientists have discussed (on both sides) and was looking for the answers.
Ok, I'll swallow my pride and say I do not know enough about evolution, DNA, genetics to have a scientific argument about the subject. But I will never, ever, apologize for my point of view or my questioning of everything until I think I am satisfied. In fact, I think all experimental scientists would tell you to never be totally comfortable with any explanation until you do the research yourself.
By the way, my joke hit a little too close to your home. That was a little bit of a hissy too, wasn't it?
Trojan: No, you never said anything derogatory about evolution, and I welcome any questions concerning ET from anyone, as I'm sure when your particularly speciality is called into action, you would welcome questions from those of us with little or no engineering/physics experience. It's always good to look for answers, always, and no one is asking you to apologize for it, nor should you if asked to. I didn't realize you were making a joke, and so I apologize.
And yes, I have a capacity for hissy.
Randall: No problem. I thought that could use a little clarification.
…and its Matt Damon, incidentally. Yeah, Ben's tall and handsome and all, but he is just such a wooden actor…ehh…I couldn't get into it if I tried.
slick: thanks.
Randall: no argument this time. I think it was in the movie "Pulp Fiction" that one of the characters said something like, "too bad what we like to see and what we like to touch are often different things". (that is a distortion of the exact lines, sorry) But it is true. Thin, and I mean really thin, models are "in" right now but, in bed, they feel like brooms – skinny, shapeless, big hair. All of the women in this list are beautiful to me. By the way Randall, the first part of your last post was funny as hell.
trojan:
Upon departing from the Horrific Whirlwind of Doom and Misery that was my marriage, I took up with a woman of foreign persuasion who was, in every way, far more compatible with me than my ex-wife had been. We (this post-marriage girlfriend) were intellectually well-matched (she was, in fact, more intelligent than I was, and far more important–she was a big shot scientist–further details I will not offer so's to protect her privacy–and held a position of some importance in… well, I'll leave that off too… at any rate, she was far too good for the likes of me) and she was a lovely brunette (which I prefer–and my wife had been a blonde). However–my wife had been a shapely, curvy, zaftig sort of woman… while the girlfriend to whom I refer was… elfin. Even bony. And while in some ways this was interesting, and certainly our "relations" were satisfying and loads of Dirty Fun, I had a hard time adjusting to no longer being with a woman who… well, you get the picture. On the other hand, she had this incredible grace and poise and class that more than made up for physical lackings.
At any rate, the point is, it's the beauty of our species that women come in all sizes, and I think most men would agree with me when I say that I have no particular preference as long as a woman has the shape of a Woman. And it oftentimes matters more how a woman presents herself–how she walks, talks, behaves… than what she looks like. Within reason of course—I have to be an honest male here and admit that to me, a woman's looks matter. But there's more to it than merely what nature has given her. (or not given her).
I am very happy with this list! and im glad Queen Latifah was number one! shes smoking hot and i wouldnt want her any other way!
Randall: and would you also agree that attitude and personality go a long, long way to making a woman beautiful in the eyes of men who are not "shallow"? My first wife was not a model, but she was highly intelligent (wonder why she left?) and had a confidence, not cockiness, about her that was great. She and I just didn't match up. My current wife could be a model (probably somewhere between this list and the skinny list) and she is also highly intelligent (field of psychology/medical) and has great confidence. I have been very lucky to find two women who were good for me at particular times of my life, and they were also considered "plus-size" by the crap media.
I think we can all agree (and by all, I mean, reasonable, intelligent people) that personality and intelligence have more to do with perceived beauty than looks. Looks *do* matter, but not to the degree that the media makes it out. For instance, no matter how smart and funny a girl is, I don't know if I could be attracted to her if she has a hairlip, or excessive body hair. I think the absence of "unattractive" physical traits is more important than the presence of "attractive" ones.
And again, two way street. Looks don't matter as much to women in general as they do to men, but if you've got terrible bacne (acne on your back) or a dent in your forehead, your personality better be putting in overtime.
trojan:
I would totally agree. Case in point, going back to the example I gave: my ex-wife was an extremely attractive woman, physically speaking. Everyone always said she looked like Belinda Carlisle (forgive the ancient reference, but that's how old we are). In that respect, I considered myself a very lucky man.
But she was also a very high-strung person at times, with lots of "baggage" from her past, and certainly a confidence problem. I certainly don't blame her for the failure of our marriage–we share that blame. I was no peach myself at the time. But gradually, over time, her personality eroded, more and more, the attraction I felt for her in an emotional sense. Physically she was still desirable; but in time even that came to be eroded somewhat–and all because of WHO she was, not what she looked like. It also didn't help that she came to take less and less care of herself–to care less and less about her appearance and how she dressed and so on—but that was really very secondary to the personality issues at work. (Though of course they were all tied together, one way or another).
Randall: Wow, Belinda Jo was and still is hot. Why did you let her "Go-Go"? Man, that was bad.
Yeah, that's a good point. It takes a lot of work to overlook, or put up with what you see a faulty personality trait. You know what they say, "eventually Tommy Lee got tired of Pamela Anderson". She is hot but there may not be much substance.
trojan:
Hey, she was also a great cook (she was Italian, but didn't look it at all). But yes, see… personality matters. Even a hot woman can become less than desirable if she has personality issues.
Great list!
I think some of the most beautiful girls of the planets are "plus" sized. Everybody should be proud of their own body!
"No matter how hot a woman is…somebody somewhere is tired of putting up with her *****."
Wisdom of the ages.
Slick:
Thank you for announcing clearly and succinctly for all to hear and see that you are not “*****ing Randall.” I appreciate that. It’s nobody’s business who you ARE *****ing, (Ben Affleck, perhaps?) but I’m just glad you corrected the misapprehension that it ain’t me.
*sigh.* I should really watch my mouth, shouldn’t I? Just so hard to help it. Tarzan have much pent up anger. Take it out on Cheetah… Boy… strangers on internet. Tarzan need therapy. Hard to find in jungle. Big Bull Gorilla in hidden valley have MSW… Tarzan could see him if desperate, but Tarzan hear he real amateur.
By the way, this is a great list (which I already said way up above) and I’m kind of sad that for a while it degenerated into a discussion on the health issues of obesity. I guess this isn’t altogether surprising, and I suppose it’s a valid topic for discussion in this context. Nevertheless I feel I must add my voice to this and say the following:
While many of us tubby Americans could stand to shed a few pounds, it’s probably more helpful in a conversation like this to recall that for far longer than America has had a weight problem, *women* in America (and elsewhere) have had a tremendous amount of cultural pressure put upon them to be thin. While some of this is in the nature of things (unfortunate as it is) it’s unfairly and harmfully impacted on generations of women who have had to suffer psychologically because they didn’t fit the current picture of the desired ideal of the feminine form. This has only gotten worse over the last 40 years. The Marilyn Monroe of the 50s, surely by all agreement the definition of a supremely desirable woman, would be considered fat today. This is wrong, and, frankly, a symptom of a sick society. It’s not even an argument of whether the female body is meant to carry some fat, especially in certain places (this is clearly true) but rather it’s a question as to WHY we simply can’t be happy with a variety of “looks” and forms. Women shouldn’t feel constant and growing pressure to look like something they are not. Health is of course an issue–but it’s often just as unhealthy for a women to be too thin as too fat. This isn’t really about health, it’s about body image. And we no longer allow for a range of body images. Of course, the peculiar thing is that in reality, in day-to-day life, the vast majority of us are perfectly happy with the “look” of a fuller-figured woman; I know few men who *prefer* extremely thin women over larger women. But the media and Hollywood create a false “other universe” that constantly intrudes on this reality. It needs to be fought, and so it’s nice to have a list like this. The shame of it is that we even have to acknowledge that these gorgeous women are “Plus Sized.” They should just be viewed as Women, period.
By todays standard Marilyn Monroe would be considered plus sized,