POLL: Do men think women w/ curves or a little "junk in their trunk" are sexy?

[pointyfootball]

Gender also doesn't own the hurt feelings in this and I would bet it's more often hurtful to be an unattractive man, than woman.

Impossible to bet on, but I'd take it if I could! Only addresses weight, but shows significant gap:

"Women are up to 10 times more likely to have a poor body image than men, a study published today has found."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...odies-men.html

[Koolblue13]

Impossible to bet on, but I'd take it if I could! Only addresses weight, but shows significant gap:

"Women are up to 10 times more likely to have a poor body image than men, a study published today has found."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...odies-men.html

Weight only I would think women have a harder time then men, but just being naturally unattractive maybe not.

I was actually thinking about this last night in town. I was reminded about an old feeling I was trying to avoid. I was standing with a girl who wants to hook up with me that I'm not interested in, a girl I did hook up with a while back, who was using my presence to annoy the musician, the guy she wants to be with and a girl who I was recently with, who I just cut off, because I don't want any casual relationships, while I was just looking for the girl I was dating, who I still want to be with.

The thing is, it dawned on me that we are all relatively attractive, active people and I know guys who are interested in all four girls, who will never have a chance, because they just aren't attractive men. Giant head, very short. They all have different "flaws" (a word I'm using for lack of a better one, even if it doesn't fit), that will always keep these women just out of reach. A 5'2" guy with a great build will only go so far. A 4'10" girl with a great body will do just fine.

[KDawg]

The whole big muscle thing is NOT a good look IMO.

I don't get it. First off, you know I respect you, or at least I hope you do.

But, it seems like you're being somewhat hypocritical here. You seem critical of men who like skinny women, but yet you're outwardly voicing the fact that muscles are unattractive. *shrug*

[brandymac27]

I don't get it. First off, you know I respect you, or at least I hope you do.

But, it seems like you're being somewhat hypocritical here. You seem critical of men who like skinny women, but yet you're outwardly voicing the fact that muscles are unattractive. *shrug*

Ok, let me clear something up. I have NO problems if a man,s preference is a thin woman. You like what you like. I mean, you can't help what you're attracted to. My issue with what some people have said in the thread is just based off of some of the language that was used (maybe the tone of the posts is a better way to describe it), and the fact that some have said the media doesn't play a role in how some people assume women are "supposed" to look.

[Koolblue13]

Ok, let me clear something up. I have NO problems if a man,s preference is a thin woman. You like what you like. I mean, you can't help what you're attracted to. My issue with what some people have said in the thread is just based off of some of the language that was used, and the fact that some have said the media doesn't play a role in how some people assume women are "supposed" to look.

If the media was blamed for any other possible thing, what you should buy, what you should listen to, anything, you would be called a paranoid conspiracy theorist. But when it comes to "what you should look like", the media is making your decision?

[KDawg]

Ok, let me clear something up. I have NO problems if a man,s preference is a thin woman. You like what you like. I mean, you can't help what you're attracted to. My issue with what some people have said in the thread is just based off of some of the language that used and the fact that some have said the media doesn't play a role in how some people assume women are "supposed" to look.

I mean, the media probably plays some sort of role. But let's be honest, there are guys who love curvy women despite what the media tells them. And to be quite honest, most men I know think a lot of the super models are horrendously unattractive.

My ex-gf years ago used to watch Next Top Model or whatever that show is called and she would gawk at the women and talk about how beautiful they were. I vehemently disagreed and couldn't stand watching it.

I think women sometimes fuel their own self image issues (and the same can be said for men). They think that because someone is on TV and people claim them to be attractive that all men (or women) find that type of female attractive. It's simply not true. Some people do, sure. But there is a flip side.

I think your point about what you're attracted to is what you're attracted to is dead on the money, to be honest. I'm not sure media has much influence on that. *shrug*

I get your point though. It can be discouraging.

[SWFLSkins]

Yes but some of the girls you posted are a bit more than curvy.

And some of the girls look like the diet they have is coke* and diet coke.

*yeah that coke.

[pointyfootball]

I mean, the media probably plays some sort of role. But let's be honest, there are guys who love curvy women despite what the media tells them. And to be quite honest, most men I know think a lot of the super models are horrendously unattractive.

My ex-gf years ago used to watch Next Top Model or whatever that show is called and she would gawk at the women and talk about how beautiful they were. I vehemently disagreed and couldn't stand watching it.

I disagree too when my wife says that stuff....but I continue to keep watching! Just like I make fun of Dancing with the Stars.

[brandymac27]

If the media was blamed for any other possible thing, what you should buy, what you should listen to, anything, you would be called a paranoid conspiracy theorist. But when it comes to "what you should look like", the media is making your decision?

It's true though. A lot of women feel very pressured to look like females they see in magazines, on tv, etc. "Beauty" as portrayed in the media is seen as usually thin females with very little physical flaws (a lot which is due to airbrushing, tons of makeup, and in some cases plastic surgery). Young girls see these images as "real", even though most adults know these images have been altered to make these people on magazine covers look perfect.

When you're a 13 or 14 year old girl and all you see around you are these "perfect" images, you set unrealistic standards for yourself, and when those standards aren't met, you can start to feel really crappy about yourself (and in some cases, it can lead to things like depression and eating disorders).Unfortunately, some females, even as they get older, continue to hold onto these unrealistic expectations and never really feel good about themselves.

[KDawg]

I disagree too when my wife says that stuff....but I continue to keep watching! Just like I make fun of Dancing with the Stars.

Haha!

See, I only make comments like that when I actually dislike it. I've owned up to watching Idol in the past. I like the show. Some of it is nauseating, but I like it as a whole.

I rip on the Kardashians all the time. If anything, I think that kind of show has a bigger effect on how women live their lives than anything else. Some women, despite their income, actually think they're Kardashians.

[Koolblue13]

It's true though. A lot of women feel very pressured to look like females they see in magazines, on tv, etc. "Beauty" as portrayed in the media is seen as usually thin females with very little physical flaws (a lot which is due to airbrushing, tons of makeup, and in some cases plastic surgery). Young girls see these images as "real", even though most adults know these images have been altered to make these people on magazine covers look perfect.

When you're a 13 or 14 year old girl and all you see around you are these "perfect" images, you set unrealistic standards for yourself, and when those standards aren't met, you can start to feel really crappy about yourself (and in some cases, it can lead to things like depression and eating disorders).Unfortunately, some females, even as they get older, continue to hold onto these unrealistic expectations and never really feel good about themselves.

That falls into the same problem as hyping celebrities in general. I'll never understand that habit I guess.

I was a fat awkward little kid, with bad acne, but it was hardly the medias fault I felt so bad about it.

[rictus58]

While I admit that there are unrealistic standards for men portrayed in Hollywood/popular media as well, I think the impact on women is much more significant. Just ask your nearest plastic surgeon for the gender breakdown for procedures they perform...

I happen to agree. And I think many posters on this site hold women up to some ridiculous standards. Just take a look at some of the comments in the babe draft threads throughout the years. People lambasting a woman because of a flawed belly button or ear lobes. I'm not saying I'm not critical of the physical aspects of women. I am. However, a lot of comments are/were over the top. But all the evidence suggests girls are more like to be mentally impacted by their flaws. Real or perceived. It's easy to say Girls shouldn't care what other people think of them. It's a lot harder to get that girl to believe it. If you really believe that, all of you should start posting pictures of your wife/girlfriend. Then let them read the comments that follow.

With regards to celebrity, there are far more men in hollywood who are famous and popular with a body style a woman couldn't get away with.
look at zach galifianakis. Short overweight man. Get's leading roles. Rosie O'Donnel/roseann gets made fun of relentlessly.

[No_Pressure]

I think it's odd that people assume that what we find sexually attractive is 100% innate and not affected by the period of history in which we live. Many in this thread say they want a women who isn't rail thin but who is nonetheless thin, "feminine" in their mind, etc.

It all depends on where and when you are. If you go back to artwork from the renaissance generally in Europe, you'll find a whole lot of plump women being portrayed as the ideal, which it was at the time. Assuming many of us are descendants of those same Europeans, we certainly inherited the ability to be turned on by chubby women but many of us prefer much thinner women because it is how we're conditioned in our environment. Take a look at a society today which has completely different standards: In the nation of Maritania there was much said about their practice of purposely fattening brides in preparation for marriage. Men there find it ideal to have a fat bride and women there don't necessarily want to be fat and are trying to change the culture.

Here's a CNN article on the topic: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-10-12/w...ls?_s=PM:WORLD

The people of that nation aren't exactly different from us genetically, right? If they had been raised in America, regardless of what their body may tell them about attraction to one type of person or another, their minds would be shaped to go after a certain norm which is popular and acceptable. Sure you'll say that you could never be attracted to XXXXX but that could be for a number of reasons. You could REALLY just not be physically attracted to something as part of your being, or you could REALLY not be attracted to something because your culture has told you that it is ugly and laughable for such a long time.

There are plenty of things which we attach to larger people in general in our culture which aren't necessarily always discussed but are likely at the backs of people's minds. Personally I'm 6-2, 200, I exercise regularly and am in shape. Last weekend I went on a 2 day 24 mile hike/camping trip, I do a couple of century bike rides every year. If you glanced at me you might think I'm in decent shape but perhaps not as good as I am since I'm not Mr. 6-pack or super thin. I eat relatively healthy, though naturally I indulge in plenty of things from time to time which a health nut would not. I do not eat fast food or drink soda. I don't smoke, do drugs, and I don't drink very often. I have a friend who looks like he's very physically fit. He's 6'2 just like I am, but he's 165 pounds instead, fairly thin but he's pretty muscular. If you looked at him you might think he's extremely healthy. He doesn't work out regularly, he would likely get tired out and left in the dust on one of my hikes or bike rides, and he eats like ****- he might go out and get some fast food, drink a couple of sodas, and wash it down with some ice cream, and he might do that multiple times per week. He gets by on naturally being quite thin and in shape looking. He is younger than I am, 22, and his metabolism is still as fast as a race horse. He's generally lazy and totally unhealthy but he appears to be otherwise.

I have another friend who is female. She has had two children, is a stay at home mom, and is probably about 5'6 and I'm guessing is somewhere around 190-210 pounds. She eats fairly healthy just like I do, and she works out every day, going for long walks around the neighborhood, doing an exercise bike, and doing other aerobic exercise. She constantly complains about the fact that she finds it so hard to lose any weight or get in shape. She's a very busy woman and has a lot of things to do in a given day. She's generally quite healthy and hard working. Above all she's quite intelligent which I'll touch on in a second.

The thing is, in our society we have stereotypes about fat people. They're fat, it must be because they eat too much and exercise too little. That means that they're lazy, they lack willpower, they're incapable of changing themselves and their culturally unacceptable appearance and therefore they must lack intelligence as well. Whether anybody wants to admit it or not, these are connotations that many fat people in general carry around with them. As laughable as it is when people say that they're big boned or they have XXX condition, some people are just naturally a certain way. The woman I mentioned would likely be a big girl 500 years ago just as she is today. The way that her body reacts to things is just a certain way, and sure- if she worked super duper incredibly hard at it she would likely be successful at achieving cultural acceptability in appearance. She exercises, she eats pretty well, she takes care of herself far better than my other friend does. He's lazy, he eats too much and exercises too little, he lacks willpower and doesn't see a need to change what he's doing, but he's lucky. He gets bailed out by his genetics. At this point in his life he can give his body garbage for food and be lazy as **** and he's still going to be culturally acceptable in appearance.

If you measured the health of my two friends you would likely find that my female friend is a ****load healthier and less at risk of health issues which result from her behavior going forward in life than my other friend. I also suspect my one friend is in for a rude awakening when he hits 25-35 and his metabolism perhaps slows down and doesn't bail him out anymore. Regardless of these facts many people who have posted in this thread will look at my male friend and think he's a smart, hardworking guy who takes good care of himself since his appearance is the cultural ideal and must be indicative of his character. They would also look at my friend (especially if her children weren't around) and they would say how she looks unhealthy and they may keep to themselves their conclusions about her worth (intelligence, self-control, etc.) but at the very least they would find her unattractive and they would be quite certain that she is unhealthy and my other friend is quite healthy.

Outward appearance can be a good measure of other traits in general sometimes, right? Just like a shady looking black guy in southeast D.C. is likely some sort of criminal who grew up in a broken home where his dad left them at a young age, right? Or are stereotypes a bad basis on which to judge people? In today's society we have a problem with saying that somebody is more likely to commit a crime because of their natural physical appearance, or that someone is more or less intelligent/more or less adept at particular tasks given their cultural heritage. These thoughts make us feel uncomfortable and we say things like "don't judge a book by its cover" or that you can't generalize about people like that. We also know that there are plenty of people out there who fit completely and totally into the stereotype and are exactly what we thought they were. Apply this to weight as just another appearance based way in which we are judged. Why should it be unacceptable to judge someone's underlying traits and background based on their race, yet it is perfectly acceptable to judge someone's underlying traits and background based on their weight? If you look at a fat person and automatically see a lazy, dumb, slob with no self control and who doesn't eat right, exercise, or care about their personal appearance, are you really different from someone who sees a group of young black men standing on a street corner talking and sees a pack of criminals or thugs? Sure, there are fat people who fall into the stereotypes, there is no argument there. There are also thin and in shape people such as my friend who you would incorrectly assume are healthy, or healthier than my chunky friend.

Now this doesn't have to do with attraction necessarily, but it is linked in the sense that we're products of our society. We see attraction based on weight. For some of us that is natural, but if evidence from the past is any indicator, it isn't natural for most of us. At one time popular culture supported the plump young woman with smaller breasts as the culturally desirable ideal. Men for hundreds of years were likely sitting around talking about how the perfect woman had to have AT LEAST "x" amount of fat on her, and laughing about the appearance of some "scrawny" little girl who was totally undesirable for marriage. Try to think about what you find desirable in the opposite sex, then question why you find that appealing. Is it because you're supposed to? Because everyone else does? Because from a very young age, likely before you can even remember, the concept of "beauty" was presented to you in that image? I would be willing to bet that most of the men who looked at that picture of the three women in black underwear honestly found something attractive about all three women. Sure they say #2 is the most desirable or whatever, but if this were even perhaps 1890 or so in most parts of the world, the majority of the men who said #2 might have emphatically said #3.

I wonder how many people who have responded to this thread saying they wouldn't consider women past X size actually do, but are terrified to let anybody know about it. I wonder how many actually have dated, had sex with, or been attracted to #3 or larger sized women. I'm not in your brains but historical evidence suggests that potentially everyone has, but in our society such things are suppressed, lest anyone find out you found some chubby girl attractive and you become the major subject of ridicule.

Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong in a whole bunch of ways. Tell me you're naturally attracted to thin women. I'll find my many examples which historically contradict our current notions of beauty (I majored in history and have many extensively highlighted books to support my thoughts). Most recently I was skimming through my "peasant life in late tsarist russia" book and reading the section which discussed the brideshow prior to marriage, and how a thin bride would certainly affect the brideprice paid by her new family. After all, who wants some small skinny female? She isn't considered as attractive, won't be as good for childbearing, and won't be as useful for reaping the fields annually!

[Koolblue13]

I happen to agree. And I think many posters on this site hold women up to some ridiculous standards. Just take a look at some of the comments in the babe draft threads throughout the years. People lambasting a woman because of a flawed belly button or ear lobes. I'm not saying I'm not critical of the physical aspects of women. I am. However, a lot of comments are/were over the top. But all the evidence suggests girls are more like to be mentally impacted by their flaws. Real or perceived. It's easy to say Girls shouldn't care what other people think of them. It's a lot harder to get that girl to believe it. If you really believe that, all of you should start posting pictures of your wife/girlfriend. Then let them read the comments that follow.

With regards to celebrity, there are far more men in hollywood who are famous and popular with a body style a woman couldn't get away with.
look at zach galifianakis. Short overweight man. Get's leading roles. Rosie O'Donnel/roseann gets made fun of relentlessly.

This is a board that is predominantly male driven. The babe thread is a bunch of men talking specifically about the differences in who they find attractive. If you don't think women do the same thing, you're nuts. I'm generally better friends with women and they can be just as brutal. I think men do things like bring up Megan Foxs thumbs, because it gets her off the platform they put her on. I don't think women do this as much.

Your point about Rosie and Zach does hold water to a point. The genders hold different things important to different roles. I don't think women want to have sex with Zach Galifianakis though.

[Kosher Ham]

I can't believe this thread became about womens self-esteem.

If the media was pressuring these women so much... they wouldn't leave the house.

So if a woman has her own image problems I am supposed to coddle her ? Bull. I am not a PC guy, and I don't have to be. I think it is silly and dishonest to be PC. Don't get me wrong there is certainly a reason to be polite.
My friends know not to ask me my opinion on something they are already questioning. Most likely I support the reason they are questioning it. The grey area is not a big as people pretend it is.

All people are beautiful...nope, they aren't.