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Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive

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land surveyor k
04/17/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
i have my own theory... men who find a wider variety of women attractive are also more "STRAIGHT."
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skahammer
04/17/09

@land surveyor k: I now realize that about nine-tenth of the comments I ever dare to make on Jezebel can be summarized by that one sentence. Thank you.
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cirocco
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
There's a glaring error in this post. The article states: "The control group, meanwhile, supported those conventional ideals, finding the figure with a BMI of 18.45 - which, technically, qualifies as underweight - the most attractive."

The Jezebel summary of these findings states: "In other words, the other dudes still thought even normal-sized, healthy women were less attractive than underweight women."

No, they don't. The control (non-fat-accepting) group rated an 18.45 (e.g., underweight) BMI figure as the most attractive. I don't know how Megan got from A to B here.
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mysterygirl
04/16/09

@cirocco: I don't understand where you see the error. Don't both say that the non-fat-accepting group finds "normal" sized women less attractive than underweight women? That they liked underweight women the best?
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cirocco
04/16/09

@mysterygirl: Oh, shit, you're right. I misread what Megan said. Sorry. I have too many Firefox tabs open and should slow down.
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skahammer
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
In a nutshell: Men who really love women have the ability to appreciate all the shapes.

I had to learn this over a few years -- because I had my own prejudices to get over. (Country boy, here.) But it's really true.

And once I did get over my own prejudices, I went around constantly stunned that women allowed themselves to feel less than beautiful because of their body shapes. Who was hypnotizing all these women -- the sexy, full-figured ones especially -- into thinking they weren't beautiful?

It's a mystery I've never managed to solve. But the fact is, if you're a woman, there's no shape that can stand between you and being beautiful and desirable to a man who truly loves women. My advice is, stop listening to the magazines and the suspiciously homosocial dudes (metrosexuals, bros, etc.). Most regular guys don't listen to them -- why should you?
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mysterygirl
04/16/09

@skahammer: Well said! Thanks for that.
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Eric Northman is mine
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Men who self-identify as "fat admirers" not only find overweight women exceedingly attractive, they have an more robust appreciation of feminine beauty.

Robust? That's the only word they could think of...not diverse...robust. Nice euphemism. Oh yeah, I bet overweight women make them wobble with delight. *rolls eyes*
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lalaland13
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Men don't like me because I could lose 20 pounds. I don't like men because 'round here, they're mostly Republican. Maybe we're both at fault. My mom thinks so. Of course, she also thinks I should really try harder at online dating and not be such a smartass on my okcupid profile. Although she loves me being a smartass, she doesn't want me to be too much of one.

I do not know how to achieve this.
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Uncommon Whore
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
When I was younger and more insecure I thought there was some formula to winning in love... being the skinniest, the prettiest, the smartest, the coolest, the funniest, the most knowledgeable about early 80's hip hop - and one day it just dawned on me: there is no formula. You never know what will make someone happy. Because for all the times that I would "lose out" to another girl, and not be able to rationalize it because she had split ends or that one gross toe nail or couldn't carry a tune, I was completely missing the point. Self-acceptance is a lot more attractive than any BMI can ever make you, and any person worth your love is going to realize that as well.

/End fuzzy love rant.
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mysterygirl
04/16/09

@Uncommon Whore: Well said.
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RedStateSciFiGal
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Basicaly there are two types of men: men who like to get plesure from women and men who like to give plesure to women.

Usually men who like to give plesure to women like plus-sized real women with curves. And men who like to get plesure from women like skinny women.

So it is upto the individual woman to choose what type of relationship she wants and in this way, she can choose her diet. Basicaly by knowing this simple fact, women can figure out what they want to eat.
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clevernamehere
04/16/09

@RedStateSciFiGal: Oh come on! All guys who like skinny chicks are users and all guys who like heavy chicks are pure, giving souls? And every woman has a choice in which one she is? I usually let the real women versus skinny women bit slide, but this is too much.

There is a really legitimate problem with the social pressure of beauty norms, but all you're doing is trying to create a new set.
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J.D.Regent
04/16/09

@RedStateSciFiGal: ummmm really? so skinny women are better in bed and fat women orgasm more? just think about this for two seconds and I think you will see it is very wrong.
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Flackette Goes Retro
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Well, I used to have a BMI of 19, and got no lovin'. 35 lbs later I get sex on a regular basis from my long-term boyfriend. So glad science has confirmed that it's okay for him to find my attractive.
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southernbelle
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
So where does this leave us average size girls? I'm not big enough to be loved by the "chubby chasers" and not small enough to be adored by the average dudes. Wonderful. Just one more thing to worry about.
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Flackette Goes Retro
04/16/09

@southernbelle: I'm a size 10 or 12, and my skinny boyfriend apparently likes my body (or he's been faking being attracted to me for two years). Of course, he admits that his aesthetic was heavily influenced by sneaking his dad's old early-60s Playboys and looking at the cute, curvy centerfolds in them.
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southernbelle
04/16/09

@Flackette is a bored flack: Exactly my situation. I'm a size 10 or 12 and my husband apparently also likes it if the amount of ass grabbing in this house is any indication. I wonder where he got it from.
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opalmarie
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
So, this study is saying that guys who self-identify as "Fat Admirers" just have low standards?
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Shamrockette
04/16/09

@opalmarie: If by "low standards", you mean "more open-minded", then yes.

But of course, being open-minded is like, totally low.
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clevernamehere
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Is preferring a woman with a BMI of 29 really big enough to make someone a fat admirer? It obviously isn't slim, but it is also just under obese. I'm not even sure a BMI of 29 would put you in the plus size shopping category.

It is really disturbing that the ideal BMI for the control group was underweight. One of the commentators said "There is nothing wrong with avoiding an attraction to a higher health risk group." I doubt it has even occurred to him that being underweight is health risk, never mind that its a bigger health risk than being mildly overweight.
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tomatoheart
04/16/09

@clevernamehere: Yeah, check out the photos i posted above....for a lot of folks a BMI of 29 is probably in the size 10-12 range
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Shamrockette
04/16/09

@clevernamehere: I know, it's shocking to me that they like skinny women!

But what about us women who are within the healthy range? Why don't they find us attractive? Do we have too much fat on us for them to love us?
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Flackette Goes Retro
04/16/09

@tomatoheart: *Raises Hand* That is my size, and very close to my BMI (actually about 27). My doctor says I am not at a health risk. On the other hand, when I was 15 and refusing to eat, that probably qualified as a health risk.
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J.D.Regent
04/16/09

@clevernamehere: yeah I'm so sure these guys are scientifically selecting women based on health indicators. PLZ.
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tomatoheart
04/16/09

@Flackette is a bored flack: Yeah...i know my own body experience had me at about a size 10 when my bmi was about 28 or so. My bmi is now in the 30something range and I wear a size 16. I wouldn't mind being about 25 lbs lighter, but I'm not beating myself up over it. I go on 4 mile walks daily and don't fill myself up with crappy food.
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portia_sue
04/16/09

@clevernamehere: I just checked my own BMI, since my guy is skinny and I am not, to see how bad it is.....Wow, it's bad. My BMI is 28. I'm 5'5" and a 12 with big boobs. Really? I'm totally obese now?

I want to crawl into a hole. And I don't think my guy is a chubby chaser at all. Or is he?

Grrrr......
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
04/16/09

@clevernamehere: "I doubt it has even occurred to him that being underweight is health risk"

You know his mingy little status-obsessed mind has never even contemplated the idea.

A double BISH PLZ goes there.
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gobblegirl
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
OH MAN, I CANNOT STOP BEING MAD AT THIS ARTICLE (not the post, Megan, it's great).

Basically, it is saying that if you're a 'normal-sized' or bigger woman, only freaks want to bone you.

Fuck this noise. I'm sure that the original study was perfectly legit, just investigating attraction. Silly, perhaps, but legit. But the way LiveScience reported it is so, so, so dumb.

ARRGGHH! Someone get me something soft to punch, before I break my fist through my computer and regret it!
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sciencerules
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Does this study take into account that I would bone both Jason Segal at his tubbiest and Russell Brand? mmmmm.

Seriously, as a scientist, I'd like to see the reverse study done--just show *all* the people pictures of each other. It'd be fascinating.
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tomatoheart
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
Also...BMIs are kinda deceiving. I love Kate Harding's BMI Project
[kateharding.net]
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tomatoheart
04/16/09

@tomatoheart:
Here is a link to the flickr site that lists the women's specific weight and BMI
[www.flickr.com]
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gobblegirl
04/16/09

@tomatoheart: I'm going to give the scientist the benefit of the doubt and used photos of women who fit the 'standard' for that BMI, not just the really muscular girl who's bmi skews high, or whatever.
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gobblegirl
04/16/09

@tomatoheart: But you are right-it's not as scientific as people make it out to be, it's just a general guideline for maintaining a "healthy" weight. And it shouldn't be the same metric for men and women.
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brinkswomanship
04/16/09

In reply to Scientists Discover Some Men Do Find Non-Skinny Women Attractive
I am confused. So, men who identify as fat admirers... find overweight women attractive? Is that it? ... Is that not part of the definition of being a fat admirer?

God I feel stupid but I am seriously not getting it.
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Flackette Goes Retro
04/16/09

@brinkswomanship: Yes, and clearly they are freaks who need to be studied by psychologists, for having an aesthetic that favors heavier women.
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