My mom always told me that "the size on the tag is just a suggestion. it all depends on how the factory worker felt that day when he or she put it together." And this is so true. I own clothes that are 6s, 8s, 10s, and 12s. I find that if I go to Gap for jeans, I should bring 3 pairs of size 10s into the dressing room - one pair will be too big, one will be too small and one will fit just perfectly.

Like most women, I have issues with my body and my weight. I'm 5'4 and about 138. My boyfrfend tells me i'm beautiful and that he loves my body and I don't need to change. But I just feel that I'll be happier with myself when I'm down to a 6 or a 4.

This weight issue makes me sad :( and mad :mad: ! My cousin as a h.s. freshman nearly dieted herself to death with anorexia. The doctor told her that if she lost one more pound she would die. He would have to put her in a hospital where they could monitor her heart, kidneys, and liver and feed her through tubes if she didn't start to eat. Thankfully, she received proper medical help and was able to recover. Now she is well, but it was a long struggle. Now certainly there are several reasons for anorexia, but societal pressure is one.

Women and girls are drained of so much energy worrying about their weight and bodies and appearance. I'm too fat/thin, short/tall, etc. The energy that women and girls spend on their looks could be used to cultivate well rounded minds and build strong character.

So big or small, fat or thin, young or old, ladies accept yourselves and each other for who we are. :D

amen and amen
 

all girls deserve quality clothes no matter the size
mmcat:D

Maybe it is the other way around. Bigger women gravitating towards little guys and petite women gravitating towards bigger guys.

I really have to agree with this statement. Do guys generally like smaller women? Yes. Are we not feeding you so that you get that way? No. Am I a jerk? Yes....but it's the truth

You're right...we, and other women, are our worse critics. Guys can be insensitive about this issue, but I think women can be much worse. However, even though we recognize that, it doesn't stop.

I agree that women are harder on themselves than men are on women. It definitely seems like women's perception of the "ideal female body" is significantly thinner than what men think is ideal for women. Look at the women in Playboy. Of course they're slim, and in shape, but they look big next to the sorts of models who are usually in women's fashion magazines. Sometimes I'll be watching TV with a guy friend and he'll comment on a woman in a bikini... he'll say "she's too thin" when I think she looks really good, or just about right. I think guys don't generally prefer really scrawny women. As long as a girl isn't so big his friends would make fun of him (like fat rolls all over the place, or a disproportionately huge gut), it seems like most really do like a "normal" reasonably toned, curvy female body.

Oh my gosh!! I LOVE this thread. I am what people would probably consider a “big” girl (I'm 5’7”, and I wear size 10 on a REALLY good day and sometimes all the way up to a size 16 on a NOT so good day). I have no problem saying that I am a very beautiful girl. I absolutely LOVE my body, and honestly, I don’t have any desire to be thinner. I am not just saying that bc I’m “big” and trying to make the best of my “larger size” by telling people I like the way I am. I REALLY DO love the way I am. I have never had ANY trouble getting attention from guys, I get dates regularly, and I have had my share of very attractive boyfriends, all of whom were (and I’m sure still are, yes, I’m pretty confident) absolutely CRAZY about my body. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing thin girls (and guys) at ALL, I don’t have a problem with smaller people, and its not like I think that a size 6 is unattractive or anything, but I think it would be unattractive for me. I don’t think I would be happy at that size, but that’s not to say that I don’t see beautiful girls all the time that are smaller sizes. Everyone is beautiful. I really believe that as long as you are healthy (that can go for both those who are too large, AND those who are too small), you are beautiful. So anyways, just wanted to say how much I absolutely LOVE this thread, and that if you are a “big” girl, please do not feel ashamed because that is what the fashion world wants you to think. They are just trying to sell clothes, and most of the times, the clothes that they are selling really only look good on those thinner types, its like they have forgotten how to make clothes that look attractive on women. I have noticed recently that many of the clothing you see in the stores look like they are for little 11 yr old girls, NOT women!!! It drives me crazy to think that the world today thinks it is sexy to look like a child rather than a woman!! Children are not sexy to me. Women are. Just my thoughts…

PM_Mama00, thanks for this thread!!! I'm loving it, too!!!

I've been a big girl all my life. I've always made sure that I look my best, and it's not in spite of my size, but it's just because I look good damn it!

Honestly, we women do make it harder on ourselves. I truly believe that the media is a great influence on our attitudes, especially young girls. Throughout middle and high school, I just knew that I was the only girl in the world with a bottom half larger than the top half. I laways thought that big girls had to be stuck with polyester blends, ugly patterns, and no way to be cute. It took a long time for me to realize that there are girls out there that don't have a perfect shape (according to fashionistas and society).

As for me, I love myself dearly. No matter what size I'll be, I've finally learned that my personality is the greatest selling point. Basically, if you don't like what you see, kiss off. There's more to me than what I look like, but I am quite a cutie. :p

I think pressure comes from both sides. We all have different tastes and thin is just one more...women like to compete and I think that is were that comes from...either way, it will not go away...

What I hate to see is polished women that aren't a size 6 not get bids or invites b/c of their weight...I mean really!

Weight, something I struggle with everyday.

I have tried alot of stupid things in my life to lose the excess wieght. As a freshman in high school a friend and I used to think we were "cool" because we puked our food up after we ate. I gave up on that notion though. Puking definietly wasnt for me. It mostly just made me feel worse. My senior year of high school I was down to 170 pounds. Which was great for me. I have a large body frame and 170 pounds made me look really really good. I am not sure how I lost all that weight, maybe because my senior year was nothing but running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But I did lose it healthy. I still ate, I walked and did other types of exercise. I felt good. Then I came to college and the freshman 15 was gained. But it just wouldnt stop! I was getting huge. In my eyes I was anyways, but then I found a guy who loved me for all I was. He told me I was beautiful. Even though when we first met I weighed about 20 pounds less than I did at the point that we started dating. We have sense broke up and I now no longer blame my lack of boyfreind on my wegith, in fact my most recent ex weighs probably about 50 pounds less than me and he still thinks that I am beautiful too! :) So it isnt the size that matters it is the person underneath the size. I strongly believe this. But I still feel that I need to lose weight. I would love to be backto the healthy 170 that I was when I graduated high school. I felt my best then. For being 5'8 that is still pretty heavy. So I am going to try my best to lose the weight that I seem to have found in college, but never be ashamed of hwat I am. I am a big girl and I will always be a big girl and that is something I have learned to accept. I just need to feel healthy again. I hope this post made sense! knowing me it didnt! haha.

Alright, I had to respond to this thread. Coming from a person that is 5'11", is big boned, and has some extra pounds... I think that it's funny to see some people, who think they're fat... when they're really not.

I have numerous amounts of friends that are incrediably pretty, not to mention small in size... And they think they're huge. Really though. I laugh everytime I'm hanging out with them, and they're like, "I need to go on a diet... I'm so fat... Look at me, I'm bloated!" WTF?! Come on now... Is it that drastic???

I take pride in my body. Yes, I have hips, and yes, I have some thighs on me... And thank God I'm well endowed in the upper body! It's just like the India Arie song, "...But I've learned to love myself unconditionally, because I am a queen!"

I'm not ashamed to admit that I shop at "bigger" stores. But that's only because places like Forever 21, Wet Seal, and the Gap don't understand that if they make bigger clothes, they'll make bigger bucks!!!

Lemme tell you a quick story... My cousin is tiny... I mean she's TINY!!! (even after she had a kid!) Anyways, we went shopping, and there was a store that she wanted to go into. I walked in first, not knowing that she stopped to tie her shoelaces. Anyways, the sales assistant was like, "Can I help you?" in such a nasty voice. I just told her no, going over to look at some tee shirts. The sales asst. went over to another sales asst. and was like, "What is that fat cow doing in here? Does she think that she'll be able to fit into any of our clothes?" By this time, my cousin was walking in, and heard everything that they said. She turned to them and said, "No, but I think I would... and now I think I need your store manager's name, and the number to your corporate office." Anyways, we ended up leaving, and my cousin did end up filing a complaint with their corporate...

Alrighty, I've talked enough. Thanks for listening!!! :D

~Beth

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:
omg i DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE! :mad:

Good for her!!! That was inexcusably rude and uncalled for.

I love that India Arie song! It reminds me of the way I feel about myself!

Accepting what you are is the only way to become who you are.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :)