Brits Like 'Em Big?

Friday, August 1, 2008

filed under: fashion logic

A U.K. fashion magazine conducted a survey to find the perfect body. Do you think the results would be the same here in the U.S.?

Men are a mystery -- we're never quite sure what they consider "the perfect woman." One minute they tell us they don't like us to wear too much makeup, the next they're ogling some tramp on the street who's made up like a hooker. Or a real hooker. Then there are the body questions. Do men really love "handles" or do they lust after the waifish starving model look?

Fabulous, a U.K. fashion magazine, conducted a survey to try to get to the big bottom of the ideal woman conundrum and discovered men and women have conflicting opinions on what's a hot bod. Here at the office, we were very, very happy with results -- most of us have size 10 nailed -- until we asked the only guy who works here for his pick. He immediately choose Tillie, the size 6, as his perfect woman. Of course, no one has spoken to him since.

Blimey, what gives? Do our steak-and-kidney-pie-eating (820 calories a serving!) British cousins just like a little more meat on their bones? Or do you think -- based on this survey -- we can all lay off our diets and not worry so much about body image?

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121 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

I agree with Jocelyn. It’s really about being happy with yourself. Personally I’m an American male who, though I find all three models quite attractive, I’d go more for the Anna’s and Caroline’s out there as the “perfect” woman. I like them with a little meat on the bones…I guess I should move back to the land of my forefathers or something…

- Anonymous

Posted 09/05/08 05:54 PM

It’s not the actual weight IMO ( up to a certain point) it’s how its distributed- the aesthetics, the shape and the line. The hip to waist ratio and all that. You can be heavier and have a nice curvy shape or you can look like a big blob of cheese if the weight is in all the wrong places. I think “caroline”, the third model has a nicer shape than the first girl even though she is a bigger size. Also you can be a much thinner woman, even skinny and still have a nice sexy shape depending on how it’s distributed and how your bones are set. You can also be thin and look horrid because you have no curve definition or poor proportion. The model in the middle still looks nice because does have some nice lines to her body like her hip curve. Anna, the first model might be the ideal size but to me her body is less eye pleasing than the other two… Seems like she doesn’t have much of a waist and her bum is a little flat up top.

- kiki

Posted 09/06/08 12:40 AM

I think rather than picking apart women’s bodies we should have some snapshots of men’s testicles. Low swingin’? Firm and attractive? Sorry but all these guys judging these pictures… I dare you to whip out your privates and let’s see if I’m impressed or repulsed… Men have the nastiest package to offer up into the sexual arena yet they judge. We put up with their imperfections and we enjoy them just the same. No one is perfect and the human body IS what it is. I’m a size 12. Used to be a 6. It happens

- Lily

Posted 09/06/08 01:47 AM

and furthermore… show me a guy who would turn down any lay? Come on… men can sit around with their playboy magazines and fantasize that that one in a billion girl is going to show up in the first place and then decide she wants him but reality is most men and women have average bodies and there’s still lots of sex going on and people enjoy it just fine. The ‘ideal’ woman does not exist. If men have the right to expect a size zero then women have the right to expect Paul Newman good looks and not the schlubs we see out there

- Lily

Posted 09/06/08 01:54 AM

If your husband would leave you if you were a size 10, he’s gonna leave you anyway. Wake up! Wow

- Tina

Posted 09/07/08 11:26 AM

hello girls

- qweeffyhh

Posted 09/16/08 07:18 PM

Personally, I think all of these girls are beautiful, in their own way. It really depends on how we carry ourselves and how confident we are to wear clothes that hug our figures perfectly. I know CaraClark has been getting a lot of flack because of her comment on her husband leaving her if she were as “fat” as Anna. Sorry, I have to agree with those people. If you have to meet up to your man’s expectations of being thin to be beautiful, then you’re just as vain as he is. Honestly, any woman can have a super thin body, but not always have a gorgeous face. I’ve seen plenty of women with gorgeous faces and curvier figures. But, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it’s all about preference. But, this doesn’t take away the insecurities. I’m sure that there a lot of women out there who are insecure about their bodies, no matter what size they are. I’m proud of myself that I’ve already lost 40 lbs. I have curves and I think I am proportioned well for a size 10. But, I still have a desire to lose 25 more lbs. Everyone tells me that I am fine now, but I don’t always see what they see. I mean, I’m fine where I am at now, but I know I can improve. I want to be at a weight that’s healthy and perfect for my bone structure/figure. I want a little meat on my bones. While women shouldn’t always admire the slim figure, they shouldn’t hate their bodies just the way that they are. There are always insecurities, it happens…There’s always room for improvements. It really depends on how good you feel about yourself. It’s better to live under your expectations and no one else’s.

- Trisha

Posted 09/18/08 09:30 PM

30 pounds over their maximum weight for their height they are Fat, there are plenty of people who like fat bodies,I’m not one of them, unless the pounds are caused by a medical condition they intake too much and don’t burn enough calories off, there is a balance between! If they can’t lose two pounds a week they care very little about their mate or themselves

- Chris

Posted 10/05/08 09:30 PM

WOW the blonde lady is SO beautiful *drewls* I like real women. Anything under a 10(us) for me is kinda gross (reminds me way too much of my daughter when I see thin women), I dunno that’s just my opinion.

- Dave

Posted 10/08/08 01:52 AM

I’m in the US and (physically) I’d strongly prefer Anna for sure … my wife is a lot like Anna, and with all honesty, I think that’s just HOT … too many people think that skinnier is better, I wish girls would really realize that as long as they are nice and have a good attitude (and are comfortable with their body and confident), anywhere within a 20lb range of Caroline really isn’t going to be anything that’s ever brought up by the guy … if I asked a group of 100 men (while they were ALONE) which they prefer, I bet 80/100 would say Anna or Caroline - but they think that other guys will think they are weird for liking anything but a stick figure supermodel girl, the problem is that ALL of the guys are afraid of what other guys are thinking about their GF’s when most all of them would actually agree with each other if they had a ‘brave’ conversation … luckily, the girls with a little more weight on them are becoming more and more popular and accepted, so maybe girls will start being more confident that they are beautiful even though they look more like Anna than Tillie - all 3 of these girls are HOT though, so the results of this should be taken with a grain of salt

- chris

Posted 11/12/08 06:01 PM

I like Caroline the most

- Anonymous

Posted 02/10/09 11:24 PM

Women have a higher standard then men… huh. I believe it. We are our greatest enemy. But I think all these women are very lovely.

- Evie

Posted 02/11/09 05:10 AM

I’m a UK male and I’d go for Tillie ideally but they’re all yummy!

- Hugo Boss

Posted 03/08/09 05:31 PM

I like all 3.

- Mike

Posted 03/29/09 04:42 AM

Marilyn Monroe was size 14 (UK). I think that it really doesn’t matter if a woman is slightly bigger. If you’re happy you’re happy. It’s sad if any body considers these women too thin or too fat- they’re just women and they’re beautiful because they believe it.

- Anonymous

Posted 04/04/09 07:42 PM

i’m from the u.s and i’m for caroline and anna mmmhmmm… i’ll take a woman like that. :-)

- joseph

Posted 05/13/09 11:49 PM

““Just because size 14 is the average doesn’t make it healthy or attractive.” I agree. A size that big for average just means that society as a whole is getting fatter” - Actually if you look at paintings such as Boticceli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ and others dating back to the 15th centuary you will see that the ideal female form has been pretty much the same for the last few hundred years, it is simple our obsession with the idea that skinny automatically means healthier (simply not the case) which has become more influential

- Anonymous

Posted 05/31/09 08:08 AM

Just for the record hardly anyone in the uk eats steak and kidney pie. thats a stereotype which is waaaayyy off the mark.

- Arianna

Posted 06/28/09 08:23 PM

CaraClark, if you were dumb enough to marry a man who looks at you as a piece of meat and not a person, and you expect people to take your opinion seriously? Get a life. I look like maybe in between Ann and Caroline, and my husband of 13 years is crazy about me.

- Amanda

Posted 08/14/09 04:45 PM

I think all you who are judging thick women should stop! If you have the nerve to look at someone and say “she’s fat” then you aren’t very happy with yourself. Stop worrying about other women, and take care of you. Personally I don’t think a size 12 is fat and I don’t think a 4 is too skinny. Different people have diferent body types, get over it!

- heidi

Posted 09/06/09 12:14 PM