Ideal body image

[jack]

Finally, two too many people are on my friendslist compaining about other people's attempts to help weight loss made me think of this. Many people are overweight and need to do something about it, this is unarguable and not what I want to discuss.

But there's also the strange thing that the ideal image seems to be way too thin. It used to be the case that fat was seen as beautiful, because it meant you were rich and had enough to eat, whereas poor people weren't and didn't[1].

Will we experience a resurgence of this? Certainly probably the richest people tend to do office work and not have spare time, which isn't a recipe for staying in shape. On the other hand, I can think of a few reasons for the status quo:

* Maybe success correlates with self-control correlates with body image
* It's an overreaction to people being overweight. So much effort is put into losing weight people forget the goal is a healthy weight, and try to continue to lose weight afterwards.
* It's just self-perpetuating. Standards of beauty get reinforced because everyone tries to live up to them, so it takes a long time for anything else to take hold
* Maybe it's a complete myth. Maybe no-one actually does like looking at skeletally thin people at all, but fashion magazines are just print them anyway because they're really stupid or in a modern art rotting cow way .

[1] Or so I've always heard. I haven't looked for a historical cite to confirm that.

Comments

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Like someone or other said, “I have noticed that it is acceptable to be rude about thin people.”

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

ROFL. True. Thin people are the new black fat people!

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I'd go that far; there is far more propaganda, and more of it negative, directed at the heavier end of the scales than the lighter. Just, you know, pointing out that it's still rubbish either way.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

But we're being *ahead* of the curve. There's definite backlash against the (common) criticism of fat people, but mocking thin people[1] doesn't seem to yet produce the same volume of defense...?

[1] Excepting those with eating disorders which have been named, and starving people.

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

I see quite a lot of it about :( Also generally everywhere stuff on how to lose weight, people saying to the effect of "I wish I was clinically underweight like you" &c. &c.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Three years ago, I was slightly underweight (BMI < 20). And everyone kept telling me how fantastic I looked, and how they wished they could be like that, and how fantastic it was that I was eating as much as I could and was still losing weight. The reality was that I was ill, and unfit.

Today, people tell me that they're jealous that I'm superfit*, and wish they could be like that.

*I'm not, I should point out, it's just what they say! They're basing it on silly measures like being able to run 3km in less than 20 minutes, rather than anything sensible.