Fat Bottomed Girls and the Erosion of
Female Self Worth
Do you ever find yourself apologising
for your size? It is a sad fact of life
that many women do these days. We've
become indoctrinated into thinking that
big is bad and thin is beautiful, and
that the emaciated waifs we see in the
media have the perfect must have figure.
Yet, history shows it's actually big
women that men find most attractive. The
works of Renaissance masters like
Botticelli and Rubens show that even the
Medieval female was the object of
immense fascination and scrutiny. Yet,
the women immortalised on these ancient
canvases little resemble the super slim
celebrities of the modern age. Rather,
Renaissance women were often depicted as
gloriously full figured, with full
bosoms, ample tummies and large bottoms.
Yet, they were still celebrated as
objects of beauty...
Centuries later, American WWII bomber
crews painted beautiful, plus sized
"blonde bombshells" on their aeroplanes
for good luck, and during the great
Hollywood era, film studios snapped up
busty actresses like Mae West and Jayne
Mansfield, more for their buxom features
than their acting abilities. The
celebrated ?hourglass? figures captured
on these celluloid archives continue to
fascinate men to this day.
Decades after her untimely death, buxom
beauty Marilyn Monroe, a definite plus
size by today's skinny standards, can
still hold her own even against the
sultriest modern pinups; and who can
forget Britain's very own blonde
bombshell, the late, and gloriously plus
sized, Diana Dors, still oozing sex
appeal at age 49, in Adam Ant's "Prince
Charming" video?
At a time when the term ?plus size? had
yet to achieve common usage, Dors
famously likened herself to a naughty
seaside postcard, and shamelessly sold
herself as ?the first home-grown sex
symbol?since Lady Godiva.? Loved in
Britain for her larger-than-life off
screen personality, Dors? considerable
acting skills all too often played
second fiddle to her ample figure, as
directors cast her again and again in
the role of curvaceous siren.
As frustrating as this certainly was for
talented actresses like Dors, they
nonetheless made the most of their ample
curves to forge highly successful
careers and maintain massive male fan
bases. It is curious also to note that
Dors, Monroe and West are all
immortalised on the front cover of the
Beatles? iconic album, Sgt. Pepper's
Lonely Hearts Club Band.
These women shot to stardom because the
film industry and other mass media were
dominated by men. At a time when
Feminism was still in its infancy, it
was men who dictated acceptable
standards of attractiveness. Busty,
curvaceous women were preferred over
skinny woman because this played to the
male fantasy of the perfect ?hourglass?
woman.
In contrast, modern celebrity women
increasingly draw their self image from
the plethora of glossy magazines
published by women. Such magazines, full
of air-brushed beauties and fascinating
yet often misguided articles, play a
significant role in our daily lives and
have a powerful, sometimes negative
impact on the way we see ourselves.
In recent decades, the dictates of such
media have reshaped our perception of
acceptable standards of attractiveness,
fashion and size. Thin is good, fat is
bad, and women the world over now live
in constant fear of gaining weight.
Authorities believe this has played a
significant contributory role in the
gradual erosion of female self worth.
Where women like Diana Dors were once
coveted by a male mass media, now they
are increasing the targets of ruthless
criticism and ridicule. Where magazines
once assisted women in their lives by
offering practical solutions to everyday
problems, today many serve to complicate
life. ?How much should I weigh?? ?How
young should I look?? ?What diet should
I be on?? are just some of the questions
modern women are confronted with
everyday by a celebrity-driven mass
media obsessed with perfection. Indeed,
recent research suggests that women
today are more concerned about putting
on weight than they are about developing
breast cancer!
Each week, myriad magazines churn out
the latest miracle diets and the latest,
often medically unsound advice on how
to lose pounds and get ourselves in
shape. The trouble is, these glossy
gospels frequently contradict themselves
and each other over what that shape is
supposed to be. As a result, confusion
reigns in the modern woman?s mind.
Eating disorders, self harming and
plummeting self esteem plague women
today as never before. Body Dysmorphic
Disorder (BDD), Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (OCD) and addiction to botox
treatments and plastic surgery are
likewise on the increase. And few can
now doubt the contribution that the mass
media has played, and still plays, in
the development of these hitherto
uncommon psychological occurrences.
Medical authorities are today rightly
concerned about the power these
magazines have over our daily lives.
After all, on what authority do the
female journalists behind these fonts of
feminine ?wisdom? base their advice?
Aren?t they just as obsessed with their
self image as the rest of us? Doesn't
the phrase ?does my bum look big in
this?? leap from their mouths as readily
as it does from ours? Rather like
Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we need
only draw back the curtain to expose
these self-appointed gurus for the
fallible gossip mongers that they really
are.
Perhaps there is more to be learned from
the practical and simplistic world of
men, where the term ?plus size? is more
likely to have a man rummaging around in
his toolbox than looking in the mirror.
Not that men don't care about how they
look - they do. Indeed, men are just as
vulnerable to the dictates of mass media
ideas as women are. But where a woman's
self worth is linked directly to her
physical attractiveness, a man's, in
contrast, is linked to his ability to
wield strength and power. Even when it
comes to bodies beautiful, a man?s
motivation differs from that of women...
Where the size of a woman?s cleavage can
be indicative of her sexual prowess, the
bulging biceps and rock hard abs craved
by men are rather intended to intimidate
other men than to attract the opposite
sex.
Studies have shown moreover, that, where
vanity is concerned, men are not
hampered by the same doubts that plague
a woman?s mind. Rather, men tend to see
themselves as being slimmer and than
they actually are; and, indeed, anyone
who has been to a British football match
will no doubt be familiar with the
plethora of bare chests and naked beer
bellies on display among the male
dominated crowd. Such confidence and
care-free exhibitionism has much to
endear itself.
So, what is wrong, anyway, with having
some beef on our bones? Studies have
shown that, when it comes to male
expectations of a desirable female
shape, women grossly exaggerate the
importance of slimness in the male
mindset. Moreover, history shows that
men?s tastes in female body shape have
remained more or less consistent
throughout the centuries. Big hips, a
large bust and a full bottom seem to be
the order of the day.
As British rock band, Queen once put it:
I've been singing with my band
Across the water, across the land,
I seen every blue eyed floozy on the
way, hey
But their beauty and their style
Wear kinda smooth after a while.
Take me to them lardy ladies every time!
Oh, you gonna take me home tonight?
Oh, down beside that red firelight;
Oh, you're gonna let it all hang out,
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin'
world go round.
Written by Queen guitarist Brian May,
this celebration of the full figured
woman was a 1978 UK hit single. The
front cover of ?Fat Bottomed Girls?
controversially featured a curvaceous,
semi-naked woman on a bicycle, while the
lyrics expressed in a humorous yet
overtly sexual tone that bigger women
are more seductive and sexually
appealing to men.
British male television viewers seem to
share this opinion. In 2006, plus size
TV presenter, Fern Britton was voted one
of the TV's most desirable women; and in
the world of comedy, larger-than-life
comic actress Dawn French is still
considered by many men as one of Britain
's sexiest celebrities. So much so, that
even Sheffield hunk, Sean Bean, star of
Sharpe, Troy and The Lord of the Rings,
couldn't resist a cameo appearance with
her in the hit UK sitcom, The Vicar of
Dibley.
Clearly, women are missing something
here. Perhaps men are not as fascinated
by the emaciated skeletons we see in the
media as we might think. Like men,
perhaps we, too, should see ourselves as
better than we actually are, rather than
hating ourselves for what we're not.
It's easy to regard today's super slim
celebrities as the benchmark of feminine
beauty. But it is worth remembering that
the most beautiful woman in history is
not to be found in the pages of our
glossy magazines, nor is she seen
strutting down the catwalks of the
fashion world. Nor, indeed, is she
captured by photographers on the red
carpets of Hollywood.
Rather, she stares silently at us from
the panelled walls of the Paris Louvre
like a goddess...
She is, of course, the Mona Lisa, a
woman whose mysterious, fulsome
features, wry smile and enigmatic beauty
have captivated the world for centuries.
Her creator, Leonardo Da Vinci obsessed
over her, and for 500 years men have
desired her. Some, perhaps, have even
killed for her. And yet, she has never
had a makeover nor purchased a new
outfit.
Today, she's worth more than ?200
million...
What better endorsement of the plus size
woman than that?
Do you ever find yourself apologising for your size? It is a
sad fact of life that many women do these days. We've become
indoctrinated into thinking that big is bad and thin is
beautiful, and that the emaciated waifs we see in the media
have the perfect must have figure...
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