Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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A Response to "Real Women Have Curves?"
Editor's Note: This entry is a response to the post, "Real Women Have Curves?"
Before we start, I agree with the over all point of the post. A woman is a woman no matter what her size or shape, and should be damn proud of that. However, I would like to examine a statement made in response to the post. This is in no way an attack on the poster of said comment, I simply feel that this person put the general feelings some people have into words better than most.
"I have observed that the women who say "real women have curves" are fat women who are trying to feel better about themselves. that sounds harsh, and maybe it is, but when you are too lazy to take care of your own body, yet so insecure you have to try to belittle people who do in order to feel better about yourself."
Okay, I am going to sort of pick this apart so bear with me.
I used to work for a plus-size company and can tell you that it is not the "fat, lazy women" who are coming up with these slogans. It is in fact the skinny marketing director behind the desk of a large company who comes up with it to plaster all over the stores that the company owns to make woman feel better about themselves and buy said clothing.
Now, I agree that the slogan is sort of demeaning to all the skinny people out there, but let me ask you this:
Why is it that when a plus-size woman, who is such by means that are unbeknownst to anyone, because not all of us are fat because we are lazy and eat a lot, uses a slogan to make herself feel better it is wrong, but when a skinny girl walks by said plus size woman and makes crude remarks it is okay?
Let's be honest here, stores that market to predominately skinny/fit people have plenty of their own slogans and practices that put down larger people, too. I need not even bring up the fact that all someone of a larger frame has to do is step one foot inside of an Abercrombie and Fitch store and they are either given snide remarks and looks or simply asked to leave. All this slogan has done is level out the playing field a bit.
While I think the slogan does get misused quite a bit, I believe that it is great thing for plus-sized people because it allows them to feel better about themselves. Personally, I am all for someone feeling good about themselves.
I think that in all honesty, the people who find it offensive see it as such because they have never been overweight, whether through medical problems or laziness. They look at it as being some sort of personal attack, when in fact all it is is just a slogan created by plus-size clothing companies. They do not realize just how great a statement like this is to a plus-sized woman who has issues finding clothes that fit because of her weight. Sure the obvious solution is to lose weight, but that is not always as easy as we would like it to be.
Like I said, I agree with the original posts overall points, I just feel that people believe that this one slogan is in some way negative when it is in fact quite positive. Do you agree?
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- From: sarahb_86@xanga
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Comments (93)
Exactly what I'd been thinking.
ditto
I was hoping a response would be written. I agree.
Like I said in your personal entry, I totally agree with you but I feel like some people took my post the wrong way. All I wanted to point out was that we are all beautiful women no matter what body shape and that the statement real women have curves I feel should be a statement that includes all women and all our beautiful shapes and sizes.
"I think that in all honesty, the people who find it offensive see it as such because they have never been overweight, whether through medical problems or laziness."
^Wrong.
I wasn't the original poster, but I agree with her. I wasn't even sure what you were trying to say in this post - that it was okay that overweight women belittle others because some people have belittled them? or, like your ending question suggested, that that phrase is positive? Either way, I don't agree.
I agree [:
I agree. Its a harsh reality that people hate to face. Companies that want you to buy things will belittle you and praise others in order to get you to buy their products. Its called consumerism.
I think you're absolutely right, and that the people who get offended really are ignorant of the way things work. They typically ignore the obvious belittlement of people different from them because they don't care; they fit in whatever clique they want to be a part of and don't think about others. Same goes both ways, kids.
Why cant we all be friends? :(
I agree with this post!
I'm really surprised that someone actually commented that overweight people are "too lazy to take care of your own body"....I can't believe that some people are that ignorant >:[
anyways I agree to this post and the original one too.
@nerdishh8D@xanga - I think you just perhaps still don't understand the purpose of the quote. The point of it is to be a rebuttal to our society's expectations of the female form and the constant psychological damage that is done to those who don't fit that expectation. Companies came up with this slogan to give women of bigger sizes more confidence and to get them to buy more; when you're depressed you rarely feel like shopping to be frank. While it is a ploy to get people to buy things, I don't see what the problem with it is.
All I can say is that you most likely have a different opinion because you (as the poster said) have never been of a larger size and feel the need to defend yourself against society no longer favoring you. But that's just an assumption.
If you have a problem with this slogan then you should have a problem with practically ALL advertising.
@noree_n@xanga - sooooo true, i hate it when people judge people... we are all human.. we need to help eachother out, not bring eachother down!!
story about Abercrombie and Fitch: they're not biased against fat people. they're biased against everyone else too. just pick your 'else' and they'll be snide to them too -.- so you have no argument there.
and leveling out the playing field? really? by putting down girls with boyish figures? what are we, elementary schoolers?
and honestly, i see it as offensive, as a personal attack because i was a fattie :P who actually started to focus in on the issue and lose weight. i ended up not having big, natural curves. yay. it's not easy to lose weight, not it's not as hard as some people want to think it is.
and btw, america ferrera is not fat. she's just latino :)
@lovechartreuse@xanga - When I said '^Wrong', that was to say that that wasn't true at all. I know what it's like to have been a larger side; I know what it's like yet I still feel that way.
It's a ploy to get people to buy things and that's all fine and dandy, but when it's saying that "real" women are ones that have curves, it's suggesting that women who are not curvy are not "real women". All women are 'real', no matter what size. That's like saying that "real" women have their ribs showing. If that was a slogan to get people to buy clothes, everyone would go insane; when it's the other way around, people are saying it's positive and defending it. Either way, it's excluding a group of women from the "real" woman catagory.
@nerdishh8D@xanga - I wonder what you mean by larger size when it comes to you but either way you're arguing against consumerism but then saying its ok to get people to buy things. That's highly contradictory. Companies will ALWAYS exclude a group of people, whether they mean to or not. They all have target audiences.
Did you ever stop to think you're reading the slogan wrong? You're saying that its belittling to skinny people, but did you ever think it could mean something completely different? What if it meant that women who don't follow society's stereotypes and pressures and think for themselves are real women?
@xsPoNgEs_go_SQUISHx13@xanga - "story about Abercrombie and Fitch: they're
not biased against fat people. they're biased against everyone else
too. just pick your 'else' and they'll be snide to them too -.- so you
have no argument there."
Really? Can you name an else? Because you just said they're not biased against fat people, and then right after that you said they were and everyone else. That's called a contradiction.
" it's not easy to lose weight, not it's not as hard as some people want to think it is."
It varies between people, it might not have been hard for you but for others it could be, so don't assume its the same for everyone. And don't assume that everyone is overweight for the same reason. There is a VAST amount of reasons for it.
good post :)
@lovechartreuse@xanga - Have you ever heard of the phrase "fine and dandy", or "good and well"? It means that it is what it is; it's there. It's not saying you support it or disagree with it, it just is.
If it was created by people trying to sell something, I doubt they would look deeper into it than trying to get bigger women to buy their products. Nonetheless, I don't see how curvy can translate into thinking for youself. I can see not following society's stereotypes, but I still don't see how that makes someone a 'real woman'.
However, it's pointless even arguing this because I'm obviously never going to change your opinion and you're never going to change mine. We'll keep on debating until our fingers are sore, so I'm finished.
"Let's be honest here, stores that market to predominately skinny/fit people have plenty of their own slogans and practices that put down larger people, too. I need not even bring up the fact that all someone of a larger frame has to do is step one foot inside of an Abercrombie and Fitch store and they are either given snide remarks and looks or simply asked to leave. All this slogan has done is level out the playing field a bit."
lol. not true. i would like a legitimate example of practices or slogans that put down larger people in the same sense as that slogan does towards woman without curves. i agree with the overall message of this post, but that paragraph was ignorant. i have heavier friends who have never had a problem at abercrombie and fitch. maybe you encountered a random asshole who gave you the wrong look, but that's hardly representative of a store's practice.
some people just aren't even trying to understand the point.
"real women have curves" should be a rallying cry for all women who do not fit the "standard Barbie" size that is nothing but fantasy. The few people that really look like that are either between the ages of 14-21, and that "standard" stage in ones life is so fleeting.
Real women have curves is a statement that feminine beauty is not about an obsession with skinny. It is a cry for the real representation of how MOST women in america are: most of us aren't supermodels. Even the skinny skinny girls. They're not Heidi Klum.
Let's not water ourselves down ladies, and loose the power we have when we speak with one voice.
@noree_n@xanga - Such a blithe comment in the midst of serious and intense comments; I lol'd.
While you have ur point of view and the person on the original post has her point of view. I still think that to use slogans or anymeans possible to belittle others is wrong. Why do we have to belittle each other anyways ("fat" people belittle skinny and vice versa)? I know the world isn't perfect and not everyone have the same logic. There are always those, who are envious/jealous and of course there are those, who are understanding and respectful. There are always 2 sides to everything and many ways to interpret one phrase/sentence and I think this is where the misunderstanding comes in. Anyways, I'm one of the people in the "silver lining." Don't judge anything until both sides of an argument are presented to you (and even then, is everything you see & hear the truth?).
@jst_believe@xanga - i totally agree with you.
we all come in all shapes and sizes, who is to say that being thin and skinny is only definition of beauty.
@nerdishh8D@xanga -
"Have you ever heard of the phrase "fine and
dandy", or "good and well"? It means that it is what it is; it's there.
It's not saying you support it or disagree with it, it just is."
Not seeing the point of this statement, its highly irrelevant.
"If it was created by people trying to sell
something, I doubt they would look deeper into it than trying to get
bigger women to buy their products."
I'm pretty sure they would; how else would they know their ploy would work if it was irrelevant to their lives?
"Nonetheless, I don't see how curvy can
translate into thinking for youself. I can see not following society's
stereotypes, but I still don't see how that makes someone a 'real
woman'."
Obviously that's your opinion, and others have a different opinion. Turns out a majority of the people it applies to disagrees with you. But these are all just opinions.
you women are crazy lol. i know i am one too but goddamn, look at how we lash out on each other! about bodies! about looks! are you guys as shallow as the person who makes fat jokes or the plus-size girl who hates skinny girls? is this the way to make one type or one side of the argument feel more superior than the other? does this solve anything? lets talk about the girl who think she to fat and is nearly killing herself in order to feel good. lets talk about the obeast hospital patient who can't even walk up a flight of stairs without help. lets be aware of these disorders and diseases that are affiliated with being UNHEALTHY, not being over or under weight! lets talk about some real issues, not this bullshit!