[Juno]

I’m guessing you probably resemble the nudes in Titian’s paintings (body-wise, anyway), or those old statues of Greek goddesses when you’re a little bit heavier. Standards of beauty change from society to society and era to era. This societally agreed standard is reached haphazardly and is a topic of fierce debate in sociology; however, it is generally agreed that media (television, pictures, paintings, engravings, statues) serves merely to propagate and enforce this standard, rather than create it.

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Name : Juno, Gender : M, Race : Asian, Religion : Orthodox Christian, Age : 21, City : Richmond, State : VA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[John]

I recently lost 20 pounds. I’ll tell you why I generally avoid overweight women as dating partners. It’s not just because I find them less attractive. For me, being overweight was part of a lifestyle. There was a direct link between how I ate and how I felt, and there’s often a viscious cycle between looking bad and low self-esteem as well. As a healthy man, I do not want to be with a woman who isn’t healthy or possibly has a ton of self-esteem issues. It’s crazy that women blame Paris Hilton and men for not accepting them. Go to the doctor, have him do a body fat analysis to see if you fall within normal range (if you’re normal, you shouldn’t worry about Paris, be yourself!) and if you’re too heavy, go to the gym and eat better. Take action for your own life and stop blaming genetics.

User Detail :  

Name : John, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Springville, State : NY, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Christopher]

I would argue that people who become overweight ARE lazy and don’t take care of themselves. The quality of their work may not suffer, and they may in every other respect be functional members of society, but being overweight has a direct correlation to an inactive lifestyle and unhealthy diet (save extremely rare ‘glandular’ or ‘metabolism’ issues). Any employer conciously or subconciously is going to hire/reward/respect healthier people. However, our culture has taken the ideal to the extreme. We now find impossibly thin women disgracing the covers of every magazine under the sun. The anorexic-thin model is used to sell everything from cars to software to vacations. This extreme is unacceptable because it makes people strive and respect something that is simply unobtainable. But I also believe being overweight is equally disgusting. Healthy people look healthy and will be rewarded socially for it. Natural selection?

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Name : Christopher, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Designer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dustin-V]

The media doesn’t decide what an ideal woman looks like. It finds what most people like and uses that. Except for the fashion industry. For some reason, they use women who are so skinny they look like skeletons. The differences you are seeing aren’t because of the media, they are because being overweight is simply unattractive. It is unattractive because it is obviously unhealthy. The ‘no respect’ part is because attractive people seem more competent, so less attractive people seem less competent.

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Name : Dustin-V, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : Bellevue, State : WA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Camille T.]

I was overweight for three years, then lost the weight. Maybe it may have something to do with your attitude when you are heavier. For example, when I was a normal weight, I was outgoing, athletic, opinionated and funny. When I gained weight, I was reluctant to go to clubs with friends and co-workers. When I went out to eat with friends, I couldn’t enjoy it because I was always dieting. I was very self -conscious when I gained weight. I used to start conversations with everyone, but at my heavier weight, I stopped doing that. Now that I lost the weight, I am friendly and outgoing again.

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Name : Camille T., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : New York, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[DBBO28606]

Typing for my son (16): I appreciate big women because they put up with stuff skinny people don’t. And when it comes down to it, it’s more cushion for the pushing. And big women need to understand big women are the IN THING now. If you lose too much, you’ll join the anorexic crew, and be a wash.

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Name : DBBO28606, Gender : F, Disability : Deaf, Race : Black/African American, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Stacia V.]

I’ve also been a lifelong weight yo-yo — by as much as 100 lbs. I think I was treated differently during the times I was thin, but I also think I presented myself differently – until I realized I was the same person no matter what weight I was, I think I projected more confidence when I was thin, and others responded in kind. When I was uncomfortable with being overweight, I tended to be more guarded with others. Currently, I’m heavier than I’ve ever been in my life (my medical chart says morbidly obese), but I am in good health and am happy and comfortable with myself, and I also have more friends now than ever before. I no longer stick to dark colors and avoid stripes — I embrace my size as part of who I am. I even teach body image to middle school girls!

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Name : Stacia V., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : I borrow from all faiths to form my own, Age : 40, City : Burnham, State : PA, Country : United States, Occupation : Social Worker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ems25411]

I know what you mean but Ive also been on the opposite end of the spectrum. When I was very thin (75-poundish) I was treated like a complete freak and actually worse than I ever was when I was heavy. Complete strangers thought it was their place to tell me to cover up, to eat more, to call me an Anorexic b***h. Women were actually the worst. Also, there are no taboos in the media on “Skinny” jokes, but there’s a growing concern not to make fat jibes. I think it has a bit to do with the media, a bit to do with guilt about their own weight (I mean this applying to thin and larger people). Anyone who is not the ‘norm’ is treated this way, though it is not right.

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Name : Ems25411, City : Enland, State : WY, Country : United Kingdom, 

[Kelly]

have you never seen any rennaissance art? believe me, skinny was not in back in the day. botticelli’s painting of venus shows the goddess of love, THE ideal woman, and i can assure you that nowadays she’d be considered pudgy.

User Detail :  

Name : Kelly, Gender : F, Age : 28, City : Houston, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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