Calling All the curvy girlies

Curvy, big boned and hourglass are just a few of the words that are being used to quite simply describe anyone whose dress size is over a size eight.

Well, it's time to quash all that nonsense. Here's a list of who/what should be classified as super duper rather than super-sized.

The Women.

Marilyn Monroe - Marilyn set the stakes for what is classified as a “real woman.” Whatever drama may have gone on in her private life, her voluptuous figure was deemed as healthy, natural for her shape and size and iconic enough to still be revered in 2012.
Ashwarya Rai - Mere weeks after giving birth in November 2011, this actress was hounded by critics for not shedding her baby weight. People were sceptical as to whether she would even appear at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year in lieu of such negative comments. However, the Bollywood princess bravely bounced back and took a stand for women everywhere by embracing her appearance in front of the cameras rather than shying away from them. Finally, someone who puts motherhood before celebrity.
Michelle Obama - This one might come as a surprise, but it just goes to show how warped the media's perception of appearance can be. The First Lady regularly works out but her toned physique has sparked comments calling her masculine and ugly. It seems that people are associating fit and muscular with 'unskinny' and therefore unattractive.

The Characters

Tracey Turnblad - The star of the hit musical Hairspray, who chases her dream of dancing on television but is turned away purely because of her size. Her sheer determination, enthusiasm and passion not only ensures she achieves her goal but she also integrates 1960s Baltimore.
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Nessa - Whilst Gavin and Stacey has long been off our screens, Ruth Jones' portrayal of Welsh tough cookie Nessa will forever be remembered. Nessa's deadpan expressions combined with her unashamed dress sense made for comedy gold. Nessa was a take it or leave it kinda girl and whilst maybe we can hold off on the too tight minis, we can sure do well to embrace her attitude.
Betty Suarez - Perhaps the most representative of the every woman is Betty Suarez. In a world much like our own, Betty is constantly reminded that she is not six feet tall, is not a size zero and does not diet. And guess what? We loved her for it.

The Random...

Songs - Some of the best old schoolsongs out there are about the larger lady. 'I Need A Fat Girl' by the Heptones, 'Hey Fatty Bum Bum' by Carl Malcolm and 'Fat Bottomed Girls' by Queen might sound offensive but don't forget that they were written in a world that wasn't as obsessed with weight as we are nowadays. In fact, in some cultures it is perceived that the larger the woman, the more desirable she is.
On that note, in Mauritiana, there are in actual fact places known as fat farms, designed to force feed young young girls and women to fatten them up. Apparently, a fat woman is classified as proof that her husband is wealthy and cares well for her. That may be, but the whole idea of force feeding sounds cruel so perhaps we can give this one a miss.
And on the other end of the absurd scale...Infidelity. Feeders are people who trick their partners by adding fattening ingredients to their food or leave fatty snacks around. The idea is either because they find an overweight partner more attractive or actually hope that by fattening them up they will repel other people and therefore stay faithful. Can anyone say paranoid?

So here's the real skinny: if there's anything that we should learn from the media's dictation of thin and fat being right and wrong, it's actually to ignore it.

From the unprovoked criticism of Ash Rai to the downright absurdness of fat farms, perhaps it's about time we took a leaf out of the women and characters above and learn to appreciate who we are and what we have.

After all, it might just start a trend of articles praising women for the way they naturally look instead of condemning them for it.

Calling All the curvy girlies

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