I think that your definition of "skinny" and whether or not it's a desirable body type can depend greatly on your age and what range of body sizes were prevalent when your were growing up.
For example, I'm 49. When I was a teenager and in my early twenties heavy people were relatively rare. A girl who'd be viewed as a few pounds overweight today would have been considered obese back then. A normal weight girl of today would have been considered chunky. What is thin or skinny by today's standards would have been yesterday's normal.
At my current weight I'm light by today's standards but not by the standards of my youth. In high school I was only a little heavier than I am now but still I was one of the fat girls. The body type I want is the one the other girls in my class had back then.
So yes I do want to be skinny at least by today's standards.
Was it wrong of me for my first thought to be yes, I'd love to be skinny for awhile, just so I could eat everything I wanted so if I gained it wouldn't matter? LOL
I have an hourglass shape, no matter what weight I am my waist is at least 18 inches smaller than my hips. Which gives you an idea of how big my hips are, sigh. So no, I would never want to be uncurvy. I just would like to be the weight I was when I was in my early 20s, around 135, but I'll settle for 150 happily.
Absolutely. Maybe it's unreasonable to think that I'll ever lose my curves and thighs and butt, but I'd at least like to get as trim as I reasonably can. If that means some bones sticking out here and there, then I'm OK with that. As long as I'm not sick and my body can seem to support the weight well enough, then I'm good with going with skinny. I feel like I'm finally starting to look "thin" now, but I want to take things farther.
The body type I would like most, is the old-fashioned hour-glass. It's almost "fat" by modern standards, but my celeb girl crushes are Xena (Lucy Lawless), Wonder Woman (Linda Carter), and Donna Pinciatti from the 70's show (Laura Prepon).
It annoys me to high-**** that all three women have been criticised for being too fat. I would take that kind of "too fat" any day.
The body type I would like most, is the old-fashioned hour-glass. It's almost "fat" by modern standards, but my celeb girl crushes are Xena (Lucy Lawless), Wonder Woman (Linda Carter), and Donna Pinciatti from the 70's show (Laura Prepon).
It annoys me to high-**** that all three women have been criticised for being too fat. I would take that kind of "too fat" any day.
What? The Xena actress was criticised for being too fat? My thing is, a skinny little waif wouldn't work for that role! She's supposed to be a powerful woman, claiming and taking up space, right? I mean, seriously, could Calista Flockhart or Nicole Richie pull that off? I don't think so.
Personally, I prefer for myself a smaller body type -- I don't desire to be seen as a warrior-princess or Wonder Woman-type -- but for those who are, I don't get what's wrong with a fuller figure -- provided, of course, that it is also a healthy figure.
I would love to be skinny! I don't equate that with being unhealthy. I'm looking forward to reaching my goal weight (which could be revised) and looking great in that tailored suit!
Maybe it is my generation (I'm 25) or where I was raised (middle/upper middle class urban areas) but skinny has absolutely no negative connotation to me. So my answer is that yes of course I want to be skinny!
I look best in a bathing suit/naked around 130, but in clothes I look far better around 115. And since I wear clothes every single day of my life and only make it to the beach a few times a year.... skinny wins.
The word "skinny" has a zillion different meanings to a zillion different people. I'm called skinny, tiny, too skinny, etc practically constantly. I know for a fact that some close friends and family members consider me to be "too skinny." I personally do not fit my personal definition of skinny. That might be a smidge of body dysmorphia, but honestly, I still have muscle and even some padding in some places. I am slim and thin, yes, but not skinny. I don't think anybody would look at me and think that I look like a sack of bones.
I am "skinny" enough. I achieved the dainty lithe waifish look that I have always wanted. I'm not naturally curvy, by the measurements I just barely have an hourglass figure, but I do not have big breasts and I have always had a flat bum. Gaining weight would not give me a more womanly shape. But at 125-127lbs (depending on the day), size 0-2, with a BMI of 19.6lbs, I am definitely thin. And that's what I wanted.
Here are a few photos of me within maintenance range...I was about 129lbs in the first one and the second is from last week at 125lbs (I'm bloated and PMSy this week, lol). I'm slim, but not a bag of bones.
At my thinnest, I weighed 115 lbs and I wasn't skinny. I wouldn't mind being that size again, but it wasn't maintainable for me. i was in awesome shape, though - but not by any stretch of the imagination was I "skinny." To be skinny, I'd have to starve myself, and I'm not willing to do that.
Maybe it is my generation (I'm 25) or where I was raised (middle/upper middle class urban areas) but skinny has absolutely no negative connotation to me. So my answer is that yes of course I want to be skinny!
I agree completely! I associate no negativity with the word "skinny". I'm called skinny and I do cartwheels inside every single time (even though I am NOT skinny in my honest opinion).
The definition of skinny is varied....it is hard to define in broad terms. I have not been this thin for a LONG time! I am working toward a goal of 118...currently 121. I still have meat on my bones I do not want to be "skinny" in the definition that defines several protruding bones and a generalized look of poor health. Different people carry their weight differently thus reflecting various images at the same weight and height. The nurse at the Dr. office said that I look so much thinner than her and we are the same weight and height....we just carry our weight differently.
Demi
I try to refrain from the word skinny, as many people take that word differently.
Anyway, I'm one of those people with a goal weight of 120 at my height, and no I don't think that's too thin at all! I was probably never that light since late elementary/middle school days, and even then I was one of the heavier ones. Now, looking back at my pictures though, I really liked my shape. (I was the same height since the 5th grade).
I guess it comes down to the fact that different people have different shapes. Heck, my boyfriend thinks I still look like I'm in the 150's...also, at 130, I was still wearing a 7/8 in pants size, and that seemed fairly large. I guess I'm "blessed" with the large bum?
I was one of those people who never thought I could be skinny. I always knew I was muscular, even though the muscles were always buried, and I never really got below the high 160s or low 170s in my adult life. So I thought that was my ideal weight. But I decided to go for the mid-range BMI for my height, and the closer I get to it, the more I see exactly what weight still needs to come off my body. I discovered that I have very defined muscles--without trying particularly hard--so it makes the "curvy" (non-muscular) parts look flabby and even more noticeable. So I don't think I will ever look skinny, but skinny is relative. Compared to the larger me, I will be skinny, but never will I be scrawny skinny.
It's all about our own comfort level, and our own ideals, and this has been a great thread to read to see and appreciate how different we all are. How boring would life be if we all looked the same?
I don't think I will be skinny. I have a very large body frame. I know people make excuses out of the whole "big boned" thing, but I don't mean it that way, I AM fat, but I am also big boned. I look at some of the genuinely skinny people I know and I'd have to be crushed under an industrial roller to have the ribcage they have. My ribs stick out even at a UK size 14, so no size zero for me. My goal will bring me to about a 12-14. I wasn't a size 8 even when I was in the bad side of my eating disorder and I weighed 98 pounds.
