I think normal women in my mind have somewhat thicker bottom halves than top halves - legs proportionally thicker than arms, hips a little wider than shoulders, etc. This shape seems typically female to me and I see the majority of people in the US and Japan being of this general shape.
Dagmar, no sad smilie needed! We all interpreted the word our own way. My version of "normal" is the statistical one of the symmetrical bell curve. I can't put a name to an example, but your description sounds right to me, for a Z=0. Of course, to put that in perspective, we'd have to spin that bell curve out of 2D space and make an imploded helmet shape to account for other parameters ...
Becky
Everyone else - my DH explained that the practice (hope that's the right term) of psychology has totally changed the traditional meaning of the word "normal". So I did learn several new things from all this.
It's not safe for work since a lot of the images are in swimsuits or underwear, but basically women upload photos of themselves along with their stats, and you can search for women with whatever stats to see what they look like. I found it quite surprising -- I searched for my own stats and thought all the photos on there looked way skinnier than me, but if they really are wearing the same size clothes and have the same height and weight as me, maybe I'm skinnier than I think.
It's not safe for work since a lot of the images are in swimsuits or underwear, but basically women upload photos of themselves along with their stats, and you can search for women with whatever stats to see what they look like. I found it quite surprising -- I searched for my own stats and thought all the photos on there looked way skinnier than me, but if they really are wearing the same size clothes and have the same height and weight as me, maybe I'm skinnier than I think.
Interesting link! I put in my stats and got a lot of women who look a lot like I do -except quite a bit younger. I was expecting them to look about the same as me - I think I have a pretty good idea of what size I am. Much better comparison than with a celebrity.
Dagmar, I took your "normal" as you probably intended it. Not too fat, not too skinny, right? That's what I'd call "normal" too. As in the way nature intended us to be.
I love my body gallery! I spent a good half hour looking at women my height at all the different weights I've ever been. Ah, the internet. So useful and such a time suck at the same time! Anyway, I remember one particular girl who was my height and weight and looked so fantastic it depressed me. If I looked like that I wouldn't be trying to lose more at all.
Jessica, thanks for posting the link. That was exactly what I needed to see at the right time. There's a picture of someone at my height, with the body shape I have, at the goal weight I want - and she looks incredible!
Just went and looked at the photos for 5'2" and 120 pounds (my stats). Unfortunately, I'm quite certain that some of those women are lying (or deluded). For the most egregious example, see http://www.mybodygallery.com/photos-...-shape.htm#img
Because the variation is so extreme, I don't actually find it that helpful.
Did you know that the average model is considerably underweight? I get what you're saying- if that's considered "normal" or the desirable body type, people start to think that perfectly "normal" healthy bodies are "fat". I look at "plus size" ads and usually think those women look quite "normal" and even "thin" sometimes. I look at emaciated fashion models and all I see is starvation. Then I read people commenting that this celebrity or that celebrity is "fat" and she's clearly underweight.
Best bet, don't compare ourselves to media images. (Easier said than done)
