M says:
Sun, 13th Apr 200811:02 am 

I totally agree with you, I filled out that poll too and I chose 6-8 and was very surprised when I saw so many people picked 2-4. I think it is kind of sad because most of the people I know aren't a size 2-4 so I feel like what this poll really said was that women are unhappy with their bodies and always want to be a size smaller than they are.

Laura says:
Sun, 13th Apr 200812:01 pm 

I didn't hear about that but I am very naturally small and between a 2-4 depending on the brand, sometimes smaller. A lot of people call me anorexic or bulimic because of this. Quite frankly, this is really really insulting to me and to the people who actually deal with those diseases.

I struggle with keeping toned and am on a diet/exercise regimen right now. I have been putting more weight than I am used to in my stomach area and would like to get rid of it. When I tell people this, I get harassed for being too skinny already. I would just like to say that I eat. I eat a lot. I am my own healthy weight, and that weight happens to be very tiny. Yes, you can see most of my ribs. It's just how I was made. I understand that many people are annoyed with the results of this poll, but there are many, many women out there who are petite or naturally small just like me who wouldn't mind the whole "small is bad" thing being turned down a notch.

rachel says:
Sun, 13th Apr 200812:05 pm 

I understand where this rant comes from, but I just want to point a couple of things out:

1) Most models are NOT a size 2-4; they're usually below an average 0. Trust me – I'm a [healthy] size 0-1, but I'm still not considered small enough to be a model.

2) "Aren’t you the same girls who stand up against unrealistic media portrayals of women…?" Well, considering that "only about 70 votes [were] tallied", it's very likely that there weren't a whole lot of feminist-active opinions. Not enough people answered the poll in order for someone to freak out over results.

Polls are taken to survey people's true stances. If more women happen to feel more confident in a slimmer size, then why should they be rebuked for expressing THAT feeling? Maybe the poll WAS answered by naturally thinner individuals – who seem to always get flack for being "too small".

My point is that no matter what size you are (or what size you prefer) someone's always going to be less than pleased. The media typically makes us feel inadequate by showing us mostly skinny girls. Some people's responses to the media can make already thin girls (or those who prefer that look) feel like they're not real enough. The more we focus on it and rant about it, the more conflicted our society's young women are going to feel.

Casey says:
Sun, 13th Apr 20084:01 pm 

I answered 2-4 because I am a 2-4. I'm 5'3 and I weigh 115 pounds. That's an extremely healthy weight for someone my size and age. In fact 107 is the lowest healthy weight I could be. and I haven't weighed that in like 15 years. 2-4 is a healthy size, I don't know what you're talking about it's unhealthy. Models are a lot smaller then a 2. I'm a 3 and I still have flab on me. I could eat a little less then I do and I could work out a bit more. It doesn't make me unhealthy to want to be a size 2-4 because that's just what size I am. it just depends on your body what is a "healthy" size. My sister is naturally skinny. and she eats healthy and exercises. She gets crap from her roommates friends (all of who are about 100 pounds overweight) they look at her and say "why is she so emaciated?!" No, the questions is why are you so fat! People are taking the self image thing way to far. Now people think you have to be curvy to be healthy. That's not fair. Some people work hard to look a certain way that they (and face it, the majority of America) think is sexy. It's not unhealthy to be in shape and healthy. There are just ignorant people out there that don't want to do what it takes to look the way they want healthily.

b says:
Sun, 13th Apr 20084:15 pm 

jeeze, if i get to a size 9, i'll be more than thrilled. i like my child-bearing hips, as my mom calls them, thanks.

elizabeth says:
Sun, 13th Apr 200811:01 pm 

As you stated, height makes a HUGE difference here- I'm 5'3 and weigh in at around 125 lbs and a size four. I am very curvy, muscular, and by no means skinny. For me, being size 6-8 looks very chubby and unhealthy. At the same time, my little sister is 5'8 and can share my jeans because she is 15 and still in the skinny pubescent girl phase.

The average height for an american woman is a little over 5'4, so size 2-4 is really not all that tiny if you take that into consideration. Yes- models are size 2, but they are also 5'10.

Janers says:
Mon, 14th Apr 20081:21 am 

eh whatever, I look at society and do not wish to conform to it's (often destructive) standards for the most part anyway.

I'm, 5'9" and a size 12 (What can I say? I have a Kardashian-JLo-Vida Guerra-Beyonce-Keyra Agustina- white-girl ghetto booty).

I'm hourglass shaped though (and curvy kind of like Selma Hyack), so I look fine at my height IMO.

I prefer to be curvy, but my idea size is a 8 (I admit), not a 6 even though, and not a two.

I was a 8 in Jr High, and that's what I'd like to be again. I got mono and had SEVERE complications, so I haven't been able to be active. Medication ballooned me up to a tight size 18/20. Better medication and a vegetarian diet brought me down to a size 12 (sometimes 10), but…

I like my curves and I get compliments on them nowadays, LOL!

Friends say things like, I wish I had your butt (and I never know how to respond "um…thanks? I hope you don't mean that in a prison way")

and guys have said I have the perfect body, so it seems all good to me.

I'm healthy, and pretty happy with my size (I'd lose a few pounds maybe, but I'm not going to starve myself or anything to do it).

4'10'&#039 says:
Mon, 14th Apr 20083:56 am 

and maybe you have a lot of petite readers? ever fucking think of that?

leebee says:
Mon, 14th Apr 20086:14 am 

I didn't even answer the poll because I found it offensive. Only up to a size 12? I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous. I'm a plus sized gal, and I feel sexy and curvy. My ideal size is a 14 all around. Right now I have a little ways to go, but I'm still happy to rock curves and not a disgusting skin and bones body like most models.

Why not include the plus size gals in the poll next time?

Carly says:
Mon, 14th Apr 20082:29 pm 

Yikes! Thanks, Miya. To 4'10" and the other petite ladies out there… with all due respect, I'm not sure you read my post very carefully. At the beginning of the third paragraph, I excused all petite girls from my rant and acknowledged that 2-4 is in fact a healthy size for many people (though most of them ARE petite).

Heck, maybe all 59% of the respondents who answered size 2-4 WERE petite. How should I know?! That just seemed like a very high percentage to me.

I should have written a few words about height in there. I'm pretty tall, and sometimes I forget that lots of girls are shorter than I am (and, hence, proportionally–and healthfully–skinnier).

I think Miya's first sentence basically sums up what my meaning was very concisely.

jes says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20085:32 am 

Well I myself am 5'9 1/2… I'm a tall and naturally thin girl. …and I wear between a 4-7 depending on the brand of clothing. I'm not rail thin like I used to be, but I actually have a few inches on my thighs and hips that need to be toned up.

My point is, I'm pretty much a size 6 naturally…so when I hit the gym, not to lose weight, but to keep it from jiggling on its own (lol) I easily fall into a size 4. That is my healthy weight, and it's when I start eating crap junk food and not exercising that I start wearing a size 7-8. To me, that is the unhealthy lifestyle.

2-4 is natural for some people (and YES, even some girls who are as tall as me) ..and I dont have to starve myself or do lines of cocaine to fit into a size 4. I think everyone here is a little upset with how people judge their feministic standpoints simply based on their height and size.

What I get irritated with the most is the unrealistic idea that girls my size are supposed to have huge boobs, along with your small body. There's no way in the world a girl my size would have those unless they were surgically placed there… and nowdays that seems to be the hot trend. tisk, tisk…

jes says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20085:42 am 

leebee says :

April 14, 2008 at 11:14 am

"Right now I have a little ways to go, but I’m still happy to rock curves and not a disgusting skin and bones body like most models."

And P.S.-

Power to you Leebee for being comfortable with yoruself, but dont you think that you calling "most models" (which I happen to be) "disgusting skin and bones" is just as derogatory as them falsely percieving a larger girl as a "nasty fat ass"… I just think you've moved beyond being happy with yourself onto judging other people. Let them be happy with themselves if they're healthy.

Some people like myself, are naturally that skinny, and I dont feel I need to eat things I don't naturally like (i.e. fatty meat, processed foods) so that someone doesn't have to see the outline of my rib cage. Thanks.

Janers says:
Tue, 15th Apr 200812:48 pm 

Also, I agree with leebee,

12 should NOT have been the cut off =p

a size 14 is the average, and healthy size for taller/average height girls/women

jes says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20081:59 pm 

A size 14 is the doctor's recommended weight average (…or maybe just america's average) for what height exactly? I think your numbers are a little off…

my doctor and health instructor would disagree.

jes says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20082:09 pm 

here just to put an end to everyone's debate:

http://www.docshop.com/2007/12/15/height-and-weig…

The point is be happy with yourself, and be healthy, but don't make rash statements based on your perceptions of other people, whether they're larger or smaller than you, unless you want them to make the same derogatory statements in return. People are allowed to have different perceptions of what body weight is ideal.

Anne says:
Tue, 15th Apr 20084:20 pm 

I am weighing in on this. Did anyone notice how many of us gave our own personal body stats in our posts? I think that says it all.

lana23 says:
Thu, 17th Apr 20084:28 pm 

im naturally thin (size 3) ,i have an extremely high metabolism and no matter how much I eat i dont gain any weight, I am also extrmely active with sports and extracurricualrs so that may have something to do with it as well. my ideal size is a size 5-6 I would love to put on some weight in my hips and butt some tits would be awesome as well.

Alice says:
Thu, 17th Apr 200811:24 pm 

I'm not very good with US sizes, but I think if I answered the poll, I'd choose 2-4 too. However, it doesn't mean I want to starve myself into a tiny size. There is a difference between girls who are very, very slim because they don't eat (and you can see it – bones poking out everywhere. Kate Bosworth, I'm looking at you) and those which are slim because their actual bone frames are very narrow.

Hypothetically, yes, I would love to be one of those 'narrow' girls. Just like I would like to have naturally ginger hair or a more defined jaw line. I don't see the conflict between wanting a different jaw AND being against plastic surgery. "Ideal" size doesn't mean you're aiming to achieve it. So if I answer that poll with 2-4, it doesn't mean I'm about to develop an eating disorder: I'm just stating my opinion.

Laura says:
Sun, 20th Apr 200811:40 am 

I hate to seem like the skinny bitch, and I definitely don't want to get my head chopped off, but if you are overweight, you are overweight. You can call yourself curvy or big-boned, but the fact is that it isn't very healthy.

That doesn't mean that overweight people are somehow less than others, or that they aren't often very nice people, but our society is so worried with offending those who could stand to lose a few pounds, that we have actually begun to condone being overweight. It's hardly ever genetics fault. It's yours. It is every person's individual responsibility to eat healthy, exercise, and take care of themselves. I'm skinny, and I work for it. If I ate doughnuts and cookies and oreos every week, I would balloon too. It just drives me crazy that because everyone has to be so sensitive about weight, overweight people can walk around saying: "well at least I'm not anorexic. I'm healthy.

Guess what. You aren't. You're just fat.

... says:
Mon, 21st Apr 20085:28 pm 

I'm a little shorter than 5'8, I weigh 144 lbs and I wear around a size 5. I weigh A LOT, but I look really skinny. Some people could be healthy but just naturally skinny, every body is different.

thickythicky says:
Tue, 22nd Apr 20084:47 pm 

The size i should be is 6-8 but right now im 10-12. I couldn't ever be smaller than that, skinny people just scare me, lol. Who wants to really be a stick with no sexy bumps?

Tisk Tisk... says:
Wed, 23rd Apr 20086:32 am 

All of you girls talking crap about how nasty skinny girls look to you are just as mean as naturally skinny girls talking about how nasty and chubby your asses look in swimsuits.

But you wanna get pissed off when people treat you differently… or base their opinions of you on your appearance. Who cares if you don't like the way we look? We try not to offend you guys so stop being bitches to us.

Stop being so damn judgemental and learn to RESPECT people for god's sake. You gotta give it to receive it…

brittany says:
Thu, 24th Apr 20086:23 am 

I agree with everyone who says there's too much hate out there for the skinny girls. I for one am SICK of overweight people telling me that I look disgusting, or that I need to gain weight. According to my doctor, I have a perfectly healthy BMI. I'm sorry if being healthy makes me look 'disgusting'.

Another thing I hate- the assumption that only heavy girls can have curves. Every heavy girl I have ever met justifies the fact that she's plus-size by saying, "Skinny girls don't have curves like these." Everyone has a different body type; it isn't just body fat that determines what you look like: it's also genetics. I wear size 0 pants, and I have a totally natural DD chest. My little sister is tiny too, but she has a rap-video butt. And neither one of had to eat ourselves silly to get those curves.

And I'm definitely not hating on all the heavy girls out there- all of my best friends happen to be overweight. It's only the ones who make derogatory comments about healthy girls so that they can feel better about themselves.

Sabrina says:
Fri, 25th Apr 20085:31 am 

Thank you Laura!

Sometimes I see people who are larger and I think gosh they are pretty, in spite of the their rolls. But then we will be walking up stairs and they're panting and sweating on the first flight. That is unnnnhealthy!

I also hear people who say they're just naturally larger and then I'll see them at the Chik a fillet (whatever that nasty place is) with nuggets, fries and coke.

Pisses me off!

You're not naturally anything if your scarfing down unnatural poisonous food.

I got kind of larger in college because I was eating like my boyfriend (like crap). And once I started drinking water, and eating fruit and veggies (gifts that God gave us)– I naturally got thin again.

See? Unnatural nasty grease= fatty poh fatty

Natural food= healthy and fit…

Hmmm see the connection?

c says:
Fri, 25th Apr 20086:15 am 

I am overweight – and unhealthy, I know it. I am working hard to eat right and I accept that it is MY fault that I am unhealthy. I want to lose weight – but if I took that survey, I would want to be a 12-14. I am short and know that my healthy weight would put me much smaller than that, but that is where I felt the best about myself. That is where I would like to be again.

People on here talk about respect but in their posts they make a point of tearing others down. I think that models portray an unrealistic 'ideal' and it isn't because they are (arguably) unhealthy because many are – it is because they don't show the range of sizes and shapes, healthy or not. I would love to see models that are 5' 3" and a size 2 AND size 14. I would love to see models that are 5' 10" and I size 2 AND a size 14. Whatever sizes, whatever shapes – I would just like to see diversity.

B says:
Sat, 26th Apr 20086:32 am 

Laura and Sabrina have it right. Women taking ownership of their "curves," is just an excuse to legitimize the unhealthy lifestyle that most Western countries embrace. Read Michael Pollan's books In Defense of Food and The Omnivore's Dilemma to get a sense of how out of whack our food chain is these days.

All you have to do to lose weight is eat more vegetables, more complex grains and less oil, fat and sugar. It's that simple. And no, big or little boned has NOTHING to do with it. I'm big boned, and I'm skinny.

While people do have a variety of frames (I'm nearly 6 feet tall and have broad shoulders), everybody tells me I'm lucky to have a small frame. That's not it. I'm not lucky. I just eat vegetables. That's all it takes. And in answer to the model questions, I live in NYC, and I have friends who are models. Most of them are quite healthy (aside from the smoking), and lots of the ones who look the best are actually tall and big boned themselves. They just didn't pack a lot of weight on to their frames. If you are indeed "big boned" like me, all you have to do is eat HEALTHY, not diet, and you'll look awesome and feel better (and not eating cows saves the planet as well). Plus you'll even have small-boned fat girls tell you how lucky you are to be naturally skinny. Only you'll know better.

Abbie says:
Sat, 26th Apr 20087:15 am 

I am a size 12-14 depending on the brand

I am not overweight

Yes I am "bigger" but I am curvy and beautiful

Although I am comfortable in my body

I could stand to loose a few pounds

But I would rather be a size 8 than a size 2

Different it beautiful

Look around all they show us are size 2 or less

its getting boring and old seeing the same thin girls on the covers of magazines

as well as around town

dont conform

a says:
Sun, 1st Jun 20089:10 am 

i think you shouldve put sized 0-1 on your poll.

i agree with one of the posters that the average woman is 5 4 so a 2-4 is perfectly healthy. just because youre fat, doesnt mean you need to bring the think girls down.

LeLe says:
Mon, 2nd Jun 20088:42 pm 

I don't see why some people are getting so frusterated over this topic. I personally think everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but being educated people, I believe we shouldn't be name calling and cussing over the size of people's pants…. (With that aside). The poll was asking what the "ideal" size was, not what size people are.

Most people are not a size 2, and frankly, it doesn't matter what size people are. If eeveryone was supposed to be the same size, then honestly we would all be the same size, but there are so many different factors that weigh in to how someones body looks. EVERY girl has something about their body that they do not like, but the key is that EVERYONE goes through it. You may be the prettiest person in everyone else's eyes, but not even know it, becuase of poor self image. Everyone is beautiful, no matter what your size. We all have a shape, just work with what you've got, be content in who you are, and be a confident strong human being that is proud to be in their skin.

Peace out and be your confident selves! =)