# Are fat girls REALLY less attactive than thin ones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2004, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952 "2004-05-01T06:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/21 "2004-05-02T16:29:57Z")
> [@Satyricon](#): > > Growing up, boys always told me I was ugly and fat, and that nobody would ever love me, and they even beat me up. It was always a gang of them against me, so I could never fight back because I was usually being held down by someone. . Wow, what kinda nightmare school did you go to? The boys could be cruel, but no one in our school would ever beat up a girl, especially not a group of boys. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/22 "2004-05-02T16:47:32Z")
My dating motto: “Never sleep more than one night with a girl you wouldn’t trust to go into the jungle with.“ - You sound like my kind of girl. It has always puzzled me why those catwalk women (which you all seem to want to call European?) are so damn skinny, as I, and most everybody else I’ve heard comment on it, find them directly repulsive. In me they invoke images of concentration camp inmates – I wonder if they’re even able to menstruate being so emaciated. I’ve heard it said it’s because all the clothes designers are gay, and they’d really prefer their models to look like boys; no breasts, no arse. The model look, while not quite as repulsive, is bland, uninteresting and boring bereft of all charisma – like they were churned out of some model-factory. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/23 "2004-05-02T17:15:25Z")
> [@Satyricon](#): > > Growing up, boys always told me I was ugly and fat, and that nobody would ever love me, and they even beat me up. It was always a gang of them against me, so I could never fight back because I was usually being held down by someone. This was a rotten time for me and it’s never really left my mind. Even as a teenager boys never showed any interest in me and showed disgust if I showed interest in them. Sometimes I really don’t know what my guy sees in me if I’m really that vile a creature, but I feel pretty lucky to have him. It’s extraordinarily unlikely you are a “vile” creature. How attractive you are is impossible to say without a picture. Having said that, most people get treated that way sometimes when they’re kids, no matter their size. > [@](#): > > What I guess I want to know from all you guys here is, honest opinion, if a girl is big or fat or whatever, as long as she has a decent personality and takes care of herself, would you still find her attractive? Maybe, maybe not. I note most guys are being soft about this, which is gentlemanly, but I’ll be honest; if a woman weighs 350 pounds I’m not going to find her attractive. She may be a sweet, fantastic person, but that’s just going to be a turnoff. On the other hand, of course, if she’s 5"8 and weighs 90, that’s gonna be gross, too. Mrs. RickJay is technically overweight but she’s a total babe who never lacked for suitors and looks breathtaking in a dress. I once dated a girl who was about 5"9 and weighed 160-170, well over the “model” standard, and she literally turned men’s heads when she walked down the street. I also dated a girl who was 5"5 and weighed a good 160, and she was hot. On the other hand, some skinnier women are pretty hot too. Hotness is affected by a lot of factors; prettiness, body, hair, manner of dress, posture, attitude, voice, smile, eyes, and a number of things. Two women who are both 5"8 and weigh 180 can look like complete opposites on the hotness scale if one is dressed nicely, smiles, and just has that look in her eye, and the other’s dressed in a track suit and has a mullet and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. **don’t ask** makes a good point that women value skinniness more than men do (on average; obviously, men have wide ranging tastes.) This is magnified by the fact that the camera really does add 10-20 pounds, at least. Let me give you an example. I have seen, in person, both these celebrities: [Gretchen Mol](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001543/) [Kate Winslet](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000701/) Winslet, depending on where she is in a diet, outweighs Mol by a good 40 pounds. They are the same height (5’6") In pictures, at least, they strike me as being different, but being equally beautiful. In person, it is simply no contest; Gretchen Mol is a pretty girl but nothing special. Kate Winslet is a jaw-dropping, ravishing beauty, probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen that I didn’t marry. Absolutely magnetic; every man in line of sight can’t take his eyes off her. I mean, it’s just no contest; if they walked into a bar together, Kate Winslet would have every straight man in the joint buying her drinks. Why? I’m not sure. Her body looks nicer in person, even though it doesn’t on camera, and there’s just something about her. It’s in the eyes, somehow. Some women have that. Some don’t. Is that unique to skinny/non-skinny people? I’m not sure it is; I sort of knew Alanis Morrisette way back when, we had friends in common; she isn’t skinny, and in person she’s uglier than a bag of bugs. (Sorry, Alanis.) I met Princess Diana many years ago and she’s skinny, but she was MUCH more beautiful in person, IMHO, than on camera. Her pictures never impressed me, but in person she was gorgeous. Skinny or not, unless you’re at an extreme, it’s just a product of too many factors to count entirely on weight. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/24 "2004-05-02T17:27:28Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Wow, what kinda nightmare school did you go to? The boys could be cruel, but no one in our school would ever beat up a girl, especially not a group of boys. Sounds a lot like schools I attended. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/25 "2004-05-02T17:28:09Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Two women who are both 5"8 and weigh 180 can look like complete opposites on the hotness scale if one is dressed nicely, smiles, and just has that look in her eye, and the other’s dressed in a track suit and has a mullet and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. RickJay, you are a wise, wise man. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/26 "2004-05-02T18:06:45Z")
What **RickJay** said. 🙂 > [@RickJay](#): > > Two women who are both 5"8 and weigh 180 can look like complete opposites on the hotness scale if one is dressed nicely, smiles, and just has that look in her eye, and the other’s dressed in a track suit and has a mullet and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Heck, just the cigarette is enough to send me far, far away. Re: the unreality of the fashion industry and its imagery… When I was in art school, we learned that the stylised people-drawing technique used in fashion drawing does not even use the same proportions as actual people! In drawing, people’s heights and the heights of legs and torso are measured by the number of heads high they are. Real people are 5-1/2 to 6 heads high. Fashion drawings were 7-1/2 to 8 heads high, with abnormally-long legs, small bodies, and tiny heads. Of course, Marvel-type superhero drawings are also out of proportion, but no-one is running vast intercontinental advertising campaigns implying people that they are inferior and subhuman if they can’t fly like Superman… ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/27 "2004-05-02T18:43:36Z")
**Sounds a lot like schools I attended.** Ditto. I’d get beat up at church, too, during Sunday School. They finally had to separate the genders and give 'em each their own Sunday School class because the boys wouldn’t stop. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/28 "2004-05-02T19:07:36Z")
There’s quite a range from twiggy thin to grossly obese. I tend to look to the middle of that range, probably leaning towards the thinner end, but not too much. I like a “healthy” look, mostly, and neither consumptive nor corpulent do it for me. I like boobs, and not the silicone-enhanced kind (they do look fake, I’m afraid). Too thin, and the breasts just ain’t there. Plus, a curvy butt is nice too. Again, too thin, boney ass, turnoff. Rolls of fat, though, very, very bad. Admittedly, I tend to find that level of obesity rather disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/29 "2004-05-03T00:13:35Z")
I don’t think I could find attractive the personality that goes with being obsessed with weight or with conformance to image expectations. So both the obsessively thin and those who aren’t thin and spend all their time trying to be thin, are outside of my interest pool. That said, I think both Camryn Manheim and Tyne Daly are hot. I’d take either of the over one of those diet stick models any day. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/30 "2004-05-03T00:48:46Z")
Fat girls are significantly more attractive than skinny ones. Yes, there are limits to that and I don’t think anyone should endager their health but big chicks most certainly do rule. Of course only more highly evolved men realize that. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/31 "2004-05-03T01:46:22Z")
Well, have a strong preference for small-breasted women, and unfortunately most “big” women I’ve seen are not small-breasted. On the other hand, being a spanko, I like a nice, round, firm butt and shapely legs. So my preference tends toward women with “athletic” figures. I’ve only ever seen two “supermodels” who did anything for me: Tyra Banks and Letitia Casta. Both are more full-figured than the typical fashion model. Among actresses, I think my ideal would be Liv Tyler. So I don’t care for super-skinny women either. My own experience with “big” women has resulted in my avoiding big women. On a few occasions I have gone home with heavy women with whom I hit it off in a social situation, and when it came time for action, well, the heart was willing but the body was faint. It just wasn’t working. Embarrassing for me, and embarrassing for her. After the third time this happened, I just came to the conclusion that it would be easier on everybody if I didn’t get myself into that position again. Still, I suspect that if I first became friends with such a woman and found myself truly in love with her, then the physical aspect would not be the obstacle it is now. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/32 "2004-05-03T01:52:24Z")
Two comments: From my late Aunt Nancy: “Skinny girls don’t have any sugar in them!” From my crude cousin Jim: “Riding a skinny girl is like riding an English bicycle down a cobblestone street.” _Big bottom, big bottom, Talk about bumcakes, my girl’s got 'em. Big bottom drive me out of my mind How can I leave this behind?_ ---
**Author:** ![Revedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/33 "2004-05-03T02:04:02Z")
I want a woman who is a woman, not a boy with tits. _The bigger the cushion, The better the pushin. Big Bottom_. ---
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/34 "2004-05-03T02:14:34Z")
Besides, everyone knows that fat bottomed girls make the world go 'round. ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/35 "2004-05-03T02:27:00Z")
Well, there is a line between “fat” and “well built.” A woman with a skinny or average “frame” who is just overweight from eating ding-dongs all day and has rolls of sweaty fat won’t be as attractive as she could be to most people. A woman who is just built bigger has an easier time of it. I’ve known a several women who were plump and pulled off being very attractive. It has a lot to do, yes, with their self-confidence and personality. Most of the women I date aren’t “skinny” - I guess they are just average. Though I do like a nice set of hips and butt. Most of the models I see need to eat a few more sammiches. My general view is that the human body is a piece of art. Like all art, it doesn’t have to be technically perfect to be beautiful. Of course, my primary factor in a mate is intelligence. Independence. I like 'em smart and feisty. I want 'em to know what I mean when I say there must be a portrait of them aging in an attic somewhere. I really want someone who I can heatedly debate with for hours, and finish up with passionate sex. What a way to spend an afternoon. And for some reason, I generally love glasses. They are a great fashion accessory. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/36 "2004-05-03T03:52:48Z")
You might find [this book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385479425/qid=1083555916/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i5_xgl14/104-5270059-9126315?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) interesting; it’s a pop-sci survey of factors that affects physcal attraction. For example, having an hourglass figure is one thing, but having an hourglass figure with the right waist-to-hip ratio is another. (It’s been a while since I read my copy, but I think a w-t-h ratio of 0.7 was most preferred.) The book also covers topics like facial structure and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Mithgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mithgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithgard)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/37 "2004-05-03T03:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Two comments: From my late Aunt Nancy: “Skinny girls don’t have any sugar in them!” From my crude cousin Jim: “Riding a skinny girl is like riding an English bicycle down a cobblestone street.” hahahah tahts hilarious man But this is what it comes down to. If you had to choose, would you rather have a slightly overweight girl, or a slightly too skinny girl??? THAT is the question…cause you can’t really find a perfect one 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/38 "2004-05-03T04:24:15Z")
No politically correct answers from me… I’m not into fat girls. I’d rather have a thin girl to a plump one. Extreme thiness isn’t attractive though to anyone but the sickos. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/39 "2004-05-03T04:29:40Z")
> [@Mithgard](#): > > But this is what it comes down to. If you had to choose, would you rather have a slightly overweight girl, or a slightly too skinny girl??? THAT is the question…cause you can’t really find a perfect one 😃 Shhhhh!!! Don’t tell my wife that! I have her convinced that she is perfect! 😃 I’d still take the one with some meat on her. Women should have _curves_, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952/40 "2004-05-03T04:39:16Z")
You knw how women often feel turned off by men who are shorter than they are, because they don’t feel “protected”; for some reason, things seem physically off? Well, many men feel the same way, sort of. They don’t want to be the “1” in a “10” couple. I guess I just don’t want to feel"outsized" by a woman … that she doesn’t seem larger than me in some way. Obese, fat or [match.com](http://match.com) self-defined “A few extra pounds” … well, I don’t want to feel like physically I"m some little parasite compared to these women. A few extra pounds, literally … no problem. The cute redhead bartender at a watering hole where I enjoyed a Guinness today had a butt the great R. Crumb would approve of. I’d take her home, becasue she didn’t seem larger than me. A Camryn Manheim-type, though … I’d feel like a “big, beautiful woman” would crush me. That’s just me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-fat-girls-really-less-attactive-than-thin-ones/242952.md?page=3)