# Big girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 23, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861 "2003-11-23T17:35:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/21 "2003-11-24T13:45:16Z")
This person may be comparing you to today’s idolized size, a 2 or 4, in which case you ARE a big girl. But you aren’t big in terms of what’s normal. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/22 "2003-11-24T14:02:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by missbunny \* > \*\*You’re only a “big girl” to a small child. From your description, you sound perfectly average to me - not bony skinny, not fat nor even plump. > > I wonder what your “friend” looks like? \*\* No, you’re not a “big girl”. Unless we’re comparing you to the starved and waifish trend (which seems to have died down thankfully) of the “lolllypop heads” in hollywood and on a few catwalks. FTR, If you’re 6 foot tall, I don’t care if you weigh only 80 pounds, you’re a pretty “big” girl. You sound “Monroe-esque”. And it sounds from your sizes, that a good percentage of your 140 pounds is Lean Body Mass, you probably have a pretty good figure. Lucky you!!! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/23 "2003-11-24T14:36:08Z")
Ah, you’re just a fart in the breeze. (I mean that in the nicest way possible.) ---
**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:** [November 24, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/24 "2003-11-24T15:06:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesleigh \* > \*\*I am 5’4, I weigh 140 pounds. I wear a size 8/10. My measurements are: > > chest: 40 1/2 > waist: 28 1/2 > hips: 38 \*\* Given your weight alone, I’d have to be politically correct and say you’re a bit chunky. I knew a girl that was 5’2" and 135 pounds, and she was pear-shaped and “cuddly”; she just seemed much bigger than me. With the dress size and measurements thrown in there, I’d probably reconsider that last comment. “Big girl” … **nope**. My definition of a “big girl” is one that, for some reason, just has a larger presence than me. I’m 5’ 10", and weigh 170 pounds. Relatively speaking, a woman seems larger than me when she’s a size 14, or short with a size 12. I thnk men are more accepting of women that are top-heavy or well-distributed than those of the same weight who might be bottom-heavy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to put on my flame-retardant suit. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/25 "2003-11-24T15:33:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jesleigh \* > \*\*I am 5’4, I weigh 140 pounds. I wear a size 8/10. My measurements are: > > chest: 40 1/2 > waist: 28 1/2 > hips: 38\*\* Hey, **jesleigh** …how _ **YOU** _ doin’? ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/26 "2003-11-24T23:33:33Z")
What kind of wierdo would fine that big??? I am big. 5’2" and 185 lbs. is big. You, my dear, are right where I want to be. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/27 "2003-11-24T23:56:23Z")
From weight/height and measurements, you sound very nice and curvy. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/28 "2003-11-25T00:33:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ellis Dee \* > \*\*The old time standard of women’s weight is 100 pounds at 5’0", and add 5 pounds per inch above 5 feet. \*\* I don’t think so. At 125#, I’d look positively skeletal! Then again, I come from eastern European peasant stock, so I’m not exactly a dainty whisp of womanhood either. Broad hips and shoulders, fairly long arms and legs. Nope - 125 would be bad on me. ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/29 "2003-11-25T00:40:37Z")
Maybe she was talking about your boobs? You didn’t mention a cup size (not that we need to know), but D or bigger and it’s probably safe to say that that’s what she meant. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/30 "2003-11-25T00:41:02Z")
Same here. I’m 5’8" and have 145 in lean body mass alone. In order to meet that “five pounds per inch” rule, I’d have to lose all my body fat plus five pounds of organ, muscle, blood and/or bone. I’m not exactly from dainty lineage either (German and Swedish). My great-grandmother was 6 feet tall. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/31 "2003-11-25T00:43:20Z")
With friends like this… You are not a big girl. I am a big girl: nearly 5’ 9", 200 lbs. I can look **Drachillix** , my hubby, in the eye when I wear heels and down at half the men in town. Like I said, a big girl. ---
**Author:** ![jesleigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@jesleigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesleigh)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/32 "2003-11-25T03:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lord Ashtar \* > \*\*Hey, **jesleigh** …how _ **YOU** _ doin’? \*\* I have waited so long for that 😃 So, **Lord Ashtar** , how _you_ doin’? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/33 "2003-11-26T13:35:14Z")
I’m not saying the scale is correct, just that it was (at one time) a rule of thumb. One girlfriend of mine was 5’2", and her weight fluctuated between 106 and 126. I thought she looked best around 115, but she always looked good to me. I also think that “scale” is warped the further you get from 5’. ---
**Author:** ![Silly\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d26b3c/32.png) [@Silly\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silly_Dog)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/34 "2003-11-26T18:05:11Z")
I’m 5’3/5". At one point in high school I weighed 115, in keeping with that 5 pounds per inch over 5 feet rule. At that point, I was also anorexic. Not only was I eating about 1000 calories a day, if that, I thought I was fat. I’m from that same “peasant-stock” FairyChatMom mentions. In fact, one of my friends told me he thought I’d been born to be a barmaid in a beerhall in Germany. I’m stronger than most women I know. And I’m short & when not overweight & not underweight, I’m really curvy. Jesleigh – you sound perfectly fine to me, in fact, you’re pretty much where I’m shooting to be when I’m done losing weight. From experience, I think it’s better to weigh a normal amount and be strong & healthy than a smaller amount and get all out of whack trying to maintain it. Perception of body weight is a funny thing. I think your friend’s perception is the one out of whack in this case. Don’t let it misalign yours! ---
**Author:** ![shannablu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@shannablu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shannablu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/35 "2003-11-26T23:00:49Z")
You would only be considered a big girl if you were in Hollywood. As an even bigger girl than you are, I think you are fine just the way you are. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/36 "2003-11-26T23:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ellis Dee \* > \*\*The old time standard of women’s weight is 100 pounds at 5’0", and add 5 pounds per inch above 5 feet. \*\* Damn, now I have to grow an inch. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/37 "2003-11-26T23:29:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ellis Dee \* > \*\*The old time standard of women’s weight is 100 pounds at 5’0", and add 5 pounds per inch above 5 feet. \*\* Works for all the asians I know. My sister (before she was pregnant) is 5 feet even and just a touch under 100 lbs (she’s now 130, 7 days after having her kid). Several other asian women I know also fit into that scale. My GF on the other hand comes from Eastern European stock and would be “off” that scale by 10 lbs (she’s 5’6"). She’s not chunky, she’s quite the opposite. **jesleigh** , I’m 5’6" and at 170 lbs (male) I look like a regular skinny asian guy. You might be…umm, more round than I am, but you’d hardly be called chunky in my book. Let me be the next guy to ask… How _you_ doin’? Also, ya know, pictures are worth a thousand words… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/38 "2003-11-27T00:09:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pablito \* > \*\*Maybe she was talking about your boobs? You didn’t mention a cup size (not that we need to know), but D or bigger and it’s probably safe to say that that’s what she meant. \*\* Um, me too. 40 inch chest? As in, you wear a 40(insert cup size here)? That’s pretty damn big. ---
**Author:** ![Lynne\_kilii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/39 "2003-11-27T03:15:12Z")
Bruce\_Daddy, unless she’s wearing some crazy 8/10 there’s no way she’s fitting into those with a 40-blank. I’m thinking she may be a 36blank, or a 34blank, but probably/definately not even a 38blank, wearing an 8/10. \*The fuzzy math behind this can be explained and or refuted by someone else. I wear a 38blank, and I wear a 14, thankyouverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![jesleigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@jesleigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jesleigh)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861/40 "2003-11-27T03:18:29Z")
36D, if you _guys_ must know…I don’t have any pics right now, and my scanner has retired for the time being, so can’t help ya there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-girl/214861.md?page=3)