# Is Michelle Obama beautiful? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496 "2009-06-11T22:19:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/1 "2009-06-11T22:19:50Z")
I’m slightly puzzled by the admiration directed towards her. I see a fairly pretty woman with a protruding lower jaw and, frankly, a rather poor figure. Beefy thighs and hips, awkward deportment, rounded shoulders. She does dress stylishly, I’ll grant you, and she has expertly tended hair and make-up. It reminds me of female vs. male attitudes towards Princess Diana, a woman that women considered beautiful more than men did. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/2 "2009-06-11T22:24:02Z")
I think she’s good looking, and as you note, takes care of herself. But I agree that she doesn’t strike me as an incredible beauty. If not for her meticulous care and great style, she could look quite scary. Like Diana, I think the best way to describe her is that she is incredibly stylish. She takes advantage of her natural assets and minimizes the “flaws.” It’s possible to like Michelle and not think she’s Aphrodite. ---
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/3 "2009-06-11T22:24:06Z")
I don’t think she is. She has a nice curved body, but I don’t think she’s beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/4 "2009-06-11T22:25:26Z")
IMHO, no, not a pretty woman, not physically beautiful. I though Lady Diana mildly pretty and wasn’t a fan of her hair styles. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/5 "2009-06-11T22:30:51Z")
I think she’s physically attractive on her own- nicely shaped body, tall, nice enough bone structure. What makes her beautiful is her whole attitude, her intelligence, and how she carries herself. All of that comes through, even when she’s just standing there. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/6 "2009-06-11T22:35:30Z")
> [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](#): > > I don’t think she is. > > She has a nice curved body, but I don’t think she’s beautiful. Agreed. Believe it or not, I haven’t actually studied many pictures of her, but the quoted sentences pretty much sum up my opinion of her looks. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/7 "2009-06-11T22:41:54Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I think she’s physically attractive on her own- nicely shaped body, tall, nice enough bone structure. > > What makes her beautiful is her whole attitude, her intelligence, and how she carries herself. All of that comes through, even when she’s just standing there. Yup. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/8 "2009-06-11T22:43:03Z")
I think Michelle Obama’s got a good athletic figure, lovely eyes and a great smile. The rest comes from grooming and, like Diosa said, from her personality - confidence, intelligence, motivation, warmth, all the rest of it. I enjoy looking at her. That’s beauty, in my book. But it’s a HUGE contrast to what we’re normally told, these days, about the definition of female beauty - that it doesn’t even require a functioning brain, just size zero and good hair bleach. I didn’t think Princess Diana was pretty at all. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/9 "2009-06-11T22:44:04Z")
Compared to other first ladies, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/10 "2009-06-11T22:46:34Z")
Don’t underestimate the impact of makeup, hairstyle and dress. One of my wife’s high school classmates was a Playboy centerfold. In the magazine, of course, she was spectacular. In her high school photo she was simply pretty. When I met her in person she was absolutely nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/11 "2009-06-11T23:00:12Z")
> [@](#): > > nicely shaped body > [@](#): > > good athletic figure Well, maybe it’s just me, but I would have doubted that any heterosexual male would find Michelle Obama’s figure very sexy. She moves like a Bulgarian shot putter. ---
**Author:** ![KSO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@KSO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KSO)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/12 "2009-06-11T23:00:55Z")
No, not beautiful, but attractive in a suburban soccer mom kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/13 "2009-06-11T23:04:21Z")
See, though, that’s exactly the difference - I’m a straight woman, so I don’t have any expectation of finding a woman’s figure sexy. That attraction isn’t one of the components of female beauty for me. I think her figure’s…what’s the word I’m looking for? harmonious, maybe? Well put together? Like I said, I find her nice to look at. ---
**Author:** ![Dublin11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dublin11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dublin11)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/14 "2009-06-11T23:09:03Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Well, maybe it’s just me, but **I would have doubted that any heterosexual male would find Michelle Obama’s figure very sexy**. She moves like a Bulgarian shot putter. Mr Obama might disagree with you, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/15 "2009-06-11T23:10:00Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Well, maybe it’s just me, but I would have doubted that any heterosexual male would find Michelle Obama’s figure very sexy. She moves like a Bulgarian shot putter. You think all heterosexual men like exactly the same things? To answer the question, yes, I think Michelle Obama is beautiful. As has been said, it is her whole package: her looks, her grace, her intelligence, her style (though she does make the occasional fashion faux pas, I think overall, she is quite stylish.) She is not a classic beauty, whatever that means, but her whole is greater than the sum of her parts. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/16 "2009-06-11T23:15:54Z")
I find her pretty, but not in the classic sense. I think her jaw line is a bit heavy, but it’s offset by her winning smile. My biggest problem with her physical appearance is her posture. Mostly, she’s one of those people who easily projects her inner self through her face. That makes her quite lovely, in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/17 "2009-06-11T23:21:10Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > Well, maybe it’s just me, but I would have doubted that any heterosexual male would find Michelle Obama’s figure very sexy. She moves like a Bulgarian shot putter. I gather this is news to you, but not everyone is attracted to the same physical type of woman. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/18 "2009-06-11T23:32:06Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Compared to other first ladies, yeah. Exactly. I don’t find her pretty, but she has what we call in urban slang, a nice “steeze”. That’s that certain something a person has that shows intelligence, style, grace and sophistication just by the way they seem to carry themselves and style themselves. Also, I think her figure is nice. I wonder if this is what others who find Diana and Jackie O beautiful, also see. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/19 "2009-06-11T23:40:38Z")
To tweak a line once employed by her own husband to another First Lady… she’s beautiful enough. While I would characterize her as simply pretty and reasonably attractive, I find her appeal growing as I learn more about her. Recognition of her fondness for children, intellect and grace has over time caused me to view her in a much fonder light than one a simple lens might bestow. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496/20 "2009-06-11T23:42:08Z")
Politicians and the nobility are graded on a curve. Princess Diana was hot _for a British royal_. Kennedy was hot _compared to Taft_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-michelle-obama-beautiful/499496.md?page=2)