Oh. Sheesh.
Thank God.
For a moment there I thought you said "thundering herds of rabbis.
What a dreadful image.
I like big butts, and I cannot lie. You other brothers can’t deny that when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face, you get sprung.
Not to drag this out, but I like to look at women with tight, flat tummies, perky tits, long, slim legs. I also like to look at women who don’t have all those traits. There are two reasons: first, I’m very interested in the form and function of the human body and individual variations; and second…what can I say? I’m a 22 year old male who’s attracted to women. 
Not to belabor a point but, why do you keep foisting your insecurities on the men? Why do you believe men lie when they say they like women who do not meet your definition of what a beautiful woman is? Why in the world would these men want to look good in the eyes of these women who they could not possibly be attracted to?
Sexual attraction is determined by both society and individual tastes. I grew up in a black and Puerto Rican household. Believe me when I tell you that these men are actually and truely attracted to what society at large would call “fat women”.
If you want to believe that any man that says he finds a woman shaped like you is lying, well, too bad for you. But to call men who are just shooting the shit and talking about what they like liars is just downright rude.
I definitely enjoy good-looking folks on TV (mmm, “The Guardian”) and I understand that most people are intrigued by viewing folks with healthy appearances, with an interesting character a plus. On the other hand, I truly appreciate the fact that “The Practice” has a range of physical types more like the real world, and including not-conventially-TV-pretty folks.
My point though, is that this contestant is not full-figured, even in the sense of curvy or voluptuous. There is a huge gap between the unhealthfully heavy and the stick figures on TV and she doesn’t come close to looking like an average person, let alone a fat person. Her view is dysmorphic and extreme.
Actually, gigi, I was watching her last night and she does have a more rounded and prominent ass than is generally considered desirable by young American women.
Which is unfortunate, since her rounded and prominent ass is yummy, as several males of my acquaintence will testify.
Damn, Guinastasia beat me to the point about Kate Winslet and the flak she got for Titanic. I should have known she would. grins
Still, it bears repeating that this is hardly a new problem. I figure you can deal with it by giving the waif-obsessed critics more credence and lowering your self-esteem to meet their standards, or you can deal with it by saying “Screw you!” to the critics and just being who and what comes most naturally. Kate Winslet tends to take the latter path, while Kelly Clarkson, much as I admire her as a singer, is unfortunately taking the former path. I suppose she thinks she’ll be more likely to win the competition if she acquiesces to the idea that she’s “full-figured” and that’s a bad thing… which is a very sad state of affairs.
As for jarbabyj’s points, I think there is some validity there, and I think that it comes from men’s insecurities in how society views them. Some elements of society (Hollywood, fashion magazines, television, etc.) tells them that thin, “tight” women are attractive, and so the ones concerned about their masculinity gravitate towards this ideal. Some men prove their manhood, in short, by proving that thin women turn them on and full-figured women are “nasty.” It has more to do with those men’s own insecurities, I think, than an actual problem with the women in question.
Of course, it’s also a chicken-or-egg argument… which came first, the unrealistic standards of beauty, or the need of some males to prove their masculinity in more and more extreme ways?
Speaking only for myself, I find all sorts of different women attractive. My wife is similar to pldennison’s, but I find her incredibly sexy. I think Kate Winslet is one of the loveliest creatures alive, in every way. I also think Audrey Hepburn and Audrey Tautou (from Amelie) are absolutely beautiful. And Kelly Clarkson is pretty dang hot, too, for what that’s worth.
Pam Anderson, however, makes me puke. But then, most fake people do.
Thanks for the review–as I mentioned I hadn’t actually seen her on TV. It is weird how these young girls are supposed to wear really hootchie clothes, even to school, so that any real flesh is going to look like too much.
And BTW, unfortunately Kate Winslet dieted herself back down (and more) after her baby, despite her “no dieting” bit. Roles were probably much harder to come by, as jarbabyj said.