# Skinniest woman you're attracted to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042 "2011-01-01T12:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/41 "2011-01-02T15:18:20Z")
> [@JohnsonB](#): > > But Amanda Righetti isn’t really skinny… > She looks sorta skinny in that FHM pic you posted, but hey, we all know those have little to do with reality. In The Mentalist, she has a pretty strong, athletic physique - if she’s as thin as you find women attractive: there wouldn’t be many celebs left. > > [http://img827.imageshack.us/i/normal118still007.jpg/](http://img827.imageshack.us/i/normal118still007.jpg/) [http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3956/normal118still009.jpg](http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/3956/normal118still009.jpg) Here are some NSFW pictures of Rhighetti. She’s slender, to be sure, but I don’t think anyone but her Jewish grandmother would call her skinny: [url/][http://filegizmo.com/download/?fid=106I268S3](http://filegizmo.com/download/?fid=106I268S3) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/42 "2011-01-02T15:23:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Here are some NSFW pictures of Rhighetti. She’s slender, to be sure, but I don’t think anyone but her Jewish grandmother would call her skinny: > > [url/][http://filegizmo.com/download/?fid=106I268S3](http://filegizmo.com/download/?fid=106I268S3) Good lord, that looks like a TERRIBLE movie. I hope Netflix has it! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/43 "2011-01-02T16:14:57Z")
Runway and magazine models are not selected for their sex appeal. They are selected for their photogenic faces and tall thin builds to be walking coathangers for the clothes they model. I generally don’t find them particularly attractive. Lingerie and SI swimsuit models tend to be more curvacious (IOW bigger boobs). Another reason actresses and models tend to be skinnier than you might find attractive IRL is because gaunt, boney features tend to pick up light and shadows better on camera. And a 5’5" woman who is at healthy weight may look sexy IRL but she can appear short and dumpy on camera. I tend to like more athletic girls like Jillian Michaels or girls with a bit of meat on them. Or girls who are skinny without being all tall and gangly. Kiera Knightly just looks gross. Healthy or not, she’s flat-chested and freakishly ripped. And her hips are so boney I’d be worried I was putting my penis in some sort of penis grinder. “Knock-kneeded bimbos walkin’ like hoes You can have them bimbos I’ll keep my women like Flo Jo” -Sir Mix-A-Lot ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/44 "2011-01-02T17:54:32Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] I’m willing to guess that may have had to do with a number of intangible things aside from her skinniness. I think how attractive we view somebody is based on a mix of physical and non-physical factors anyway. For example, even if you think a girl is too skinny for your tastes, you might disregard that if she has a pretty face, innate charm, and intelligence. [/QUOTE] I definitely agree. One of the things that I find attractive about it (weird as it sounds) is her eyes. There is just something about her eyes. -XT ---
**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:** [January 2, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/45 "2011-01-02T18:57:55Z")
Didn’t the fashion industry have an agreement that they weren’t going to hire anorexic models to encourage models to NOT be 5’5" and 73 pounds? Looking up images of Isabelle Caro, it appears that she was working even when she was nothing but bones. As an aside, she looked terrible naked, but I think she looked even more pathetic clothed - it seemed to emphasize just how skinny she was. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/46 "2011-01-02T19:12:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Didn’t the fashion industry have an agreement that they weren’t going to hire anorexic models to encourage models to NOT be 5’5" and 73 pounds? Looking up images of Isabelle Caro, it appears that she was working even when she was nothing but bones. As an aside, she looked terrible naked, but I think she looked even more pathetic clothed - it seemed to emphasize just how skinny she was. Yeah…they gave up on that. Seriously. There were howls, and since no one within the industry really gives a fuck about their walking coat hangers, it was dropped pretty quickly as a movement. At least, according to one of the news reports I read about Caro yesterday. Can’t seem to find which one it was today, as there are so many more on Google at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a87d85/32.png) [@A\_Dodgy\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Dodgy_Dude)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/47 "2011-01-02T19:35:15Z")
I really liked [Lara Flynn Boyle](http://laraflynnboyle.celebscentral.net/photo/17624/) before she let the plastic surgeons go to work on her face. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/48 "2011-01-02T20:08:41Z")
In Bend it like Beckham Knightley has short hair and her friend’s mother sees them together and thinks Knightley is a boy. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/49 "2011-01-02T22:25:53Z")
In pin-up form, the up-thread pictures of Kiera Knightley push the edge of appeal for me. In real life, essentially no woman with a pretty face who seems healthy is too skinny to be attractive. “Healthy” meaning not infirm, nor ravaged by disease. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/50 "2011-01-02T22:48:55Z")
I think Maggie Q is hot and I see her listed at 5’6” and 103lbs, which is pretty darn skinny. I know women that height that weigh over 120lbs and they still look pretty slim to me. [http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/8073/02maggie-q.jpg](http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/8073/02maggie-q.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/51 "2011-01-03T02:21:29Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > The recent death of [Isabella Caro](http://img.timeinc.net/time/2008/time_100_walkup/isabelle_caro.jpg)–a professional model anorexic to a grotesque extreme–makes me wonder if any magazine readers are genuinely attracted to women that thin. Ad directors are selling clothes, not body images, and clothes look best in a wire hanger apparently. > > I don’t want to make light of Miss Caro’s tragic life and death, I just wonder who wants their products associated with such obvious illness. > > I’m attracted to a pretty broad variety of physical types; Kiera Knightley and Polly Jean Harvey are about as thin as I find beautiful, and I sure wish they’d both eat a sandwich. > > How about the rest of you? Where do you draw the line on the thin end? The premise of your post is flawed - Isabelle Caro was only famous as a ‘model’ for the famous nude anti-anorexia nervosa billboard she was featured on while weighing something like 60 lbs. She’s been emaciated and severely ill with her eating disorder for her entire adult life, has never been a professional model or featured in ad campaigns etc. Of course people are not attracted to people who look like Isabelle Caro. She looks like death, her appearance is shocking to everyone. It’s hard to get more extremely thin than the runway models these days, but they do not look like Isabelle yet thank goodness. ☹ And they are successfully used to sell all luxury products and many other brands as well. Most are far too thin - in that they would look 10x better with at least 10 more lbs of meat on their bones - but most of them have breasts and a little subcutaneous fat, and their bones are photoshopped out of their ad campaigns. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/52 "2011-01-03T02:53:57Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Runway and magazine models are not selected for their sex appeal. They are selected for their photogenic faces and tall thin builds to be walking coathangers for the clothes they model. Which just demonstrates the ass-backwards thought process of the designers. If they were actually competent, they would be creating clothes to look good _being worn_, not to look good on a coathanger and then find someone sufficently coathanger-shaped to model them. > [@](#): > > Kiera Knightly just looks gross. Healthy or not, she’s flat-chested and freakishly ripped. :dubious: I don’t get why being “ripped” like she is would be a turn-off. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/53 "2011-01-03T03:04:18Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > The premise of your post is flawed - Isabelle Caro was only famous as a ‘model’ for the famous nude anti-anorexia nervosa billboard she was featured on while weighing something like 60 lbs. She’s been emaciated and severely ill with her eating disorder for her entire adult life, has never been a professional model or featured in ad campaigns etc. > > Of course people are not attracted to people who look like Isabelle Caro. She looks like death, her appearance is shocking to everyone. No, she was a working model until she died, as seen in [this](http://www.repubblica.it/2009/12/sezioni/arte/recensioni/camera-sguardo/camera-sguardo/este_24170516_50000.jpg) and [this](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bwiraLYgCTY/R2LL7-Sg4FI/AAAAAAAAAHI/B3Cmce-XYLg/s400/benetton3%5B1%5D.jpg) (a Benetton ad). Size zero models really are in a lot of demand, because clothes drape better on them than on women with actual curves. She died within a day or two of her last photo shoot. She didn’t _just_ do billboards about anorexia. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/54 "2011-01-03T03:27:40Z")
How do you figure those images are of her? She was never a fashion model (being only 5’5" or so) and I’ve never seen evidence than she was a print model either. Her sole claim to fame was that billboard and appearing in a couple documentaries and news programs about anorexia and body image. I’ve always heard she has been severely anorexic and emaciated since she was in her early teens. No one would ever hire someone who looks like her to promote a product. The idea is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/55 "2011-01-03T03:35:25Z")
5’5" and 60 lbs is not a ‘size zero’ by the way. That is a BMI of 10. Modern extremely thin fashion models have BMI of 15-17 usually. Even the very scary-skinniest look like [this](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aT0H7fiVURg/Sp3X1JTB2hI/AAAAAAAAE1M/Y5AbkSHd7SU/s400/lanvin+fabsugar.com.jpg) ([Olga Sherer](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uB-BSH_BgAs/Sa_qVmuf3ZI/AAAAAAAAE8A/kWqK0u9jOe8/s400/Balenciaga+Fall+2009+Show+Women+Management+New+York+Blog+Olga+Sherer.jpg)), or [this](http://stylefrizz.com/img/chanel-iman-victorias-secret.jpg) ([Chanel Iman](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_I86emsn9Hlw/TN-zbJ0n0vI/AAAAAAAAAQw/mPFpE_AdReI/s1600/chanel-iman-4.jpg)). [Not like this (disturbing image of 56 lb anorexic woman.)](http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/04_02/LaurenBailey5EN_468x398.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/56 "2011-01-03T06:14:26Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > I think Maggie Q is hot and I see her listed at 5’6” and 103lbs, which is pretty darn skinny. I know women that height that weigh over 120lbs and they still look pretty slim to me. > > [http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/8073/02maggie-q.jpg](http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/8073/02maggie-q.jpg) Not a problem for me. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/57 "2011-01-03T06:47:49Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Which just demonstrates the ass-backwards thought process of the designers. If they were actually competent, they would be creating clothes to look good _being worn_, not to look good on a coathanger and then find someone sufficently coathanger-shaped to model them. The world of women’s “high” fashion design is just a big circle jerk. It’s more about the designers making themselves feel good than selling clothes. The majority of people can’t afford to buy the clothes they design anyway. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/58 "2011-01-03T07:16:04Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > a professional model anorexic to a grotesque extreme Had never heard of her, but that picture is indeed grotesque. Aside from the “Heroin chic” trend a while back, I don’t remember models in general being so horribly horribly disgustingly thin. I don’t mind thin women as long as you can tell that they are just inherently somewhat thin (like Callista Flockhart) and aren’t actually unhealthy or anorexic. It helps to have at least enough body fat to support some decent boobage. I have to ask though - what kind of model was she? When I think of runway models, for example, I don’t think of women that are _supposed_ to be attractive. Sure, they are supposed to have some kind of glamour to them, but it’s the glamour of other worldly beings who wear bizarre clothing and can all fit into the same clothing size while striding in an alien gait. On the other hand, magazine models tend to fit particular themes: 1. The swimsuit model - has enough body fat to support decent boobage, or to make the fake boobs relatively within the realm of believability. 2. The generic clothing advertising model - somewhat diverse, usually somewhat normal body type. 3. Fashion magazine photoshoot model - might not be super skinny, but usually has a distinctive and memorable look of some kind, not necessarily what one would consider typically attractive, but still striking in one way or another. 4. Preppy straight guy clothing using homoerotic shirtless guys as models. 5. Etc… So while there are anorexic models, I think they are relegated to particular segments of the industry. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/59 "2011-01-04T00:15:00Z")
Audrey Hepburn. Skinny, but always looked flawlessly healthy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042/60 "2011-01-04T00:29:13Z")
I prefer short and tiny. I usually end up with tall and chubby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skinniest-woman-youre-attracted-to/566042.md?page=4)