# Ug. Maybe Media DOES want women to be too skinny.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [May 2, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492 "2007-05-02T17:19:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/1 "2007-05-02T17:19:05Z")
I’m not going to dig up the threads unless upon request, but in the past I’ve argued that blaming the media for holding up a too thin standard of beauty is bullshit. I’ve argued that the media _does_ give credit where credit is due and lauds women such as Salma Hayek for how drop dead gorgeous they are, and that the size 0 runway models aren’t sexy.
I might have been wrong.
I’ve just read [this damn article](http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2007/04/nicole_kidman_actual_millionaire.html) about Nicole Kidman’s remake of Marylyn Monroes’ _How to Marry a Millionaire_. I know they’re just trying to talk up Ms. Kidman but this quote just kneecaps my original argument about the standard of beauty in Media:
> [@](#):
>
> “The original Millionaire was about a girl who was, frankly, kind of fat,” intoned studio reps. “Nicole is thin and perfect.”
That’s right. He said Marilyn Monroe was too fat. What the living God Damn Fuck? She was the icon of sex for a generation. She was the epitome of the ideal. She never did much for me 'cause of the bleached blonde hair and the vacant eyes, but she was sure as hell not _fat_. She had a gorgeous body. “Fat?!!!” Fuck off, Mr. Producer. It’s _Marilyn Fucking Monroe_!
Now go sleep with a mop if that’s what turns you on.
---
### Author:  [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/2 "2007-05-02T17:24:53Z")
> [@Monkey with a Gun](#):
>
> She had a gorgeous body.
Most of which, for those who are interested in checking this assertion, can be seen clad (technically) in a skintight satin and lace negligee [here](http://www.eforu.com/gallery/marilynmonroe/pic1.html).
---
### Author:  [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/3 "2007-05-02T17:29:39Z")
Did you really read that site? It was mocking all the projects it was talking about and the link they had didn’t have that quote.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/4 "2007-05-02T17:49:31Z")
[QUOTE=kidchameleon]
Did you really read that site? It was mocking all the projects it was talking about and the link they had didn’t have that quote.
[/QUOTE]
Actually, no. I didn’t read the site. What I read was an associated press article printed in the _Georgia Times Union_ on Monday. I did a google search today to find the article, but the link was the first one I saw with the quote - so I went with that.
My point still holds. I’m not pitting the article. I’m pitting the asshole producer who said that Marilyn was fat.
---
### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/5 "2007-05-02T17:58:06Z")
[Here’s](http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21645224-5006343,00.htm) another link that contains the same quote. Again, it’s not the article, it’s the fucking assertion by the studio rep.
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### Author:  [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/6 "2007-05-02T17:59:10Z")
[QUOTE=A Monkey With a Gun]
My point still holds. I’m not pitting the article. I’m pitting the asshole producer who said that Marilyn was fat.
[/QUOTE]
IIRC (and I don’t care enough to look it up), Liz Hurley once said “if I were as fat as Marilyn Monroe I’d kill myself”.
-Joe
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### Author:  [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/7 "2007-05-02T18:05:45Z")
I think you were whooshed, **Monkey**. I’m pretty sure no real person actually said that. Read some of the other items on that page, and then see if you still take it seriously.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/8 "2007-05-02T18:05:54Z")
[QUOTE=A Monkey With a Gun]
What the living God Damn Fuck? She was the icon of sex for a generation. She was the epitome of the ideal. She never did much for me 'cause of the bleached blonde hair and the vacant eyes, but she was sure as hell not _fat_. She had a gorgeous body. “Fat?!!!” Fuck off, Mr. Producer. It’s _Marilyn Fucking Monroe_!
Now go sleep with a mop if that’s what turns you on.
[/QUOTE]
Personally, I agree with him. Not only was she a sex symbol from a _bygone era_, but she was a bit bigger than many of her contemporaries. I prefer Nicole Kidman’s body type to Marilyn’s any day of the week. I’m pretty sure most people do, too or there’d be a lot of chunky Marilyn types gracing the covers of everything.
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### Author:  [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/9 "2007-05-02T18:14:05Z")
[QUOTE=A Monkey With a Gun]
I’ve argued that the media _does_ give credit where credit is due and lauds women such as Salma Hayek for how drop dead gorgeous they are, and that the size 0 runway models aren’t sexy.
[/QUOTE]
Huh? Salma Hayek is skinny.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/10 "2007-05-02T19:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
Personally, I agree with him. Not only was she a sex symbol from a _bygone era_, but she was a bit bigger than many of her contemporaries. I prefer Nicole Kidman’s body type to Marilyn’s any day of the week. I’m pretty sure most people do, too or there’d be a lot of chunky Marilyn types gracing the covers of everything.
[/QUOTE]
Oh come on. How can you look at [this](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/10/25/deadceleb_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.forbes.com/2004/10/25/cx_2004deadcelebtears_6.html&h=400&w=322&sz=36&hl=en&start=237&tbnid=DTEh_NKYC0P2FM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMarilyn%2BMonroe%26start%3D220%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN) and tell me that Marylyn was fat.
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### Author:  [@gommsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gommsn)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/11 "2007-05-02T19:31:00Z")
Picture #5 has been my desktop for the past two years.
Yeah, she was an oinker alright! :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/12 "2007-05-02T19:35:35Z")
If you want another example of a Hollywood producer completely missing the fucking point about a classic, [feast your eyes on this:](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963351.html?categoryid=13&cs=1)
> [@](#):
>
> A highlight of the Mandalay Pictures’ slate at Universal is the remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” scheduled to be in production by early fall.
>
> “We think we have a very contemporary take,” Schulman said. “In the original, the birds just showed up, and it was kind of like, why are the birds here? This time, there’s a reason why they’re here and (people) have had something to do with it. There’s an environmental slant to what could create nature fighting back.”
Oh, yeah. That’s going to suck. Hard.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/13 "2007-05-02T19:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Miller]
Oh, yeah. That’s going to suck. Hard.
[/QUOTE]
Where’s Norman Bates when you need him? :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/14 "2007-05-02T19:44:37Z")
I don’t particularly have a problem with wanting skinner-than-monroe women for representations of beauty _within the media_. To my eyes at least, it is true that the camera adds at least 15 pounds.
But I imagine if I saw them in person I’d much prefer monroe to the uber-skinny runway types of today.
So please, when you say “fat”, you media types, make sure people know the context. For my own sake, I don’t really _want_ people running around trying to fit into size 0. Even not considering the psychological effect of body image issues.
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### Author:  [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/15 "2007-05-02T19:45:17Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23]
Where’s Norman Bates when you need him? :rolleyes:
[/QUOTE]
He’s busy hunting down Gus Van Sant so he can introduce him to his mother.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/16 "2007-05-02T19:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass]
Huh? Salma Hayek is skinny.
[/QUOTE]
Nah, she ain’t really skinny. She’s thin granted, but she’s not a stick like Nicole Kidman. Salma has breasts, hips and a great ass. (She’s gained a bit of weight in recent years, which is why I held her up as an example - because it’s not too much, it’s accentuated her curves and I think she’s even _hotter_ now.) That’s neither here nor there, though.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I agree with **Kalhoun** in that Nicole Kidman is hot. But she’s skinny. Tall, skinny, and nothing but bones. Gorgeous face, but what’s her cup size? A minus? Does she even have an ass? Is this the standard of beauty? A woman that’s built like a six foot tall eleven year old boy?
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/17 "2007-05-02T19:56:31Z")
[QUOTE=A Monkey With a Gun]
Oh come on. How can you look at [this](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.forbes.com/images/2004/10/25/deadceleb_6.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.forbes.com/2004/10/25/cx_2004deadcelebtears_6.html&h=400&w=322&sz=36&hl=en&start=237&tbnid=DTEh_NKYC0P2FM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3DMarilyn%2BMonroe%26start%3D220%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26channel%3Ds%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN) and tell me that Marylyn was fat.
[/QUOTE]
Not in that shot she’s not, but I don’t think that early shot is representative of her body throughout her career, either. She fluctuated in weight quite a bit. She wasn’t always fat, but there were many “Marilyns” who I wouldn’t trade places with, body-wise.
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### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/18 "2007-05-02T20:01:56Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
Not in that shot she’s not, but I don’t think that early shot is representative of her body throughout her career, either. She fluctuated in weight quite a bit.
[/QUOTE]
Show me a picture, then.
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### Author:  [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/19 "2007-05-02T20:02:23Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun]
She wasn’t always fat, but there were many “Marilyns” who I wouldn’t trade places with, body-wise.
[/QUOTE]
Especially not the naked dead one laying across her bed.
---
### Author:  [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ug-maybe-media-does-want-women-to-be-too-skinny/402492/20 "2007-05-02T20:08:38Z")
[QUOTE=Thudlow Boink]
I think you were whooshed, **Monkey**. I’m pretty sure no real person actually said that. Read some of the other items on that page, and then see if you still take it seriously.
[/QUOTE]
Sorry I missed this, but nope, I don’t think I was whooshed. The quote is very real. Feel free to google.
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