What is "Plump" to you?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I frequent a NG for those men like myself who admire women who are “well rounded” in more than an educational sense and a recent (and heated) debate has begun over what constitutes "plump"ness in a woman.

Webster defines plump as “rounded and usually pleasing shape”, but that is a pretty broad definition, I mean a medecine ball is round and my lover has no sharp angles but a silouhette of the two certainly don’t look at all alike.

I obviously cannot and would not refer you to a specific photo but I can describe by comparison what I’m talking about here.

Commonly women posted to this NG are in the 300# and above range of body size, which while not my cupper is certainly ok and I think that whoever you are if you feel sexy then you are sexy. I would personally classify such women as BBW (big beutiful women).

The cause for the heated debate has been a few folks posting ladies that I consider to be more befitting of the title “plump”, the body type is more akin to Anna Nichole Smith or Marlyn Monroe. Nice bust, rounded posterior and a cute soft round belly. I would call this “plump” but there are scads of folks in the NG referring to this as being “skinny”.

I guess what I’m asking here is when I say “plump” what body comes to mind in your personal imagination?

I think that folks like myself, who like a lady with a bit more meat on her bones, take enough crapola from the Kate Moss worshipping general public w/o discriminating amongst ourselves and I would ordinarily stay out of this fray but it does effect one of my leisure activities by discouraging the posting of lovely real women in one of the few NG’s not completely innundated by SPAM so I wish to get the opines of those folks whom I respect (namely you all) before I attempt to defend the full-bodied beuties under attack in this NG.

2

Plump is usually a word I avoid in describing women. To me it envisions ripened fruit. I can see using it to describe a man, and the only time I’d use it if he has “love-handles” but is in overall good shape aside from the bit of tummy. (Not a bad thingat all…kind of a Teddy Bear type of appeal.) But when using this to describe women…well, honestly it can mean anything from 15 to 20 pounds overweight to 100+ pounds overweight(Overweight going by the height/weight charts floating around, not my own judgement here). Sorry I’m not much help here. Personally, I’d tend to call the 15-30 pound range “plump”. Perhaps you need to put a caveat on your posts?

"mental image of a NG “Barely Plump Comely Lasses”*

3

I would have to say that women Anna Nicole Smith or Marilyn Monroe are plump, not skinny. When I think skinny, I think of the whole “heroin chic” look that seems to be everywhere. I have to say I think your description is right on the money Zen.

4

Marilyn Monroe and Anna Nicole Smith are voluptuous and curvy. Womanly.

Lucy Lawless fits in here, as does Camryn Manheim.

Plump refers to grandmotherly women.

Rosie O’Donnell is plump.

A women never (and I repeat, NEVER) wants to be referred to as plump.

5

If you described a woman as “plump” to me, I would envision an apple shape, which means among other things no obvious waist. The Anna Nicole Smith/Marilyn Monroe body shape is an hourglass shape - bustline and hips are clearly larger than an obvious waistline. Many plus-size models are also this shape, so it’s certainly possible for a large woman to have an hourglass figure, but I would not define either Smith or Monroe as “large”!

Now. Some women’s groups have pointed out that Marilyn Monroe wore a size 12. I’ve heard it argued by skinny people that “ready-to-wear sizes have changed; MM may have worn a 12 in her day, but she’d wear a size 4 today”. I have a lot of trouble believing this. Maybe in shops where you pay five hundred bucks for a blouse, sizes are like that. But can you imagine stuffing those breasts into anything marked “4” at JCPenney’s? Let’s not even talk about Wally World… The problem is that people’s perception has been warped by those half-dead “heroin chic” models, to the point where photos of Marilyn Monroe seem chubby and size 12 sounds huge instead of fairly average.

6

One of my best friends is 5’9"…I would call her plump, at 190-200 lbs. And, I think (from a female friend POV) she is gorgeous; very voluptuous and very pretty. I bought her a subscription to “Mode” magazine, because I try to convince her she should show herself off more in how she dresses!

However, 300# +…I would not call that plump, personally. “Fat” seems too loaded, but IMHO that’s beyond “plump.” I would not call Marylin Monroe or Lucy Lawless plump, though!

As to clothing sizes, they have indeed changed over the years. I read an article about this somewhere, can’t remember where. Fifteen years ago, I was a 9/10. Now I’m between a 6-8. And I’m pretty sure I haven’t lost weight or changed shape!

PS: I wouldn’t knock the likes of Kate Moss (She is SO 90’s, anyway.) Feel free to disparage the fashion industry and the people who buy into the skinny-is-better view. Better to realize the inherent beauty in (most!) people, and be glad there are obviously many people who find larger/plump/BB women sexy and attractive. Vive la differance!

7

I’m five feet tall. When I weighed 130 pounds, I considered myself plump. I was round all over. Now, at 117, I don’t really fit into any category…I’m no longer plump, but I’m not skinny either. I still have a little round lower tummy and soft thighs.

I don’t know what size Marilyn was, but she didn’t LOOK to be a size 4. I consider her to be voluptuous. Camryn Manheim is a BBW. She is beyond plump.

8

I’m 5’1". 115 lbs would be VERY plump for me. I’m comfortable at 105. I weighed 117 when I birthed my son! On the other hand, a taller woman with an extra 15 lbs. could be considered plump. It’s a height/weight thing. I don’t consider Rosie O’Donnell plump – she’s fat. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

9

According to the official Marilyn Monroe website, the measurements the studio gave for her were 37-23-36 and the measurements the dressmaker gave for her were 35-22-35.
For comparison, I’m 5’4" and my measurements are 36-26-36. I usually wear a 10 or, if I’m in the mood for something baggier, a 12.

10

I have learned long ago not to disclose my opinion on this topic in detail. It’s far too loaded. But I must state that IMHO, Camryn Manheim is way past plump. Marylin and Lucy are curvatious and Rosie is down right frumpy.

<leaving the scene before someone recalls that, once, in my foolish youth, I posted that the heroin chic models, while not the ideal human shape, did serve to encourage NA youth to stay in shape.>

11

BTW, Snopes has an response to the Marilyn Monre size thing. It’s just as common to see a size 16 claimed, and they discuss this very well.

I think Sue is on the right track–I think of plump as getting to the point where some of the curves and features are getting a little obscured by the extra padding. I don’t think Anna Nicole Smith qualifies, nor does Marilyn. It’s all there, and it’s all obvious what’s what and where those curves are.

I also have to say that my perspective is blurred because I have worked with several obese people. When I first met them I recall thinking that they were huge. As I get to know them, I find myself thinking they’re not so big, really. I’d call Camryn Manheim plump, but I might be biased.

12

I must concur.
I would call Marilyn Monroe curvaceous, and sexy.
I would call Lucy Lawless plump, and curvaceous and sexy…even with the bangs.
I would call Camryn Manheim Large (not within earshot), not so curvaceous, but still sexy.
But, I wouldn’t call Rosie at all.

A nod to zen101, I also like a woman with a little extra.
I think a lot of it depends on the individual and how they are plump, not how plump they are. I’ve seen women that were 100 lbs overweight, yet firm, well proportioned and ahem, extremely attractive. I’d call that plump.
I’ve also seen slender gals built like a potato, with a butt like a baggie full o’ cottage-cheese.
no offense intended, but blecch.

13

I would define plump as meaning more convex than concave. Not really out of shape, not really fat, just carrying some extra weight and comfortable with it. People who can jog down the street to catch a bus and nobody snatches small children out of their path. Sookie on Gilmore Girls is the only example that springs to mind, because the other shows I watch are Buffy, Angel, and Voyager, and they don’t allow overweight people on those sets unless they’re playing aliens or demons, and then only just long enough to kill them. Sorry, guess we bumped into a pet peeve, there.

[hijack]
Somebody once told me when STNG came out that it was cool they were casting non-model types for characters; they had fat, short, tall, funny-looking people! Neat! So long as they weren’t playing human beings…
[/hijack]

The main thing for me is that plumpness implies comfort. People who come across as “fat” have problems fitting into chairs, or moving, or doing things. Plump people may be the same size (or larger), but their size doesn’t seem to be an issue. One of my favorite Middle Eastern ethnic dancers was huge, but she danced so well it didn’t matter…

14

Anna Nicole Smith, IMHO, is real close to being fat.

I don’t like ‘skinny’ girls who have enough ribs showing to count them all and pipe cleaner arms, like many fashion models, but neither do I find women with pitted, great thighs and huge abdomens (like on Jerry Springer) attractive.

Lucy Lawless is too tall for me, but her version of plump is cool. Monroe, to my tastes, was borderline, real close to being considered fat.

The lady who plays the mother on Home Improvements and Malcolm in he middle is, to me anyhow, just plump. She’s on the lower end of plump.

Plump, to me, is looking like you have a bit of well proportioned baby fat left. No wattles under the neck, or double chins, clearly defined hips and butt, no ‘thick’ wrists and forearms, a cute but not obtrusive stomach that doesn’t sag and pleasantly rounded legs with thighs that do not rub.

A past girlfriend was 5 foot 2 inches tall and looked great at 110 pounds. When she, for some reason, dropped to 95, she looked too bony. When I saw her a few months after we parted company, she was up to 140 and looked fat. Her face, normally very attractive, was moonlike and her hips, thighs and butt had exploded.

Now, Beverly D’Angelo is on the low side of plump and looks real good and Stockard Channing is the same.

I’ve seen women I like who exercise who are well rounded, but not fat, and dislike the ‘jocketts’ who are all well defined muscle groups with rippled abdomens and lean faces, muscular arms and pectoral knockers.

15

Plump to me implies “huggableness” so it might be better to leave that description to mothers and grandmothers.

I prefer the term “voluptuous”. Sadly, I am not that. Heck, I’m not even sure if I qualify as curvaceous! I always envied my sister because she inherited my mother’s tendance towards voluptuousness. Don’t get me wrong; I’m very happy with my body but when you’re 15 and your 12 year old sister has boobs as big as yours, well, it can be an issue sometimes.

:smiley:

Mae West is voluptuous.

16

Definition of “plump”: cannot wear a thong bikini!

17

I like the term voluptuous, rather than plump. I’ve called myself that for quite a while. At 42-30-42, I’ve got that hourglass figure, what my mom calls “big tits and breeding hips” (runs in the family). And although those numbers sound like a lot, everyone has told me that I have a good figure. Just a little pooch belly, but otherwise packaged well. I even work out 3 - 4 days a week at the gym, but I know I’m destined to keep this figure. No complaints though, especially from my SO. He loves voluptuous women, and I always like to hear guys say they love 'em too.

18

**You can around my place!

Xena in a thong?? OH BABY!!**

19

Thanks to you all for posting your opinions, I do feel a need to clarify my OP.

This question was not to assist in finding a preferred term for “plump”, ie: those of you who prefer voloptuous (I like the term as well), but to more or less act as a litmus test for people on what they feel is “plump”, again, not what they think of the word itself compared to other useable words.

Personally I thought plump was a potentially derisive word that while oft meaning the same as voloptuous (all about curves) it had a more down-putting element to it, but the Webster definition for it does state “usually pleasing form” which would well describe any rounded figure so long as the person naming it as plump found the form pleasing (IE: Anna Nichole Smith, she is rounded and I find her pleasing albiet blonde). Someone else might think that a 600# lady is pleasing to look upon and is likely to be round and therefore mets with that person’s personal difinition of “plump”, but I digress, I was just looking to find out what the SDMB folks at large felt was “plump” subjectively.

20

I think you’ll find that most men agree with the “skinny” supermodel look that most women sport on tv, as long as they’re on tv. In real life, each man has his own bodytype that they find irresistable. I personally prefer women who have a “little meat on their bones”. Say, take the average woman on tv and add thirty or so pounds.

But I think you can pretty easily tell the difference between a healthy weight and “fat”. I think that’s what most people are interested in. And I think that’s what most men look for. Healthy is always sexy. I don’t want to date a “heroin chic” model, nor do I want to date someone morbidly obese. So if you’re worried, just stay healthy, no matter your body type, and there will always be guys who find you irresistable.

Now for me as a man, I have objective confirmation. There’s a scale at my work that takes your weight and measures your body fat percentage on how it varies from the norm at your height. When I usually weigh myself I weigh about 178 in the morning, which the scale notes as “Average”. After I eat lunch, I usually weigh in at 181 (note, I’m 5’8"), and the scale now notes me as “Plump”. So the point in which I reach plump from average is one big lunch. It’s so easy being a man, I tell you.