# Who is deciding this stuff? (model thinness = attractiveness) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789 "2014-08-28T20:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/21 "2014-08-31T01:05:14Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > My uneducated WAG is that whatever aesthetic feature is associated with wealth and privilege, that’s the feature that people are conditioned to aspire to and find attractive. This. Back when it was hard to get enough food, fat was high-status because the rich were fat and the poor were skinny. Nowadays it’s harder to keep weight off than to put it on, so it’s looking near-starved that is high-status. It’s the same way as how high-status feminine clothing is always impractical; rich women don’t need to wear practical clothing, and stylish feminine clothing has always imitated that of rich women. Women harvesting crops didn’t wear high heel shoes, so high heels became more stylish than flats. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/22 "2014-08-31T01:35:30Z")
I think the premise of the OP is somewhat flawed that women are flocking to this ideal of being thin just to be thin. Women who are built and in decent shape with curves are typically going to get the most positive male attention well outpacing that given to thin women and they known this. Other than models the other main place this lean body type is sought after is in actresses and performers so they look OK on the camera, and in upper class or upwardly aspirational women where it is connected to working out intensively and being fit moreso than just being thin for aesthetic reasons. Re this last note there is a connection (and a valid one in this obese tending industrialized society of ours) between thinner = healthier. Women who are out of shape are often judged harshly by men regardless of what condition the men are in. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/23 "2014-09-01T17:06:34Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but that doesn’t explain why it’s such an ideal to aspire to. > […] > I realize that fashion models are essentially human coat hangers, but I don’t quite understand how that translates into being the ideal of beauty that women aspire to, and that men are supposed to want. > . If it’s correct, it means this look isn’t thought of as an ideal to aspire to, it just happens that clothes look better on skinny models, so they use skinny models. Even if it ends up actually becoming an ideal, it wasn’t the intent. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/24 "2014-09-01T17:39:24Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > It’s like some cosmic joke - a bunch of gay men deciding the standards of female beauty. Zombie Richard Nixon? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/25 "2014-09-01T20:59:04Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > There’s this thing called the [Fashion Industry](http://www.statisticbrain.com/fashion-industry-statistics/). Maybe you’ve heard of it. If not for them telling you what to wear and how to look wearing it, [this is where society would end up](https://www.google.com/search?q=people+of+walmart&rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS315US315&espv=2&tbm=isch&imgil=jxaq2Kw2Tk_GtM%253A%253BnrBY8HdC47RTtM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.youtube.com%25252Fchannel%25252FUC_2MVW43Brfedt-KAXWhWHg&source=iu&fir=jxaq2Kw2Tk_GtM%253A%252CnrBY8HdC47RTtM%252C_&usg=__3mLhyABXvXJ6oG-DxND2zQ-7-9s%3D&sa=X&ei=Y2UAVJysO4esogTWu4CwCg&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ9QEwBQ&biw=1280&bih=685#imgdii=_). You mean people might actually be able to wear comfortable clothes and dress to the climate without be shamed for it? Shocking! ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/26 "2014-09-02T00:01:34Z")
There’s a lot of confusion in some straight male circles, the idea that women are dressing to please them. Laughable. Why should anyone care what straight guys like? They have no taste and are totally beside the point. Do you know what group of women are dressing to please straight dudes? Strippers and street walkers. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/27 "2014-09-02T01:38:26Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > There’s a lot of confusion in some straight male circles, the idea that women are dressing to please them. Laughable. Why should anyone care what straight guys like? They have no taste and are totally beside the point. Do you know what group of women are dressing to please straight dudes? Strippers and street walkers. Oh, I agree: The idea that clothing can be used to attract the opposite sex is almost as laughable as the idea that straight women have a sex drive. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/28 "2014-09-02T02:04:03Z")
Basically, fashion designers are shit at their jobs. At least they aren’t designing clothes that only look good if you don’t have any arms. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/29 "2014-09-02T21:32:58Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Oh, I agree: The idea that clothing can be used to attract the opposite sex is almost as laughable as the idea that straight women have a sex drive. I didn’t make either of those claims. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/30 "2014-09-02T22:30:36Z")
A fashion model is a coat hanger with a pretty face, that is all. The fact that they have very pretty faces fools people into thinking their thinness is part of their beauty. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/31 "2014-09-02T23:13:27Z")
In Gap’s case, I think they chose a thin model for their ad to hide the fact that their “Curvy/Skinny” style of jeans only looks good on the latter half. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/32 "2014-09-03T02:55:26Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > If you look at any typical illustrated history book about the 1960’s, you’ll see a photo of a soldier igniting a Vietnamese thatch roof with a Zippo, a college kid throwing a tear gas canister back at National Gaurdsmen, and Twiggy looking vacantly back at you with her fingers in her mouth… For what it’s worth, Twiggy has no idea how this happened either. She thought she was too thin to ever model anything, and aspired to be a stylist/designer. _She_ wanted to look like Marilyn Monroe. It’s a tossup whether the model as disposable commodity came from the difficulty of staying thin for more than a season at a time, or the idea that it’s okay for humans to be that specific shape is justified because they’re not going to stay there very long, but the short career of a model does play into it. Girls come and go very rapidly, and there’s going to be less variation in shape between two women who are 34-22-34 with very little squish than there are between two women who are curvy and 38-26-38. The greater uniformity at the small end of the scale means that one when girl snaps and can’t keep her diet up anymore, you can fit her dress onto the next girl in line without a lot of fuss. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2014, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/33 "2014-09-03T11:45:00Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > There’s this thing called the [Fashion Industry](http://www.statisticbrain.com/fashion-industry-statistics/). Maybe you’ve heard of it. If not for them telling you what to wear and how to look wearing it, [this is where society would end up](https://www.google.com/search?q=people+of+walmart&rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS315US315&espv=2&tbm=isch&imgil=jxaq2Kw2Tk_GtM%253A%253BnrBY8HdC47RTtM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.youtube.com%25252Fchannel%25252FUC_2MVW43Brfedt-KAXWhWHg&source=iu&fir=jxaq2Kw2Tk_GtM%253A%252CnrBY8HdC47RTtM%252C_&usg=__3mLhyABXvXJ6oG-DxND2zQ-7-9s%3D&sa=X&ei=Y2UAVJysO4esogTWu4CwCg&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ9QEwBQ&biw=1280&bih=685#imgdii=_). You realize that fashion designers were responsible for the clothes in those photos? Maybe not the name designers , but fashion designers nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789/34 "2014-09-05T04:14:02Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > I didn’t make either of those claims. Hey, you said that women don’t dress to please straight men. (Which perpetuates the homophobic stereotype that _gay_ men are fashion mavens, BTW.) That means that women don’t use clothing to attract potential mates, in your mind, and _that_ slides neatly into the Victorian sexist notion that straight women don’t naturally have a sex drive until they’re “corrupted” by men. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-deciding-this-stuff-model-thinness-attractiveness/696789.md?page=1)