PUBLIC OPINION > Being Super Skinny Isn't All That
SodaHead Living
2012/06/08 22:00:00
"American Idol" original Kelly Clarkson proudly announced that she had absolutely no desire to be "super-skinny," echoing statements Adele made last year. Clarkson said, "I do cardio. I run. I strength-train using my own body weight. [But] really, what I try to instill in my fans is to be healthy and happy. I have no desire to be super-skinny." We wanted to know if other people have that desire.
We suspect many people want to be thin, or thinner, but "stick thin" indicates an extreme. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that most people claim they're free from that desire. In other words, they have healthy expectations. One commenter even wrote, "I'd rather be called fat than anorexic." But, as Clarkson said, the key is to stay happy and healthy. A desire to be stick thin can never be healthy.
Weight Affects Women
Women obviously have more societal expectations to deal with, and that was abundantly clear in the results. Women were more than twice as likely as men to say they'd felt the desire to be "stick thin." Nearly half of women had struggled with that feeling, compared to just one in five guys.
Skinny Struggles Too
We expected there to be a difference in response correlating to weight class, but we definitely didn't expect the slimmest voters to struggle the most. Skinny voters were 8% more likely than overweight voters to say they'd felt the desire to be super-skinny. Overweight people would likely be content just to lose some weight, but for some it's never enough.
Old-Timers Are Content
The desire to be attractive or accepted is timeless, but older generations were far less likely to have felt the desire to be super-skinny, even though they have decades on the younger voters. And because the question asked if voters have "ever" wanted to be stick thin, we have to assume it's a relatively new issue.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about being super-skinny. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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Jay Victoria 2012/06/08 22:31:58
+18I'm sorry, but I personally am getting sick and tired of this. If you don't think being "super skinny" is all that, then so be it. Maybe it wasn't meant for you, or in street terms, "You ain't about that life..." Have I ever felt the need to be stick thin? NOPE! Because I'm naturally stick thin. I get criticized for my size a lot, but at the end of the day there still are thousands of girls who practically kill themselves to be as thin as me. And if you DO want to be skinny, do it the healthy way. Eat well, work out, and don't over-do anything.
The first couple things that come to my mind whenever I see some celebrity photo or any pic of women this skinny are as follows...
1) Looking like concentration camp victims is NOT sexy. Who the hell in their right mind wants to be with anyone who look as if a gentle breeze could knock them over?
2) I'd rather not have to constantly watch how hard I hug them in fear of breaking their spine in two, and how the hell do these women get romantic with their (unlucky) boyfriends/husbands without having their bodies break in several places. Doesn't sound like such a hot night to me.
EAT SOME FOOD! and stop scaring the children >:(
I've struggled with Anorexia and I still do today. It's a nightmare, and I'm powerless. You don't know what it's like.
i think everyone should just be healthy :)
I just LOVE how the 'curvy and big boned' bunch talk about how everyone is beautiful in their own way, then put down the anorexic, or god forbid, the healthy or naturally skinny people, saying they are too thin. (but we all know naturally and healthy skinny people don't exist, only in fairy tales do they roam freely...)
Who are you to judge what is too thin? I have never actually come across a skinny person telling me i need to loose weight, and i sure as hell aint no where near skinny.
How can you say someone is not beautiful?
That woman up there IS beautiful to someone.
Most of those fat laden 'victims' can immediately lose 1/3 of their body weight if they just quit making excuses - like 'I'm older now...' There is no real reason a 45 year old man or woman cannot be within 10% of their HS grad. weight. I know, I lost 60 lbs this yr and am keeping it off with about 30 to go. How I did it can be found at: beltfalconelevatedphotography... And I eat damn good and you can too.
What do you think?
If you look good and feel good who care what they post! The fact is you can not tell any more in a picture if a girl is thin or fat! The picture is touched up so much! I am a fat guy with a skinny girl and that makes me look good no matter what!! ;-)