History Main / RealWomenHaveCurves

Note that for centuries, this was ''the'' standard body image among Western women. Specifically, women were expected to be plump and curvy; this was held up as the ''nec plus ultra'' of feminine beauty and sexual allure (Elizabethan women [[TruthInTelevision had]] ''[[TruthInTelevision such]]'' [[TruthInTelevision tiny waists]]). [[http://www.judgmentofparis.com/Lillian1.htm Lillian Russell]] is a perfect case in point; at the height of her fame in the 1890s, she hit 200 pounds at one point -- and was considered the archetype of American beauty. Body image began to change to a more slender ideal circa 1910, but the real switch to "pencil thin" didn't happen until after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, or during the RoaringTwenties.

As such, this is somewhat of a CyclicTrope alongside its thin and lithe inverse, changing from one to the other every 10 to 20 years or so. For example, TheSixties and to a lesser extent TheSeventies were marked by a thin, ballerina-like ideal (e.g., Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Liz Montgomery, even a younger Marilyn Monroe) and/or toned and fit (Farrah Fawcett and Olivia Newton John), following a fad for "va-va-voom" voluptuousness in the Forties through mid-Fifties (e.g., Creator/MaeWest, Creator/BettyGrable), which in turn had supplanted the slender look of TheRoaringTwenties and TheThirties. TheEighties brought bustier sex symbols, while TheNineties brought in the Heroin Chic, with extremely skinny models raising concerns regarding eating disorders in the later years of TheOughties. Finally in the 2010s, "padded" and even "plus" sizes have been brought into mainstream appeal.

* WWE's [[Wrestling/KaraDrew Cherry]] had a SeeminglyWholesomeFiftiesGirl gimmick and had a body that properly represented that era.

* This was the defense Wrestling/MickieJames had when Wrestling/{{Lay Cool}} started with the "Piggy James" insults; that she was a well-built and fit woman rather than being a rail-thin supermodel wannabe ValleyGirl, which was actually pretty accurate. That is, when she could [[MotorMouth get a word in edge-wise]], and didn't just respond with a [[TalkToTheFist sound thrashing]]. Unfortunately, rumors abound that that was just a way to get [[AuthorTract the actual thoughts of the WWE staff on the air]], causing Mickie to leave the company before [[KarmaHoudini [=LayCool=] could get their comeuppance]]. Mickie and Lay-Cool have both gone on record that the point of the storyline was WWE wanted to address the issue of bullying, not that it accomplished anything. Management did believe she was too thick, though. Mickie had been wearing a skirt to [[{{Gainaxing}} bounce around in]] on her way to the ring, showing off her thighs. After her initial feud with Wrestling/TrishStratus, she was forced to switch to tights as they believed men wouldn't find her attractive, which many male fans would strongly disagree with.

* Series/LizzieMcGuire is often contrasted with Kate, the thinner [[TheCheerleader cheerleader]] and AlphaBitch, with Lizzie cast as a more relatable GirlNextDoor.

* When she first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Nora Greenwald (aka "Wrestling/MollyHolly") wasn't explicitly sexualized or objectified like the other WWE Divas. Instead, she was created as being a [[NatureAdoresAVirgin chaste, virginous old-fashioned]] SouthernBelle with a CloserToEarth[=/=]GirlNextDoor demeanor, like someone the female audience could relate to and the male audience could feel protective of (even though she was more than capable of holding her own in the ring). This is because she was she possessed wider hips than the other Divas, and as a former power lifter, had more bulk and less lean muscle. Many storylines even had the other Divas bullying her because of her size and shape, in particular KarmaHoudini Wrestling/TrishStratus who kicked it off by telling Molly she had "junk in [her] trunk". (The worst part? Molly was a heel at this point of her career, so eventually the other Divas were ''[[MoralDissonance applauded]]'' [[MoralDissonance for taunting her]]!! WordOfGod is the whole angle was done to punish Molly (a devout Christian in real life) for refusing to flaunt her sexuality and be more of a Fanservice girl like the other Divas were at that time.

* Music/DestinysChild's "[=Bootylicious=]." Hell, Music/{{Beyonce}} in general.
* Music/MeghanTrainor's ''All About That Bass'' is this.

* Sara Rue as Claude Casey on ''Series/LessThanPerfect''. In 2009 she signed a lucrative deal with Jenny Craig and dropped fifty pounds.

** Their later "Self-Esteem Project" collaboration with ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' averted it, using the many forms of the Gems (including the heaver, less conventionally attractive kinds like Smoky Quartz) and naturally heavy human Steven as their selling point without having to reach the other way.

But you want your audience to identify with your heroine. So, what do you do to fix this? Simple. You make her plumper ([[HollywoodPudgy but not TOO plump]]). You make her [[HollywoodHomely plain]], ([[BeautifulAllAlong but not TOO plain]]). You give your heroine curvature, but within certain parameters. Then, you tirelessly promote the idea that she's more "real" because of these attributes.

This has begun to see so much use lately that it's becoming its own trope and [[BeautyIsBad it can be damaging in its own right to the female body image]]. The truth is that "real" women possess a variety of body types, from tall and thin to stout and curvy to large and voluptuous. Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with being remarkably toned and fit, so long as it's not being touted as "perfect". Declaring that one woman's body is [[NoTrueScotsman less "real"]] than another body creates several UnfortunateImplications.

This has begun to see so much use lately that it's becoming its own trope and [[BeautyIsBad it can be damaging in its own right to the female body image]]. The truth is that "real" women possess a variety of body types, from tall and thin to stout and curvy to large and voluptuous. Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with being remarkably toned and fit, so long as it's not being touted as "perfect". Declaring that one woman's body is less "real" than another body creates several UnfortunateImplications.

** Their later "Self-Esteem Project" collaboration with ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' averted it, using the many forms of the Gems (including the heaver, less conventionally attractive kinds like Smoky Quartz) and naturally heavy human Steven as their selling point without having do reach the other way.

As such, this is somewhat of a CyclicTrope alongside its thin and lithe inverse, changing from one to the other every 10 to 20 years or so. For example, TheSixties and to a lesser extent TheSeventies were marked by a thin, ballerina-like ideal (e.g., Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Liz Montgomery, even a younger Marilyn Monroe) and/or toned and fit (Farrah Fawcett and Olivia Newton John), following a fad for "va-va-voom" voluptuousness in the Forties through mid-Fifties (e.g., Creator/MaeWest, Creator/BettyGrable), which in turn had supplanted the slender look of TheRoaringTwenties and TheThirties. TheEighties brought bustier sex symbols, while TheNineties brought in the Heroin Chic, with extremely skinny models raising concerns regarding eating disorders in the later years of TheOughts. Finally in the 2010s, "padded" and even "plus" sizes have been brought into mainstream appeal.

As such, this is somewhat of a CyclicTrope alongside its thin and lithe inverse, changing from one to the other every 10 to 20 years or so. For example, TheSixties and to a lesser extent TheSeventies were marked by a thin, ballerina-like ideal (e.g., Audrey Hepburn, Twiggy, Liz Montgomery, even a younger Marilyn Monroe) and/or toned and fit (Farrah Fawcett and Olivia Newton John), following a fad for "va-va-voom" voluptuousness in the Forties through mid-Fifties (e.g., Mae West, Betty Grable), which in turn had supplanted the slender look of TheRoaringTwenties and TheThirties. TheEighties brought bustier sex symbols, while TheNineties brought in the Heroin Chic, with extremely skinny models raising concerns regarding eating disorders in the later years of TheOughts. Finally in the 2010s, "padded" and even "plus" sizes have been brought into mainstream appeal.

* Every so often the factoid is trotted out that MarilynMonroe was a size 14 -- a size considered plus-size (in Hollywood, anyway!) in 2001, but an average size in the 1970s and 1980s. But it's a lie; MarilynMonroe by today's sizes (they have changed) would have been about a size 4.

* This was the defense Wrestling/MickieJames had when Wrestling/{{Lay Cool}} started with the "Piggy James" insults; that she was a well-built and fit woman rather than being a rail-thin supermodel wannabe ValleyGirl, which was actually pretty accurate. That is, when she could [[MotorMouth get a word in edge-wise]], and didn't just respond with a [[TalkToTheFist sound thrashing]]. Unfortunately, rumors abound that that was just a way to get [[AuthorTract the actual thoughts of the WWE staff on the air]], causing Mickie to leave the company before [[KarmaHoudini [=LayCool=] could get their comeuppance]]. Mickie and Lay-Cool have both gone on record that the point of the storyline was WWE wanted to address the issue of bullying, not that it accomplished anything. Management did believe she was too thick, though. Mickie had been wearing a skirt to [[{{Gainaxing}} bounce around in]] on her way to the ring, showing off her thighs. After her initial feud with TrishStratus, she was forced to switch to tights as they believed men wouldn't find her attractive, which many male fans would strongly disagree with.

* Meghan Trainor's ''All About That Bass'' is this.

Note that for centuries, this was ''the'' standard body image among Western women. Specifically, women were expected to be plump and curvy; this was held up as the ''nec plus ultra'' of feminine beauty and sexual allure (Elizabethan women [[TruthInTelevision had]] ''[[TruthInTelevision such]]'' [[TruthInTelevision tiny waists]]). [[http://www.judgmentofparis.com/Lillian1.htm Lillian Russell]] is a perfect case in point; at the height of her fame in the 1890s, she hit 200 pounds at one point -- and was considered the archetype of American beauty. Body image began to change to a more slender ideal circa 1910, but the real switch to "pencil thin" didn't happen until after WorldWarI, or during the RoaringTwenties.

* When she first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Nora Greenwald (aka "Wrestling/MollyHolly") wasn't explicitly sexualized or objectified like the other WWE Divas. Instead, she was created as being a [[NatureAdoresAVirgin chaste, virginous old-fashioned]] SouthernBelle with a CloserToEarth[=/=]GirlNextDoor demeanor, like someone the female audience could relate to and the male audience could feel protective of (even though she was more than capable of holding her own in the ring). This is because she was she possessed wider hips than the other Divas, and as a former power lifter, had more bulk and less lean muscle. Many storylines even had the other Divas bullying her because of her size and shape, in particular KarmaHoudini Wrestling/TrishStratus who kicked it off by telling Molly she had "junk in [her] trunk". (The worst part? Molly was a heel at this point of her career, so eventually the other Divas were ''[[MoralDissonance applauded]]'' [[MoralDissonance for taunting her]]!! WordOfGod is the whole angle was done to punish Molly (a devout Christian in real life) for refusing to flaunt her sexuality and be more of a Fanservice girl like most of the other Divas were at that time. What was really insulting was.that a RunningGag developed where Molly would be pantsed, revealing granny panties. Which she was forced to wear.

* When she first appeared in Wrestling/{{WWE}}, Nora Greenwald (aka "Wrestling/MollyHolly") wasn't explicitly sexualized or objectified like the other WWE Divas. Instead, she was created as being a [[NatureAdoresAVirgin chaste, virginous old-fashioned]] SouthernBelle with a CloserToEarth[=/=]GirlNextDoor demeanor, like someone the female audience could relate to and the male audience could feel protective of (even though she was more than capable of holding her own in the ring). This is because she was she possessed wider hips than the other Divas, and as a former power lifter, had more bulk and less lean muscle. Many storylines even had the other Divas bullying her because of her size and shape, in particular KarmaHoudini Wrestling/TrishStratus who kicked it off by telling Molly she had "junk in [her] trunk". (The worst part? Molly was a heel at this point of her career, so eventually the other Divas were ''[[MoralDissonance applauded]]'' [[MoralDissonance for taunting her]]!)
** WordOfGod is the whole angle was done to punish Molly (a devout Christian in real life) for refusing to flaunt her sexuality and be more of a Fanservice girl like most of the other Divas were at that time.
*** What was really insulting was.that a RunningGag developed where Molly would be pantsed, revealing granny panties. Which she was forced to wear.
* This was the defense Wrestling/MickieJames had when Wrestling/{{Lay Cool}} started with the "Piggy James" insults; that she was a well-built and fit woman rather than being a rail-thin supermodel wannabe ValleyGirl, which was actually pretty accurate. That is, when she could [[MotorMouth get a word in edge-wise]], and didn't just respond with a [[TalkToTheFist sound thrashing]]. Unfortunately, rumors abound that that was just a way to get [[AuthorTract the actual thoughts of the WWE staff on the air]], causing Mickie to leave the company before [[KarmaHoudini [=LayCool=] could get their comeuppance]].
** Mickie and Lay-Cool have both gone on record that the point of the storyline was WWE wanted to address the issue of bullying, not that it accomplished anything.
*** Management did believe she was too thick, though. Mickie had been wearing a skirt to [[{{Gainaxing}} bounce around in]] on her way to the ring, showing off her thighs. After her initial feud with TrishStratus, she was forced to switch to tights as they believed men wouldny find her attractive.