Pear Shaped Women 4

[Lunatic]

In an effort to please the forum gods I shall try to break out the pear-shaped woman debate from the 'going pear shaped' debate.

I really don't want to offend any pear-shaped people out there, but calling a woman "pear-shaped", at least in the US, will not be taken as a compliment, even if it is a natural body shape for women.

As Stella pointed out, an "hourglass" figure is how you can describe a full-figured woman. Other pleasing descriptions might include curvy, voluptuous or, dare I say, Rubenesque. Pear shape indicates someone with much wider hips than chest/shoulders.

We must be from two different parts of the US then because I have heard pear-shaped used as a compliment many times... Although it was usually by a mother/grandmother to a daughter/granddaughter hinting at wanting a grandchild/great-grandchild.

As a compliment it is probably going out of style. Too be honest though, I'm not sure it was ever used much as a direct compilment, more often as a way to describe a person to others. The same way hourglass is used. I think I let myself get side-tracked on that one.

It might be better to say 'pear shaped' is intended as a complimentary way to describe a women to others. Much like 'barrel chested' might be for a guy. Just like a girl is unlikely to ever say, "I'm attracted to your barrel chested shape", a guy is unlikely to every say "I'm attracted to your pear-shaped/hourglass figure" (at least that I'm aware of).

It might be interesting to see how many people view pear-shaped as a complimentary way to describe a women, what part of the country they are from, and how large the community they grew up in was.

For example, as a rural country kid (town of 7,000, 2nd largest in the county which is bigger than some states in the NE) in the Pacific NW, pear-shaped is definately a compliment.

 

[Welshbird]

I once asked my (welsh) mother if I had a fiigure even slightly resembling an hour-glass.

Her reply?

"Yes luv. It's just that in your case all the sand has sunk to the bottom"

*sigh*

Fee

The question should be [red]Is it worth trying to do?[/red] not [blue] Can it be done?[/blue]

 

[Ladyazh]

I am still laughing, willif! Thanks

 

[Stella740pl]

Fee,

That's funny.

Besides everything else, my mom taught me to work on my figure from very young age.

In elementary and junior high school, she sent me to dance and aerobics classes (and, being a responsible and obedient daughter, I attended them duly 2-3 times a week; then started to actually enjoy them myself). She taught me what to eat and what to skip, how to diet (without counting calories) and how not to diet, how not to slouch, how to loose weight gained during parties and celebrations, and how to slip an exercise or two into a busy routine. Then, in my teens, she taught me to walk on (moderately high) heels correctly (looking good and not breaking legs).

Well, she did criticize my problems, too - now I realize that she had to, to help me correct them.

I am so sorry she is not around any more. (And I wish I had her will power to do all that on my own now that I am busy with my own kids; and to pass it all to my own daughter - it requires will power, too, you know.)

 

[LFCfan]

Stella,

blimey. What my mum did was tell me I am fat at every available opportunity.
I was never even overweight by any stretch (110 pounds soaking wet at the moment - a mere 5 pounds more than when I was 18, woohoo), but when your mother is a 85 pound stealth anorexic...

And a note to the folks who are concerned about how best to reply to "does my bum look big in this" - no, sometimes you really cannot tell objectively whether it does or not, and personally I do really want an honest opinion when asking that question. There are, after all, more outfits in the wardrobe. Although I favour "do you like the outfit" more as a question of that variety.
I will only ever buy an outfit if I feel it looks good (yes, my wardrobe is somewhat sparse as a result), but I don't expect whoever is fulfilling the other half role to have identical tastes to me; if I like an outfit but t'other half doesn't, I can always wear it at some other point when not out with them. But when on a date, why not wear something you both like. And of course I ask for the same consideration in return from the person in question.

_~LFCfan

 

[sha76]

Why wait for the question? My boyfriend will always tell me straight away if something doesn't suit me. Admittedly I don't always agree & he'll sometimes get a mouthful back but I'd much rather know his opinion. If he said everything looked good I'd never trust his comments on what I wore & any compliments would have no value. The two most important points however are a)he does actually have a good eye for these things, to the extent female friends have been known to take him along when clothes shopping & b)the comments are always about the clothes.

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[KornGeek]

My standard rule is that if anybody ever asks "Does this outfit make my butt look big?", I'll respond without even looking "Nope. Your butt does that on its own."

Consequently, I don't get asked that question very often.

 

[Ladyazh]

I think half of this thread belong to the other thread 'How big is big butt?' We have spin-off of spin-off. Splendid!Friday-end joke. Good weekends everybody!

 

[Gooser]

I don't think it's the pants that make your butt look big, it's all them F______ donuts! Lay off 'em, will ya?

--Gooser

 

[aarenot]

i ask my wife sometimes, does this shirt look too tight around my neck. i have an easily 19 inch neck, so i have a hard time buying a shirt off the rack that does not go to my knees and look like a tent that will fit my neck.

her reply is,'what neck, your head sits on your shoulders, i have a hard time understanding how you decide where to stop shaving.'

i do not take offense, i laugh. she does enough of building me up, being selfless, and considering what is important to me valid just because it is important to me to make me confidant in our relationship. i do the same in return.

she says, let her know if 'something is not a good investment in flattering her given attributes'. i quote her when that is the case. then i tell her how i love her, how special she is to me, and how i value her beyond anything else in this world. then, i hang up the cell phone as i am a wise enough husband to know when to keep my mouth shut, when to open it, and when to be out of the range of flying objects.
another good one is to quickly get to the chain saw, fire it up, and hit the throttle when you are answering her so that you can say that she misunderstood what you said over the chain saw running. lawn mowers, weed wackers, leaf blowers, all work the same. if she has been after you to get that done, it may actaully take her mind off your stupid answer in the first place. she may be happy enough that you have gotten to the honeydoo list that she will not interupt you, and forget about it since you may never get started on it again if you stop. if she asks you this type off question every saturday morning while you are laying on the couch watching tv, she is smarter than you are. no big suprise here in most cases, they usually are. it is good to admit this, especially in front of her friends. lowering the bar for your own intelligence is generally a good thing, when it comes to being held to account for your actions.

try saying in front of her friends, things like, you know better on these things sweetheart. i am just a man, i know my place. it may be a little humble pie up front, but they do not expect as much from you down the road, when you screw up.

a nit of jest here, if i need to explain that.