Too fat or attention-seeking?

[Ground_Breaker]

Originally Posted by Cold Kitten

Have any of you ever noticed that it seems like a lot of our world tends to revolve around looks and/or how much they weigh?

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Yes, they make the soda sell better, but why is that?

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Everything revolves too much around looks. People would rather buy something that has been advertised by a better looking person then, say, an average looking person.

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It's the same thing with clothing and what-not. You've seen ads in magazines for clothing and accessories. What do the people who are modeling the clothing normally look like? Once again, good-looking, usually pretty slim people. I would like to hear all of your opinions on this.

I don't see much potential for discussion here.

You think too much emphasis is placed on aesthetics. Okay. You understand how much of the media appeals to people's sense of wanting to be beautiful. Okay.

You're asking us what we think, so you're going to get responses from people saying, "Well, I think you're right, too much emphasis is placed on aesthetics," or you're going to get responses that say something like, "The media's effect on you is directly related to your individual level of tolerance for that kind of advertising." In essence, the latter response means, "Get over it, because you're negatively affected by it." Neither of these responses are fertile ground for much discussion, really.

Your topic can best be summed up as:

Do you think skinny girls in advertising are good? Y/N

[DJ_Swabber]

What Kommi said.
Honestly, I only have a problem with people who choose to let themselves be overweight/unhealthy, and complain about it.
Quit it.
DDR, people. =]
I am for one of those few people who see beauty on the inside, and also the outside, where others would of overlooked peoples unique features. Rather than pointing out how society is, why don't you focus on complimenting true beauty's then?

[kommisar[os]]

of course personality has a huge effect on how people see each other, but in any relationship there has to be a physical sexual attraction. your girlfriend's gotta look hot to you if you want it to work for a long time.

men, animals like we are, are quite influenced by physical appearance and media is a factor also. in the middle ages being fat meant you were rich and could afford to make yourself so. different ideologies brings different points of attraction.

[funmonkey54]

I was so excited when I was overweight instead of obese this last year.
But yeah, just me.
My girlfriend is really skinny though. Like comfortably skinny, not like ribs skinny. That is gross. Although, if she had the same personality, I wouldn't care either way. =/

[Bangcrashboom]

Its also the fact that people think "Oh if i buy this product, it will make me look just as good as him or her" (referring more towards clothing). So the sellers naturally use more attractive people to advertise to grasp peoples attentions and to want to be as good looking as the advertiser

[Mech Dragon]

Originally Posted by kommisar[os]

in any relationship there has to be a physical sexual attraction. your girlfriend's gotta look hot to you if you want it to work for a long time.

I disagree to this, because I really don't care about looks when I try to find a girlfriend, I just care about the personality, wisdom, independence etc. Looks are a luxury, they're not necessary and therefore are not so important, to some men it is, but in the end, it's not so important.

[Blue Bird]

Of course looks matter. They're what cause the first impression. During your everyday life, the main factor determining what gets your attention or not, is how a person looks. Because until you know how they really are inside, looks are all you'll know. And until that point, it will be the only thing that matters.

I won't use the word "fat" here, because really... fat is pretty relative, and even "chubby" girls are able to pull off sexual attraction from guys. But picture yourself walking around somewhere filled with people. Who are the ones that usually catch your attention? It doesn't define who you are. It's not a flaw of yours that you're attracted to a certain type(s) of people, and not others.

As for girls going around saying they're too fat or whatever, you can sort of blame society. It's how they're raised to think. I know for a fact, the way someone looks has a major impact on their personality a lot of the time. Because the world revolves around looks in so many areas, people are always pushed to look acceptable. Except they can't get that acceptance from themselves, so they must seek it from others.

Of course, there will be some who won't care, or who are confident in how they look, and not ask for more. However, we are constantly being pushed at with "perfect" models in advertisement. And some people feel as though they have to look that good. It's nonsense, mainly because especially these days, what you see on television or pictures, is not how they look like in real life AT ALL! So people strive for looks that are nearly impossible to achieve in real life.

The fact remains though - looks matter. Maybe not in the long run, but until you get to know someone's personality, until something else besides a person's appearance is put into the equation, it's all they'll have to attract attention.

[kommisar[os]]

Originally Posted by Mech Dragon

I disagree to this, because I really don't care about looks when I try to find a girlfriend, I just care about the personality, wisdom, independence etc. Looks are a luxury, they're not necessary and therefore are not so important, to some men it is, but in the end, it's not so important.

give it a few years you might change your mind. most people are too young to understand the effects of long-term relationships including myself.

[jellygod]

yes we care too much about looks. society does as well, its just the way it works. As was said earlier in this thread, being fat is a choice as is good looking to an extent. It's your choice to eat all that crap and put it in your body without caring about yourself then blame other people for not liking you because of it. I think that everyone can be decent looking to an extent. If you are too fat then lose some weight and get a haircut or try changing your clothes or something. If you are too skinny then lift weights and workout. It really isn't too hard for everyone to look decent. sorry if this makes me sound like somewhat of a prick. oh and btw

omgawd why i so ugleh?

[dsliscoo]

much like beauty this topic is shallow. lawl.
Like everyone said.
There isn't anything to debate or really talk about.
Being good looking isn't bad. Trying to be good looking isn't bad either. There is nothing wrong with trying your best in everything you do and why would it matter with looks/weight/anything else besides murder. And as for placing emphasis on perfection, I think it is only healthy. It is unhealthy thinking if you satisfied with something you are discontent with.

and another thing to think about, 90% of why people communicate is all about being responded to.. it rarely has to do with the information they are sharing.

[VulcanRevenge]

"90% of why people communicate is all about being responded to.. it rarely has to do with the information they are sharing."

Hit it right on the head, dsliscoo. I'm not sure where you got that statistic but it makes sense. I think mostly Cold Kitten's just trying to make a plain and simple point that we shouldn't judge people or treat them differently according to looks only, which I think most of us can completely agree with. Nuff said.

[thechild]

You can't blame the world for being over-weight. Besides, if you are over-weight, make sure you don't smell bad, clean yourself, and wear some 'in' (lol) clothes such as aeropostale, american eagle, etc. then you will be fine.

[Frozen Beat]

I personally would view that as a simpleton attempt to fit in, and try to be someone that they're not.

Frankly, looks are important because it's wired in our heads, and it's human nature.

If i flashed two photos of random people in front of you, one being a hot girl, the other being a fat girl, which one would you rather stare at?

[~kitty~]

When it comes down to it, everyone's a failure. The End.

EDIT: Frozen Beat, I wouldn't stare at either. It's rude either way.

[thechild]

Originally Posted by Frozen Beat

I personally would view that as a simpleton attempt to fit in, and try to be someone that they're not.

Well, this should atleast boost confidence then people will actually talk to them. After that they just be themselves, I don't see where someone is being who they're not.

[Cavernio]

I think that media and selling things is based too much on looks, and that it can have a seriously negative impact on people, particularly tween girls who seem prone to being obsessed with their weight.

However, if you think about how you look as an art, then I've got a whole other perception of things. I almost think we don't care about looks enough when I think about it this way, or at least we perceive looks differently from how I think we should. Our society, in general, doesn't care enough about looks beyond 'fitting in'. It seems that very few people take their looks and make themselves look the way that THEY want themselves to look. We're told we can and can't wear certain clothes to work and school, people will look at you weird if you're wearing something outside a pretty small fashion window. Fashion designers almost invariably care about their looks in a 'good' way, but they will also always see looks and fashion as art too, and they make it their life and career. People forget that changing your look can be fun.
There's nothing wrong with having a look simply so you can 'fit in', but it's kinda sad that we make ourselves so busy that real fashion is only for special events, and that for most of us, fashion is strongly dictated by the media.

Also, comments like "you're clearly fat because you thought of something that's bad for fat people" really are retarded. I've had my share of comments in the same tone of "well, if that's what you're saying, that means you're such and such", when they're not true. People have brains you know. We can think about things that concern other people.

[Frozen Beat]

Originally Posted by thechild

Well, this should atleast boost confidence then people will actually talk to them. After that they just be themselves, I don't see where someone is being who they're not.

Really? I see people like that pretty much all the time. How do you not see it?

[Nu0n]

The ideals of what man and woman should look like are posted all over adds, TV shows, commercials, and put into are head as a bench mark for what is "best and worse". We then take that public view and start to rate looks by decent, bad, alright, etc. These are all just insecurity, the world has no effect on what you think of yourself. If you allow the worlds views and ideals of what the "best and worst" is and allow it to control your own thoughts of yourself, then you have been living a lie. Live your own life, and let your own ideals be the ones you abide by.

-Nu0n

[ledwix]

Originally Posted by Blue Bird

Of course looks matter. They're what cause the first impression. During your everyday life, the main factor determining what gets your attention or not, is how a person looks. Because until you know how they really are inside, looks are all you'll know. And until that point, it will be the only thing that matters.

This is a good point. Looks set the tone in any conversation. Based on how people look when we meet them, we judge them and expect their personalities to slightly resemble the personalities of those we've met earlier who look like them.

And it makes sense; sight is pretty much the dominant perceptive tool in our human perspective of the world. It's the most powerful and longest ranging sense. After all, touch extends only a few feet, taste a few inches, smell a few hundred meters, sound, a few miles at the most. But sight...that extends for light years. Because of its range and strength, it's clearly the dominant way for us to perceive nearly everyone and everything in the world. So most of the data about every person we ever see on the roads, at a large school, in a packed stadium or rally, and on TV is based on their appearance.

It's hard to ignore the vast majority of the data, so it is only logical that we value appearance so much. Personally, I think looks and personality are heavily correlated in the majority of cases. (majority, not absolute, of course) By this, I don't mean that good looks indicate a good personality; I just mean that certain personality types happen to bear certain physical traits and clothing types. Looks are certainly a useful part of the equation to take note of.

When it comes to being good friends with someone, looks don't really affect our ability to stay good friends with them, help them with their experiences, etc. People really don't need to be insecure about their looks with good friends and family; and in the end these are the only ones who are actually very important to us: the ones who will examine our personalities in the greatest detail and really figure out who we are. If people are extremely insecure about their appearance in the presence of close friends due to the influence of advertisements, I believe they are mistaken, since good friends aren't shallow with each other.

But at the same time, we can be very shallow when it comes to light acquaintances or strangers. Advertising is one of the situations where we happen to be shallow since we rarely personally know the people we are seeing in advertisements; most of our information comes from their looks. What I'm trying to say is that I can check girls out all the time while at the same time maintaining a strict standard for what type of personality I am interested in, because they are two different realms. In a more serious situation, I can preserve the quality of my relationships by having a different standard for good friends than for acquaintances. So shallowness doesn't have to preside. For ads, sex just sells a little too well, but that's just how our world works.