To All the Beautiful, Full-Figured Women Out There

First of all, here are two articles for educational reading on the subject upon which I am about to harp:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2008/09/is-joan-on-mad.html

http://collegecandy.com/2010/01/20/ask-a-dude-do-guys-like-bigger-girls/

Second of all, I would like to go ahead and put myself out there as a woman who has run the gamut of weights for my size. I am 5'6" and at my lowest weighed about 107 lbs, which according to any sane person is, well, insane. At this time, I suffered from what I can only self diagnose myself as a pseudo-eating disorder (as in, I would never intentionally under-eat, but nonetheless, I did under-eat). This was about three years ago, and now, I weigh 148 lbs, about the normal (and healthy) size for someone of my height (and build). Though I am, in almost all senses of the word, much happier than I was severely underweight, I feel am constantly viewed as "fat" in this increasingly weight-obsessed world. Unfortunately, as a single woman, I find that I am most worried about how potential mates will view my physique than how they will view my personality. In fact, aside from certain insecurities about how others will view my body, my personality is spot-on. Tip-top. Fan-friggin-tastic. In fact, regarding my love for sports, classic rock, and my knowledge of beer, I'm the perfect woman... on paper. And despite my worries about how others view me, I can honestly say that when I look in the mirror, what I see is beautiful. I am a curvy woman, yes. You may not be able to see my hipbones, or my ribcage, but I love every single facet of who and what I am. What I don't love, however, is the notion of "the perfect body" that is pounded into the brains of the adolescent youth before they can formulate their own opinions. I admit there are some thin women who are very beautiful. And there is a point where too much weight is just unhealthy. But I do not think that women like myself, or Christina Hendricks, or any woman who is a size 8-12 should be seen as overweight. It's unfair, it's uncalled for, and I, for one, refuse to be pressured into acting like ultra-thin women are more attractive than women my size. For God's sakes, Marilyn Monroe was a size 14, and is still considered the one of the greatest sex symbols of the past century. With that logic in mind, a woman like me, who is a size 8, should not be pressured to lose weight. There is nothing wrong with me. And I will take that belief to the grave.

And just for the record, we have way better boobs.