What's the "average size" of an American woman? Surprise!

[Blue-Jay]

According to a recent clothing industry survey:

Then (1941): Size 8 - Measuring 35-27-37.5. Yes, 1941 seems to be the last time this sort of data was collected.

Now, the average measurements are 38-32-41! Ooooooooooo, BABY! :D

Link: http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040301-013506-8351r.htm

[slackmaster]

1. WTF? No pictures???

:hippie:

[Blue-Jay]

2. Here ya go!

Crap. My ascii-woman didn't work.

Use your imagination.

[slackmaster]

3. OK, I'm imagining your ASCII women

Cool. I like the Mona Lisa especially.

http://www.geocities.com/h2lee/ascii/monalisa.html

[tigereye]

4. nice to know women who look like women are appreciated

actually the average woman is a size 14 ... they keep jacking up the sizes to make up all feel fat. Nice of them.

PS my son likes your belching sax player :)

[Blue-Jay]

5. Most real men like a "real woman"

It's no fun to worry about breaking someone when you're having a rowdy toss.

PS. Your son has a good eye for humor.

(spelung edut)

[tigereye]

6. well real women as opposed to rubber ones, I guess... oops

My son has a good sense of the absurd and silly, which is a good thing.

[Snow]

7. Really bad comparison (not your fault, though)

in 1941 a war was getting cranked up & we were coming out of a depression which had involved a lot of malnutrition. There was still food rationing during the war. You could argue we're in the same situation now, but up till 2001 we had been pretty prosperous, and it takes a little while for that sort of thing to catch up with body size.

[Blue-Jay]

10. You consider 35-27-37.5 to be malnourished?

I disagree. It ain't big, but it ain't small either.

The point is only that twiggy-women are NOT the norm, nor is that look desireable. Gimme something I can hold on to.

[Snow]

14. No I don't - but those are averages - which can be distorted by

the spread and shape of the distributions - long tails, and so on. (anyone even tempted by bad puns, go away now!). It's like the old bit of bullcrap about USA being the wealthiest country/having the best standard of living in the world. We've got enough ridiculously rich people that they pull the average for us peons up. Makes the country look better than it really is. You never see those comparisons made using the median instead of the mean.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

18. Height has increased too. My mother was tall at 5'6" in the 50's

My dad was tall at 5'10"

Those are average sizes now. I suspect 1941 was shorter still.

[radwriter0555]

8. The average American woman is at least 35 pounds overweight...

That's a lot of extra weight to carry around.

[CO Liberal]

27. All a Matter Of Perspective

As a man who prefers larger women, I think the average American woman is too thin.....

:-)

[loftycity]

9. Size 14 to 16

Yeah, and I believe they measured Military men and women in the 40's
pretty svelt back then.
I've heard also friends that are buyers for department stores that they are trying to overhaul the sizing. Plus another note--people are on average 3 inches taller.

[Frederic Bastiat]

11. LOL that's a whole lotta woman

;)

[izzie]

12. Look at pattern as they were a standard size.

Clothing is really bad but the cheaper the stuff the more it is to standard as it is not usually put on before you buy it. Higher cost things have few standard and sell to a low number as that is what people want. In other words if you try on a dress it can be a 3 or 4 but never a 14. Tell your wife to cut out the size and tell every one it is a 3 and save your self some money. It is a funny business. My father had a friend that made wool jackets at his mill and half went to one company and the other sold under another name. Same jacket but the well know sold for a lot more.

[Blue-Jay]

13. You're missing the point.

The average bust size has gone from 35 to 38! (OK...maybe that's not the point. That's just a bonus)

[prolesunited]

15. Thank you for posting your appreciation

of real women.

It really has been an eye-opener for me reading threads like this at DU. I really had fallen for the propaganda and media stereotypes and thought men actually liked toothpicks.

It wasn't until I read the threads on DU about women's body types that I understood better what men enjoy and I clearly see most men prefer something to hold onto.

[CanuckAmok]

16. Does that include her war machines and ghetto scenes?

If not, how much do we subtract?

[Ksec]

17. I like mine slim

Sorry, I guess that makes me half a man.

[prolesunited]

19. What would you say

is the ideal size? What is "slim"?

[Ksec]

20. size 1 or 2

Im kidding.

5 to 8 . Of course Ive seen fine women that didnt fit that range but its all in how you carry it. The ones who have that presence are the real lookers IMO

[prolesunited]

21. Well, I'm not for you

not too far off, though. :-)

I agree. It's all in how you carry it and your personality. I think if you're charming and self-confident, you attract favorable attention — no matter what the size.

[THUNDER HANDS]

22. My girlfriend has fairly wide hips

Probably around the national average. I ain't complaining - skinny women don't do anything for me.

I need curves, baby. :)

[prolesunited]

23. Speaking of which

Have you kissed her yet? Not that you should kiss and tell, of course (unless you want to.)

[THUNDER HANDS]

25. yes, I have

And enjoyed it very much. :)

[Blue-Jay]

24. Kissed?

Have you guys done the funky alphonso yet?

[THUNDER HANDS]

26. um

Possibly, I'll have to confer with her and get back to you on that. ;)

[fudge stripe cookays]

28. Back when I was in perfect health....

it was 1992, I was walking 4 miles a day, and you could bounce quarters off my thighs, they were so taut.

Even after losing about 30 something pounds and being totally fit for my height (5'5"), I was still around a size 10 or 12. I weighed 131 pounds. That sounds fat when we hear it in comparison to super models, but I had lost so much my friends were telling me to stop, that I was getting "too skinny."

It's all in the way a woman is built. I come from German peasant stock. I may lose weight and firm everything up, but these hips were built to push plows and these boobs were made for "kinder." I'd never look like a stick even if I wanted to.

I'm glad some of today's men are enlightened about women's bodies.

[seabeyond]

29. whats the average height in 41

and 2004

[SoCalDem]

30. ahem...

Then vs now size charts
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=111x18986#18997

Miss America thru the years weight & measurements
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=111x18986#19002

parent thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=111x18986

[pmbryant]

31. We're all larger now, men and women both.

Why focus just on the women? :shrug:

Peter

[tigereye]

33. maybe I'm wrong, but I think women are held to more

"body tyranny?" than men. Maybe that isn't fair, though. I personally prefer tall, really tall men. Maybe because I'm so short.. well average, 5',4". My husband is 6"4. I think there are also a lot of biologically programmed "likes and dislikes" for body shape, at least if you believe the researchers...:)

[Bertha Venation]

32. Leave it to the Washington Times to report on something so vital.

:eyes:

[henslee]

34. 8 1/2 inches.... hard.