Female body shape

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Female body shape has a bearing on a wide range of human activities, and there are and have been widely different ideals of it in different cultures over history. The female figure is usually narrower at the waist than at the chest and hips, and usually has one of four basic shapes — rectangle, pear, apple or hourglass. The chest, waist and hips are called inflection points, and the ratios of their circumferences define these basic shapes. Body shape depends partly on where fat builds up in the body.

These body shapes normally occur only in women, although some endocrine diseases can produce them in men. Other women's body types include muscular, athletic, rounded, thin, stocky, and lanky. As with most physical traits, there is a wide range of normal female body shapes.

1 Shape
2 Weight and fat distribution
3 Other descriptions
4 Societal impact
5 References
6 See also

[edit] Shape

The female form is a combination of multiple attributes which cause many conflicting descriptions when taken as a whole. Breaking down the female form into separate attributes of basic structure and width before considering weight goes a long way to describing why some fit women may be considered fat and why some very thin women may be considered unhealthy.

[edit] Three inflection points

The female body has three key physical points of inflection:

Chest, which is covered by the bust
Waist, which includes the mid-to-lower stomach
Hips, which includes the upper rear

The female body always inflects inward towards the waist at the mid-to-lower stomach. It is smaller than the other two, unless the stomach has stored fat. How much the chest or hips inflect inward, towards the waist -- or in the opposite direction -- from the waist outward towards the chest or hips, results in how women are shaped structurally.

A woman's "dimensions" are often presented by the circumference around these three inflection points. For example, a common ideal is "36-24-36" in Imperial units (as in the pop song "Brick House"), meaning a 36" chest, 24" waist and 36" hips. However, a more exaggerated ideal (as in the AC/DC song "Whole Lotta Rosie") 42-39-56.

Although the breasts and buttocks are key attributes in the female form, and vary widely, they do not define these inflection points; for example, the chest measurement is done not around the breasts, possibly under them (although some sensationalistic measurements might be done otherwise). Although the buttock is rarely measured, it is common to measure the cup size of the breasts and append it to the chest dimension. For example, in the United States, a C cup bust on a woman with 36-24-36 dimensions may be written as 36C-24-36.

These underlying inflection points often do define the limits or expanse of those attributes, especially with width and/or weight gain.

[edit] Four combinatorial structures

Independent of fat percentage, weight or width, most female bodies have one of four elementary geometries, ordered by their commonality in western society.

Rectangle, or Straight: the waist circumference is at least 75% in of the chest or hips circumferences, which are virtually the same. For a 36" chest, the waist is 27" or bigger.

Triangle upward, or Pear, Spoon or Bell: the waist circumference is at least 75% of the chest circumference, and the hips circumference is at least 110% of the chest circumference. For a 36" chest, the hips are 39.5" or bigger.

Triangle downward, or Apple: the waist circumference is at most 75% of the chest circumference, and the chest circumference is at least 110% of the hips circumference. For 36" hips, the chest is 39.5" or bigger, and the waist is 30" or bigger.

Triangles (opposing, facing in), or Hourglass shape: the waist circumference is less than 75% of the chest or hips circumferences, which are virtually the same. For a 36" chest/hips, the waist is 27" or smaller.

A recent British study of over 6,000 women found that over 46% were Rectangle, over 20% Pear, under 14% Apple, and under 9% Hourglass (source: The End of the Hourglass Figure). These numbers may not be typical of other regions in the world, but seem to reflect well female shapes in western society.

New research suggests that hourglass women may live longest, and apple-shaped the shortest (source: Curvier women 'will live longer').

[edit] Proportion and width

The inflection points on the female form define a woman's combinational structure. But that structure itself can have larger or smaller proportions. Perfectly healthy women of larger proportions can have chest/hips dimensions over 40" with waists greater than 30", while smaller porportional women can have health issues with waists as little as 25".

The proportion of a woman (regardless of weight) tends to be her first, immediately recognizable attribute noticed when she is clothed (hiding any fat distribution). Correspondingly, typical clothing sizing only represents these proportions as a whole, and not the inflections and combinational structures. Thus when choosing clothing, women should try it on to know how it fits their body shape.

In common American dress sizing:

Petite women are 5'4 or less, regardless of dress size. Generally, though, it is size 0-12 See petite sizes
Full Figured Women (FFW) are often considered sizes 14-20, although can include size 10 and even 24+
Big Beautiful Woman (BBW) are often considered sizes 20-24+, although can include shorter, smaller full figured under size 20

When a woman grows wider (with increased dimension points) but not taller, there can be two reasons. First, women often gain width (especially at the hips) in their base structure after having their first child, which is impossible to reverse. Second, it may be due to increased fat storage. A woman who gains width is more likely to be more slender and shapely than a woman of equivalent height and weight.

[edit] Weight and fat distribution

The last and most greatly debated attribute is actual weight. Despite common belief to the contrary, weight is not always a good indicator of whether someone is fat, because it completely ignores proportion as well as the inflectional dimensions. A woman of greater proportions weighs more than one of smaller ones, even if she is equally fit. Likewise, if the form of a woman is wider (from the front) for her height than average, she is more slender (from the side) and has less protrusion than a woman of equal weight.

This is one reason why Body Mass Index (BMI) is currently considered a poor metric for calculating whether a woman is overweight or not. Newer research is beginning to back this up^{[citation needed]}. A new metric that is working well is the protrusion of the stomach (visible from the side) (need to cite the scientific name for this metric). The more protrusion, the greater the health risk. Excess fat is deposited on the stomach. This is the basis for the hip-to-waist ratio as well. Hip-to-waist is calculated by dividing your waist measurement by your hip measurement. The ideal ratio for women is about 0.7 (need to cite).

The structure of a woman greatly defines where the body will distribute fat. There are many tendencies that result based on the four body types -- almost a direct result of the magntitude of their body's varying inflections.

Rectangle women tend to gain weight like men. Their body may widen (this varies), but the greatest protrusion is at the front of the stomach.
Pear-shaped women tend to gain weight in their hips, rear and thighs. The distribution varies: some gain more in the buttocks, others in the thighs, hips, and eventually waist and stomach.
Apple-shaped women tend to gain weight in their arms, shoulders, chest (not always the breasts themselves) and upper-stomach first. The distribution varies and it is not uncommon for an apple shape to have a very large chest (and not necessarily oversized breasts) that protruded more than the stomach (even when it has visible fat on the waist and stomach).
Hourglass-shaped women tend to gain weight around both the upper body and lower body. Their body typically enlarges the arms, chest (not always the breasts themselves), hips and rear before other parts, including waist and stomach.

[edit] Other descriptions

The neutrality of this section is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

In addition to those commonly associated with a range of dress sizes, there are a few other, common descriptions and terms used to describe women.

Bubble Butt (among other slang) is often used to describe a body which distributes fat or muscle (or both) to her rear, possibly with very wide width, but not in the surrounding thighs (at least not bulgingly so). They can be women of pear, hourglass and even a few rectangular forms.
Busty or well-built (among other slang) is often used to describe a body which distributes fat to the breasts, often regardless of the actual circumference of their chest. Busty women can be of any form, although they are typically not pear-shaped. Fat is deposited in the breasts; not the mammary glands, which are complex glandular, rather than adiposal, structures.
Voluptuous is a term that has become synonymous with busty, but centuries ago it could mean child-bearing stature, such as a proportionally large hourglass woman of large breasts and wide hips. Today it may describe apple- or pear-shaped figures, or any figure with large breasts.

[edit] Societal impact

The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Many societies vary on their contrasts, criticisms and praise of the female form.

[edit] Fertility

Some cultures consider a voluptuous figure to be the ideal female body shape. Having significant amounts of stored fat, without being obese, has for most of human history been a sign in women of health and fertility. A low waist-hip ratio has often been seen as a sign of fertility, but recent research suggests that it is more correlated to body mass index than previously thought.^[1]

[edit] Sexual attractiveness

Voluptuous figures have been idealised at many times in history: depictions of fertility goddesses, such as the famous Venus of Willendorf, typically have a voluptuous figure. Marilyn Monroe was a notable example of a woman with a voluptuous body shape who was considered to be a sex symbol, (however, it should be noted that the dress she wore to sing happy birthday to JFK in 1962 was a current US size 5). More recently, Tyra Banks is considerably more zaftig and busty when compared to a modern supermodel.

A voluptuous body shape is also more commonly seen in glamour models than in fashion models, perhaps more accurately expressing typical male sexual preferences than the thin female body shape promoted in the mass media. Indeed, there are whole categories of pornography that exclusively depict women of one particular body shape.

[edit] Feminism and body shape

Feminists decry the excessive emphasis on body shape as part of women's self-image in Western society, and contend that a voluptuous body shape is more typical of real women in the West than the anorexic ideal pushed by the Western media through depictions of extremely thin actresses and fashion models.

[edit] Anorexia and media depictions of thinness in women

Main article: Anorexia nervosa

Sociocultural studies highlight the role of cultural factors in the incidence of anorexia nervosa in women, such as the promotion of thinness as the ideal female form in Western industrialised nations, particularly through the media. A recent epidemiological study of 989,871 Swedish residents indicated that gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status were highly correlated with the chance of developing anorexia, and women with non-European parents were among the least likely to diagnosed, while women in wealthy, white families were most at risk.^[2]

A classic study by Garner and Garfinkel demonstrated that those in professions where there is a particular social pressure to be thin (such as models and dancers) were much more likely to develop anorexia during their career,^[3] and further research suggests that those with anorexia have much higher contact with cultural sources that promote weight-loss.^[4]

Although anorexia nervosa is usually associated with Western cultures, exposure to Western media is thought to have led to an increase in cases in non-Western counties. But other cultures may not display the same worries about becoming fat as those with the condition in the West, but instead may present with low appetite with the other common features.^[5]

[edit] References

^ Tovee MJ, Maisey DS, Emery JL, Cornelissen PL. Visual cues to female physical attractiveness. Proc Biol Sci. 1999 January 22;266(1415):211-8. PMID: 10097394 [1]
^ Lindberg L, Hjern A. (2003) Risk factors for anorexia nervosa: a national cohort study. Int J Eat Disord, 34 (4), 397-408. PMID 14566927
^ Garner DM, Garfinkel PE. (1980) Socio-cultural factors in the development of anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med, 10 (4), 647-56. PMID 7208724.
^ Toro J, Salamero M, Martinez E. (1994) Assessment of sociocultural influences on the aesthetic body shape model in anorexia nervosa. Acta Psychiatr Scand, 89 (3), 147-51. PMID 8178671.
^ Simpson KJ. (2002) Anorexia nervosa and culture. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs, 9 (1), 65-71. PMID 11896858.