The New York Times Says Feminists Love You, Love Handles And All

Researchers in London conducted a study to see whether women who identified as feminists viewed women’s bodies differently than those who did not. Their findings indicate you should probably make friends with feminists:

For the study, the researchers, led by Viren Swami of the University of Westminster in London, showed a set of photographs to 129 women who said they were feminists and 132 who said they were not. The photographs were of 10 women, faces concealed and wearing tight gray clothing, who ranged in body mass index from emaciated to obese.

The study participants were asked to identify the thinnest and heaviest women they considered “physically attractive.” They were also asked to say which woman they thought was most attractive.

Not surprisingly, feminists were either more forgiving or accepting of women with heavier builds. However, feminists and nonfeminists alike both agreed on which body type they found most attractive:

Feminists and nonfeminists tended to agree on which woman was the most attractive. But that woman was described by the researchers as somewhat underweight, suggesting that even feminists cannot fully avoid societal pressures to be thin.

Well, while we’re sure societal pressure has a lot to do with what people deem attractive, it isn’t far-fetched to say that health (and its affect on, say, fertility or virility) might also have an effect on what people perceive as beautiful, regardless of societal norms. Plus, the research didn’t indicate whether each woman’s individual cultural background, level of education, role models, relationships to their own bodies, etc. might have had any sort of role in shaping what she determines as beautiful or desirable.

What do you think?

Perceptions: Feminists More Open-Minded on Weight [NY Times]