Fat Ass

February 7, 2008 8:09 AM

Skinny is in for male models. Ever since Hedi Slimane joined Dior Homme, male models are becoming skinnier and skinnier. The reduction in male silhouette means that the male supermodels of the early naughts (such as Tyson Ballou and Tyson Beckford) have stopped heading to Europe for casting calls. With the Council of Fashion Designers of America releasing health guides for female models just last year, it seems that the fashion industry wants their men 6 feet tall and with a 28 inch waist. The good news? I finally will be able to find pants that fit me.
posted by Stynxno (132 comments total)

wow, that IS good news.
posted by Hat Maui at 8:16 AM on February 7, 2008

Clearly, we need to go over to Europe and drop high-fructose corn syrup in the water supply.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:19 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

Dammit, where was this trend when I was (self-consciously) skinny??
posted by LordSludge at 8:19 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

The good news? I finally will be able to find pants that fit me.

Heh, that's pretty much what I was thinking while reading the first sentence of your post. (Though no 28" anymore: within weeks of my 30th birthday, my waist expanded to exactly match my age. I'm rather hoping that the same thing doesn't happen every year from now on.)

Looking at the 'skinnier and skinnier' links, the blokes look perfectly healthy (one of them is positively muscle-bound), and not at death's door like so many super-thin women models, which is what I was expecting.
posted by jack_mo at 8:23 AM on February 7, 2008

I'm not one of those "fat is where it's at" weirdos, but give me a break.

Six foot with a 28 inch waist is only attractive if you want somebody who is weak and easily restrained.
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 8:23 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

Yay fashion industry! Someone pass me the nachos.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:24 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm just glad that one of those links contains the phrase "the prestigious People magazine."
posted by glycolized at 8:24 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

This is the size I've always been (and recently, I've lost weight so)... I am 6'2, 160lbs - size 39L.

It's too bad I'm too old, or I'd go to a casting call. These kids are making a fuckload of euros.
posted by chuckdarwin at 8:30 AM on February 7, 2008

This kind of stuff will only stop once we start giving the fashion industry the attention it deserves.

i.e. none at all.
posted by DreamerFi at 8:35 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

A lot of the time I'm as skinny as those guys and I'm perfectly healthy. I'm pretty sure they are as well. "[T]hin to the point of resembling stick figures" gimme a break.

(Good post, though.)
posted by sveskemus at 8:36 AM on February 7, 2008

I got dropped from a Steven Madden show several weeks ago when I showed up to the final fitting and couldn't fit all 30 inches of my waist into the size 28 jeans the stylist had expected me to wear. At 6'5" and 160 pounds, I was more than a little outraged.
posted by saladin at 8:37 AM on February 7, 2008

Wait, did I miss something? I'll admit I don't pay close attention to the fashion world, but haven't male fashion models always fallen under either "androgynous fancy-lad" or "square-jawed Ken doll" for the last 25 years or so?

In addition, I say bollocks to you, mens fashion! When I was downright scrawny, what was the fashion trend? oversized baggy everything. Now that I've gotten on in years and put on some bulk, what's hip? Skin tight everything. The hell with you, I'm putting my JNCO's back on.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 8:40 AM on February 7, 2008

As someone with a 30" waist, I heartily endorse this fashion industry of which you speak.
posted by dhammond at 8:43 AM on February 7, 2008

Man, I think I need a career change.

But on the realistic plus-side, it means that more clothes might actually be flattering on me! It was a good day when I could start finding a dress shirt that didn't feel like a parachute with sleeves.
posted by supercres at 8:45 AM on February 7, 2008

I showed up to the final fitting and couldn't fit all 30 inches of my waist into the size 28 jeans

More salad in, saladin?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:46 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

It was a good day when I could start finding a dress shirt that didn't feel like a parachute with sleeves.

hell yeah. I'm short so I spend a lot of my days digging through Express and the like trying to find XS sized shirts. Last year, finding an S was shocking but this spring, plenty of S's - just not enough XS.
posted by Stynxno at 8:48 AM on February 7, 2008

"wow, that IS good news."

actually, is it even news???
posted by HuronBob at 8:48 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

The difference in reaction to the female model equivalent is indicative of something.
I'm just not sure what that is, yet.
posted by rocket88 at 8:49 AM on February 7, 2008

Six foot with a 28 inch waist is only attractive if you want somebody who is weak and easily restrained.

Well, at a bodybuilder-like .6 waist to chest ratio, one can be well-muscled with a 28-inch waist and a 47-inch chest. He would need a good bit of help, though-- either from genetics or modern chemistry.
posted by Kwantsar at 8:53 AM on February 7, 2008

I refuse to let the fashion industry force its body-size obsession upon me. Also, I like beer.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:53 AM on February 7, 2008

Does anyone else think these men have quite feminine facial characteristics?
posted by hellslinger at 8:56 AM on February 7, 2008

Ugh. I liked it when all I had to do was go to the gym to try to look like a male model. Not all that interested in fasting too. Good thing I'm already married.
posted by The Gooch at 9:09 AM on February 7, 2008

Remember remember, the 5th of November
posted by chillmost at 9:11 AM on February 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

My husband was one of the over 6 feet men with the 30 inch waist. He's in great shape at nearly 41 but it's certainly a lot easier to find clothes to fit him now that he is not skinny than it used to be. My boys are at the cusp between very tall boys and very skinny men clothes, and I can never find a size small men's shirt that will fit them, or pants that are both tight and long enough.

I actually think a lot of young men go through this stage, when they have hit their vertical limit and yet not filled out. Some even stay this way. There are also female models who are naturally thin. The question is one more of health than of size to me. A woman who would naturally be Amazonian in proportions or a young man who has a stockier build should not have to starve to be fashionable.
posted by misha at 9:25 AM on February 7, 2008

As I can scarcely think of a woman I know who doesn't crush out over the tall and lanky exclusively, this doesn't surprise me. That this thread is full of guys complaining about being tall and lanky is, however, shocking. Why worry about finding pants that are your size when there are, like, eleventy billion cute indie girls constantly trying to get you out of them?

OMG IT'S SO EXPENSIVE TO FUEL MY MEGAYACHT.
posted by bunnytricks at 9:25 AM on February 7, 2008 [7 favorites]

The insinuation that these guys are anorexic is a bit off the mark. They've still got athletic builds, it's just that they're more "cross-country runner" than "guy who spends most of his time in a gym just so he can look like that." If anything, it's a much more realistic and attainable look for impressionable youngsters.

(Yes, I'm just one more tall and skinny MeFite.)
posted by Sys Rq at 9:35 AM on February 7, 2008

Is this the thread were we flaunt being tall and skinny?
Nah, I won't.

or did I?

That's exactly average height in NL by the way and below average height for 20 yr olds.
posted by jouke at 9:35 AM on February 7, 2008

You may be naive bunnytricks. This might be bragging cloaked as complaining for the sake of social acceptability.

Or I'm naive and you're not making a point but flirting.
posted by jouke at 9:39 AM on February 7, 2008

Get off my lawn you skinny little punks.
posted by Big_B at 9:41 AM on February 7, 2008

Ugh. And I thought finding pants was hard last season? I'm 5'11" with a 30" waist, but take a 32" pant to get a comfortable fit from a very small subset of designers. If I have to move into a 34" pant just to fit my seat or legs the fit is usually very wrong elsewhere. All this because I have, you know, muscles on my legs and an ass to match.

I hate pants. Now taking applications from indie girls who prefer I not be in them.

If you're listening, please don't stop designing for athletic men, Kenneth Cole.
posted by sequential at 9:41 AM on February 7, 2008

I have two friends who used to date. He's 6'5" and about 170, she's 5'8" and 115. They could both model. I love them both, but the mental image of their bony, bruisy sex life haunted our times as a trio. He's now with a girl who puts my claims of zaftiguity to shame.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:43 AM on February 7, 2008 [5 favorites]

You may be naive bunnytricks. This might be bragging cloaked as complaining for the sake of social acceptability.

Or they know that a little self pity totally seals the deal with certain kinds of women.

(I Was tall, lanky, and calculatingly self-pitying in my youth. I will only commit to tall at present.)
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 9:43 AM on February 7, 2008

I could beat those skinny bitches to death with a slab of my hairy man flab.
posted by The Straightener at 9:46 AM on February 7, 2008 [12 favorites]

I want my eleventy billion cute indie girls. Where are they?
posted by pombe at 9:47 AM on February 7, 2008

The pas de deux between standards of beauty and youth continue. It's nice to see the fashion world appreciating boys with boyish figures for a change.
posted by breezeway at 9:48 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Those guys look as normal for men as the women they use in those shows look like normal women -- which is to say, "not at all".

Some of them look like they were created in the Creature Shop at Industrial Light and Magic. For use in a horror picture. (Maybe as victims. I dunno.)
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 9:54 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

It's about time that the fashion industry realized that I'm a sexy mother fucker.

Of course they won't give me any kind of credit for having developed this "new" look over 30 years ago.
posted by quin at 9:57 AM on February 7, 2008

OMG I am SOOOO fat!

I am 6' with a 32" waist!

*Sobs in the corner*
posted by milarepa at 9:57 AM on February 7, 2008 [5 favorites]

Maybe some of you were misreading me earlier. I love being tall and skinny. I'm almost 40 and I still look like a kid. It fucking rules. I'm not a boxer or a builder... why should I want to look like a side of beef? I'm happy for my dad's slow metabolism and thick hair!

I normally feel pretty good about myself; it's just nice that the fashion gods have decided that people like me look good as well.

I didn't like being thin when I was 13 and other (homophobic redneck) boys tried to make me feel bad about it, but I really don't remember those days all that well anyway. Fuck all those clowns, anyway. They're probably all fat, bald, divorced and working at Wal-Mart now.
posted by chuckdarwin at 10:00 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

As someone who has never been skinny, let me say that I have also never been fashionable, so we're even.
posted by maxwelton at 10:01 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

I'm feeling weak and dizzy reading this. Someone fetch me my Marlboro Lights and an Evian.
posted by not_on_display at 10:01 AM on February 7, 2008

Does anyone else think that the clothes at these fashion shows are usually ugly and stupid looking even when the most attractive people wearing them?
posted by Daddy-O at 10:02 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

I think the real issue is, why these strict standards in fashion at all? People come in all shapes and sizes, but not in this made up "fashion world." Who wants to wear clothes that only conform to bodies that only conform to some made-up beauty standard?
posted by agregoli at 10:03 AM on February 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

*are* wearing them?

Duh.
posted by Daddy-O at 10:03 AM on February 7, 2008

No, I am going to go against the chorus of how normal these guys look and say they look like they need a sandwich. Preferably one dripping with roast beef and mayonnaise. Sure, I've seen dudes like that in real life, but they all fell under the "Too Damn Skinny" heading.

I think there is less outrage because in general guys do exist on the skinnier side than girls do. Though at 6'1'' and 155, I don't know if these models are necessarily healthier for it.

I mean, when women talk about wanting society to place an equal emphasis on physical attractiveness and skinniness in men and women, what we meant was allowing women to be bigger, not forcing guys to be smaller.
posted by Anonymous at 10:06 AM on February 7, 2008

A number of negative feelings come up with this post, ones I'm not especially happy about feeling. Immediately thought of the pressure put on females to be tall and thin thin thin by the fashion industry and how this becomes part of body dysmorphia and part of the whole issue of anorexic females. Then some nasty, Grinchy part of myself thought, well guys will now know what this thin thin thin pressure feels like with pictures of unusually tall, thin males blasted everywhere. Will it cause an increase in male eating disorders? Boys get anorexia too.

And then I thought that this new pressure to be *so* thin is partly a kind of ephebophilia/pedophilia, so that models of either gender look as if they are more like 11 or 12 year old kids, somewhere under 15 years old. And then I wondered why male homosexuals are attracted to young men, why older men would be rejected? Wouldn't an older man be better in bed? Or is the turn-on less sensual and emotional for men and mostly visual? Is there some part of the male brain attracted to young men as it is biologically attracted to young females for breeding purposes? But why would that be?

Anyway, my thoughts rattled around and settled on the thought that while I appreciate there is plenty of room for all tastes in the world, really, the human body is amazing and beautiful in all its variations and I mean all, I personally prefer men with meat on their bones, men built for comfort, not for speed. Although the Parkour guys give me a serious rush, ooh that agility.
posted by nickyskye at 10:14 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Flagged.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:17 AM on February 7, 2008

This way they can make clothes good on hangers.
posted by srboisvert at 10:21 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

But the idea of bulking up now seems retro when musicians and taste arbiters like Devendra Banhart boast of having starved themselves in order to look good in clothes.

The first thing the New York Times needs to know is to never take anything Devendra Banhart says to the press seriously.
posted by mayfly wake at 10:21 AM on February 7, 2008

"And then I wondered why some male homosexuals are attracted to young men..."

Fixed that for you.

Oh, and also --

"And then I wondered why some male heterosexuals are attracted to young women..."
posted by ericb at 10:24 AM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

Blazecock Pileon, why did you write "Flagged"?
posted by nickyskye at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2008

I knew if I waited long enough, Auschwitz would come back into style.
posted by klangklangston at 10:29 AM on February 7, 2008

I don't think there's anything in particular with men being this skinny, I think that the problem arrises here when the fashion industry creates an image that expects men to be this skinny.

It's the same thing with the size zero ideal in women. If you're naturally that body type that's good for you, but the problem is when things are advertized showing ONLY that body type; as if to say this is the best way to be, or this is the right way to be.

There is a problem with increases in male anorexia nowardays, and seeing things like this always concerns me because of the impact it's having on people I know, especially within the gay community. One of my closest friends turned eighteen recently and is allready explaining to me why he needs a "neck lift" or something to make him look skinnier, and he can't be more than a 34 inch waist...
posted by emperor.seamus at 10:31 AM on February 7, 2008

As Derek Zoolander said: have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?
posted by brain_drain at 10:36 AM on February 7, 2008

I recently bought a bunch of clothes at a sample sale and the stuff that had been worn on the catwalk (men) was for the most part 32 waist (pants), not 28; 15.5 long (shirts); 40 and 40L for jackets (hard to say because the fit is so slim it's difficult to gauge). I know because they fit me. and most weren't even one-offs. but yes the sizing was pretty slim; speaking of Dior Homme (too bad Slimane left but it was his time) sizing for the stuff you find in stores, it's famously unreliable.
posted by matteo at 10:37 AM on February 7, 2008

(and no it wasn't a Dior sample sale but a very similar, superslim designer: this goes to say that not all models may actually be as small-waisted as the NYT likes to think they are)
posted by matteo at 10:41 AM on February 7, 2008

showing ONLY that body type; as if to say this is the best way to be, or this is the right way to be

emperor.seamus, excellent point.

some male homosexuals are attracted to young men

ah, yes, good point. I thought it was a generally accepted point that among gay man the usual preference is for younger males?

and some male heterosexuals are attracted to young women

I thought it was hard-wired in males to be attracted to younger females for breeding purposes. No?

Please correct me if I'm wrong about this. (Dashing to work, wont be able to reply until later.)
posted by nickyskye at 10:42 AM on February 7, 2008

I, for one, welcome our wafer-thin, EMO overlords.

That, and thank goodness Clooney brought short gray hair back into style.
About damn time I was on the cutting edge of something.

Well, besides getting old.


/everyone off yard, ON
posted by willmize at 10:43 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Dear God, nickyskye, that anorexic girls link made me want to go eat a sandwich, just in case!
posted by Anonymous at 10:45 AM on February 7, 2008

I remember being that thin. I couldn't get my pants to stay on, and had no ass.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:46 AM on February 7, 2008

nickyskye writes "ah, yes, good point. I thought it was a generally accepted point that among gay man the usual preference is for younger males?"

Isn't that more of a stereotype than a truism? It doesn't seem very logical, if you look at the fact that, even in a May-December relationship, one person is younger and one is older. If the preference of the older man is for a younger man, then what's the younger man's preference?
posted by krinklyfig at 10:52 AM on February 7, 2008

I thought it was a generally accepted point that among gay man the usual preference is for younger males?

I thought it was hard-wired in males to be attracted to younger females for breeding purposes. No?

You do understand that in order for May-December relationships to work, there needs to be a younger person attracted to an older one, right? Right? I mean, you don't honestly believe that men -- especially gay men -- are nothing but drooling sexual predators with no regard for anyone's feelings, do you?

Blazecock Pileon, why did you write "Flagged"?

Yes, was it for the anti-gay sentiments or the anti-male ones? The world must know!
posted by Sys Rq at 10:52 AM on February 7, 2008

A New York Times article on a few fashion designers who use thin models on the runway does not make a trend.

For example: Recent photos from Calvin Klein underwear campaign (Collezioni UomoIt's).
posted by ericb at 10:52 AM on February 7, 2008

If anything, it's a much more realistic and attainable look for impressionable youngsters.

Well, only if you're naturally skinny in the first place. If you're like me then putting on muscle by going to the gym (as well as eating properly) is the only way to stay in shape. Some of us previous fatties bulk up quite well in the gym, and we'll never be thin like these guys. I'm glad that skinny guys feel good about this, and that there are women who find this look hot, but there are many, many men out there that cannot possibly look like this. For some of us it's a choice between bulking up with muscle, or being fat.
posted by ob at 10:54 AM on February 7, 2008

It's too bad but that's fashion for you. All these skinny eurobe guys look like teenagers trying too hard. They don't wear the clothes at all, the clothes wear them and the entire thing comes off as a farce, like kids playing grown-up. And compared to Beckford they're just boring.
posted by nixerman at 10:55 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I generally use the the 1940s litmus test: if what you you are wearing would look stupid anachronistically superimposed into 1944, it probably looks stupid.
posted by plexi at 10:56 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

I'm so hot right now.
posted by Free word order! at 10:57 AM on February 7, 2008

"If the preference of the older man is for a younger man, then what's the younger man's preference?"

Cash and coke, if my May gay friends are any indication.
posted by klangklangston at 10:59 AM on February 7, 2008

They all look like Shane from The L Word. Makes me wanna shag them and hang out with them.
posted by hojoki at 11:02 AM on February 7, 2008

Supposedly the "male waif model" trend is nothing new.

The Independent (London), Feb 25, 1996:

"Today's male waif phenomenon is a continuation of a trend that started in 1990, when photographer Corinne Day used as models the stick-thin - and very young - George Clements and Kate Moss....Martin Harrison, author of Appearances, a history of fashion photography, believes male waifs are a reaction against the all-American, frankly oafish, Eighties beefcake celebrated by photographers Bruce Weber and Michael Roberts. His point - 'How many pumped-up torsos can you stand?' - is even being taken to heart on the gay male scene, where for years, a no-pecs- no-sex consensus meant flat-chested boys were as risible and unsexy as Kenneth Williams' voice...."

Methinks the NYT's yet agin in its Style section thinks they've discovered a new "trend!"
posted by ericb at 11:04 AM on February 7, 2008

klangklangston writes "Cash and coke, if my May gay friends are any indication."

Well, there is the club crowd, and then there's the regular folks. Not all gay people are club people stuck in the '70s heyday of coming out and going to the disco.
posted by krinklyfig at 11:04 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

I don't think there's anything in particular with men being this skinny, I think that the problem arrises here when the fashion industry creates an image that expects men to be this skinny.

Yeah, but in America, where the most popular sports are football and basketball, where the stars are enormous, that just ain't gonna happen. The fashion industry is fickle.

I'm 6'0" with a 30" waist and laughably skinny legs. If this trend makes it easier to find decent-fitting pants, then I guess I'd better stock up before buff comes back.
posted by Kronoss at 11:16 AM on February 7, 2008

I must shop at the wrong places, because as a slim man I find it very hard to find even 32's, I can't imagine needing 28's. It's particularly hard to find underwear. The local Fred Meyers seems to cater exclusively to the bigger-butted man (well, they are a grocery store so I guess it's just synergy at work.) The part that's really humiliating, though, is that sized-small underwear often has a english/spanish tag that reads "Small. Chica."

Chica.

That does wonder for one's confidence.
posted by elwoodwiles at 11:19 AM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

Burt sez: This too shall pass.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:24 AM on February 7, 2008

The skinnier and skinnier links - no way those boys are 155lb. I'm 155 and I look like Arnold Stallone next to them.

/tried to find 28" pants last weekend - nothing on the shelves but 30/32+
posted by porpoise at 11:24 AM on February 7, 2008

/tried to find 28" pants last weekend - nothing on the shelves but 30/32+

they're in the children's department.
posted by 3.2.3 at 11:30 AM on February 7, 2008

Awesome, I didn't know it was Metafilter Makes Craven Feel Like a Fat Fuck Day.


I'm gonna kick the crap out of the next skinny kid I find.
posted by craven_morhead at 11:33 AM on February 7, 2008 [5 favorites]

Oh, and I was just at H&M the other day, looking for slim pants. I was dissappointed to find that all the slim ones were the of more loudly-patterned variety, whereas all the solid-color ones (the kind I like) were all 'regular' fit. What's up with that? I just want some slim grey pants--not checkered or pinstriped. Why do they assume skinny guys prefer the flamboyant duds? I thought H&M had my back. Guess I gotta look elsewhere.

/rant
posted by Kronoss at 11:34 AM on February 7, 2008

Blazecock Pileon, why did you write "Flagged"?

Sorry, I wasn't flagging your comment, nickyskye.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:37 AM on February 7, 2008

The skinnier and skinnier links - no way those boys are 155lb. I'm 155 and I look like Stallone next to them.

Are you over six feet tall? When I weighed 155, I was a hell of a lot skinnier than those guys.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:38 AM on February 7, 2008

metafilter: fuck this superficial society. except for when it gets me laid.
posted by MillMan at 11:45 AM on February 7, 2008

"Well, there is the club crowd, and then there's the regular folks. Not all gay people are club people stuck in the '70s heyday of coming out and going to the disco."

No, obviously not. But the couple guys that I've known who have gone for relationships with much older gay guys have generally done so for sugar daddy considerations. But yeah, one of 'em's a circuit party regular and the other was a 19-year-old who was one of several guys "dating" a 68-year-old (which mostly meant fucking other 19-year-olds while the old guy watched).

Most of my other gay friends are in regular ol' age-appropriate long-term boring relationships.
posted by klangklangston at 11:48 AM on February 7, 2008

Chica.

That does wonder for one's confidence

If it makes you feel any better, it's supposed to be "chico".
posted by DrGirlfriend at 11:54 AM on February 7, 2008

Why do they assume skinny guys prefer the flamboyant duds?

I've got an answer for this, but if you're hetero you're not going to like it.
posted by Anonymous at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2008

Man. Try being 6'4" with a 42" waist and 52" shoulders. The world ain't build for the lumberjack/pro wrestler build...
posted by stenseng at 12:03 PM on February 7, 2008

Also, I'm left handed. I think god hates me.
posted by stenseng at 12:04 PM on February 7, 2008

which mostly meant fucking other 19-year-olds while the old guy watched

If you can't have kids, might as well have something to look forward to.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:08 PM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

"A lot of girls these days grew up with fat dads..... so if you're fat, you remind them of their dad. And then bam, you're in, it's easy."

-never skinny, never could be-
posted by ELF Radio at 12:13 PM on February 7, 2008

bunnytricks: As I can scarcely think of a woman I know who doesn't crush out over the tall and lanky exclusively, this doesn't surprise me. That this thread is full of guys complaining about being tall and lanky is, however, shocking. Why worry about finding pants that are your size when there are, like, eleventy billion cute indie girls constantly trying to get you out of them?

My last crush -- a real killer of an unrequited crush too, still hurts like crazy and I can't bear to think about him -- was on a slightly doughy 5'7" redhead.

And it wasn't in spite of anything. (How arrogant that would be!) I liked everything about him, except the fact that he didn't want me.
posted by loiseau at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2008

I am so happy for all of the skinny tall guys in this post who have shared their lifelong difficulty in finding pants that fit them. It is a shame that no one was ever able to come up with some sort of thin, flat leather strap that could go through the loops around the waist of pants to hold them up.
posted by flarbuse at 12:20 PM on February 7, 2008 [13 favorites]

Will it cause an increase in male eating disorders?

Of course it will. It already has. How many of these guys smoke? Pretty much every one. They are not healthy; and if they are, as with the concentration camp victim female models, they're leaving thousands of kids dead and dying in their wake, all with eating disorders and addicted to cigarettes, dexadrim and (why not) crystal meth to achieve this stupid, stupid, unnatural, and UGLY degree of skinny. Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.

And for the record, I have superb taste in men. That's MEN, not mannequins with sweat glands.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 12:24 PM on February 7, 2008

I finally will be able to find pants that fit me. If you can afford them.
posted by PinkTurtle at 12:36 PM on February 7, 2008

This stupid, stupid, unnatural, and UGLY degree of skinny. Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.

You are going to be SO popular in this thread! Seriously though, I think taking this extreme and thinking that all skinny guys are ugly and "not real men" is an awful thing to say! I like big guys, small guys, and every other variety, but saying things like that is just as bad as saying that really big guys are unnatural and ugly.
posted by emperor.seamus at 12:37 PM on February 7, 2008

ethnomethodologist: Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.


I'm the curvy sort myself but I really chafe hearing people disparage super-thin people, mostly because lots of them are just made that way, and since I'm just made this way, that kind of remark offends me too.

Can we talk about body image without making other people feel bad, please?
posted by loiseau at 12:39 PM on February 7, 2008 [2 favorites]

I think this has gone pretty well for a MeFi body-image-related thread.
posted by everichon at 12:45 PM on February 7, 2008

Of course, I had to teach my cat to smoke so it could continue to fit into its adorable Vera Wang sweaters.
posted by everichon at 12:46 PM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

This stupid, stupid, unnatural, and UGLY degree of skinny. Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.

That's so lame. I hate it when people differentiate between "real women" and thin women, and this is just as bad. Don't put your shitty body image on other people.

Also, it's perfectly possible to have simultaneous crushes on Orlando Bloom and John Goodman. Trust me.
posted by padraigin at 12:49 PM on February 7, 2008 [4 favorites]

Will it cause an increase in male eating disorders?

I don't think it will. I've talked about eating disorders here in the past, and the fashion industry does nothing more than fetishize a look, which by extension makes having an eating disorder almost acceptable (all bad things, yes, but promotion of disordered eating to the public? no). Having a full-blown eating disorder begins within, not without. It's about emotions, not pants size. The fashion industry encourages the disorders, but doesn't inspire it from nothing.

People come in all shapes and sizes, and if it's just the way they are it's not "stupid, unnatural, and ugly". Being skinny does not make you any less "real" than someone who is of medically normal weight, overweight, or even morbidly obese. We're all real people, and just because someone doesn't fit a mold you don't particularly like doesn't mean that you can feel free to crap on them. LOLSKINNIES is just as bad as LOLFATTIES.
posted by sephira at 12:52 PM on February 7, 2008

Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men. And for the record, I have superb taste in men. That's MEN, not mannequins with sweat glands.

I do physical labor all day without complaint, hold my liquor like a pro, eat hamburgers twice the size of my head, and so on. Yet I've been stuck at 5'10" 145 lbs for years. I'm no man by your measure, just another skinny wisp pining for a pair of pants that will actually fit me.

I guess what I'm getting at is that you sound like a superficial bitch whose ideal man is based soley on physical appearances.
posted by foot at 12:58 PM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.

Nonsense.
posted by jessamyn at 1:06 PM on February 7, 2008

Hmm. I have great taste in men, and their physiques haven't ever really made a whit of impact on it. Am I doing it wrong?
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:07 PM on February 7, 2008

I understand, my comment calling ethnomethodologist an idiot got deleted, fine. But the original self-congratulatory post attacking a whole group of people remains. Backwards moderation.
posted by milarepa at 1:17 PM on February 7, 2008

you sound like a superficial bitch whose ideal man is based soley on physical appearances.

I agree, the comment by ethnomethodologist, while a relatively effective troll, was stupid and out of line; however, Fashion could be likewise described, as a superficial bitch whose ideal man is based solely on physical appearances.

It's not like we look at magazines and runways for the personalities.
posted by breezeway at 1:20 PM on February 7, 2008

Eh, I'm not an indie girl, and maybe it's a double standard about body image for guys vs. girls since I'm not exactly a wafer thin chick myself...but I just wanted to say I dated a guy who was like 6'1"-6'2" and weighed between 135-140. I don't necessarily prefer super skinny guys over any other type of guys just because they're skinny, but I'm going to admit...I found him pretty damn hot. Like "can't keep hands off of type of hot." I hardly think it was because I was afraid of real men and I've been with guys who all looked different from the super skinny bf...soooo yea...don't know what to tell you, ethnomethodologist.

I totally get the "clothes are to hard to buy that fit" not only because I heard plenty of complaints from him, but also I get it because I'm not a size perfect body myself. Skinny or not, the problem with off-the-rack fashion is simply that. They're made to be worn off-the-rack so they try to fit as many body types as possible, but in doing that they don't. Two people weighing the same weight aren't going to look the same for a myriad of reasons, so I don't think it's bullshit reasoning to say "I can't buy anything because I'm too skinny" just as it is to say "I can't buy anything because I'm too fat." It's not just a matter of finding clothes that fit, it's also about finding clothes that FIT WELL and LOOK GOOD.

I don't know if the fashion industry ever is going to get around to doing that for as many people as possible no matter what side of the size spectrum you're on because fashion, especially in the case of haute couture being featured in the fpp, it's about creating an image and a look and that doesn't mean thinking like, "I want apple-shaped Ann to fit in this just as much as I'd want pear-shaped Polly to fit in it (insert your proper boy bodytypes)."
posted by kkokkodalk at 1:20 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Maybe cause it was called out in the thread as being wrong to say? Flagged dirtynumbangelboy's comment as well.
posted by agregoli at 1:20 PM on February 7, 2008

Most of my teen and adult life, I've ben 6'1" and had a 29" waist, weighing around 130-135lbs. Made finding pants hard. All my efforts to bulk up failed.

In the last four or five years, I've finally filled out, and I think I look a lot more attractive; I'm now 6'1" with a 33" waist, weighing around 155-160lbs.

And now the modeling industry has decided to make me feel fat. Bastards.
posted by davejay at 1:21 PM on February 7, 2008

I don't think it's bullshit reasoning to say "I can't buy anything because I'm too skinny"

Actually, it's also not bullshit in a literal sense; most of my life I've had a hard time buying jeans off the rack because 29" waist/34" length isn't a standard size. I basically had to order from a catalog and hope they looked okay, or dig through piles of jeans in hope of discovering one pair (didn't happen often.)
posted by davejay at 1:22 PM on February 7, 2008

Let's see now... climate chaos from global warming disrupts farming all over the world; $100/bbl oil makes fertilizer and diesel shoot through the roof and biofuel more profitable than feeding people; and, oh yes, six billion on the way to ten.

Fashion to the rescue: "What do you mean 'starving'? I should look so good!"
posted by jamjam at 1:23 PM on February 7, 2008

I dated a guy who was like 6'1"-6'2" and weighed between 135-140. I don't necessarily prefer super skinny guys over any other type of guys just because they're skinny, but I'm going to admit...I found him pretty damn hot. Like "can't keep hands off of type of hot."

Karen?

(heh, kidding obviously. but actually that was always my experience, the most surprising types of women used to ask me out)
posted by davejay at 1:25 PM on February 7, 2008

Actually thinking about things, I think I need to shop at all the places where the tall skinny guys go, and they can shop where I go. Where I shop it's really hard to find fairly tight-fit jeans with a 30" leg and 31" or 32" (depending on the brand) waist for some reason. I'm pretty sure I'm quite average. I'm constantly finding either 32" leg 28" waist or 34" leg 40" waist jeans and I know that I haven't stumbled into Big and Tall by accident.
posted by ob at 1:49 PM on February 7, 2008

Man. Try being 6'4" with a 42" waist and 52" shoulders. The world ain't build for the lumberjack/pro wrestler build...

You are wasting your god given physique!

If I was so constructed I would, with battle ax in hand, conquer the planet, my friend. And thus make it built for me. Good thing for humanity I am only 6ft 33"waist and 200lbs.
posted by tkchrist at 1:51 PM on February 7, 2008

Oh, both sequential and wtdoor have a similar problem to me, I see!
posted by ob at 1:51 PM on February 7, 2008

I wear 34/38s and have a damn hard time finding pants (I have theories on why). Much as we all like to think we're magic, I think nearly everyone has trouble finding things that look good on 'em.
posted by klangklangston at 2:15 PM on February 7, 2008

Everyone always looks for the negative in stories like this ("MALE EATING DISORDERS WILL GET OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!"), but I have anecdotal evidence that it could lead to genuinely healthier eating choices. At Baja Fresh today, I'm sure at least in part due to this post lingering in my subconscious, I ordered by burrito "Bare Style" (no tortilla). I'll make it to the runway yet.
posted by The Gooch at 2:23 PM on February 7, 2008

Man. Try being 6'4" with a 42" waist and 52" shoulders. The world ain't build for the lumberjack/pro wrestler build...

You are wasting your god given physique!

If I was so constructed I would, with battle ax in hand, conquer the planet, my friend. And thus make it built for me. Good thing for humanity I am only 6ft 33"waist and 200lbs.


Hahah... I am of Viking stock, so I do feel the urge to drive my enemies before me and hear the lamentations of their women from time to time... Mostly when Zeppelin comes on...

Instead, I'm an IT guy.

But I can rack an HP StorageWorks MSA full of drives by myself, which comes in handy!
posted by stenseng at 2:43 PM on February 7, 2008

I wear 34/38s and have a damn hard time finding pants (I have theories on why). Much as we all like to think we're magic, I think nearly everyone has trouble finding things that look good on 'em.

Are you, like, eight feet tall?
posted by Kwantsar at 2:54 PM on February 7, 2008

Well I'm 5ft 10", 180lbs, 35" waist. The fashion industry can show me as many skinny boy-creatures as it wants, I'm a) never going to be anything like them and b) I don't want to be!

I wouldn't mind dropping a few pounds, but I'm generally happy the way I am. My biggest problem is finding trousers that are the right length!
posted by knapah at 3:03 PM on February 7, 2008

Uh. These guys are beefy and ripped. Skinny is in and these pictures are not even close too what people look like out there.

Just take it as it is. In many circles being fat is about as much of a stigma as say, shooting heroin. You can go as much "oh" and "eh" as you want but for many people greasing up on fat food is about as bad as sucking dick for crack.

There will always be a place for beefy and muscular but the health conscious person of today (that is like all people) knows what kind of effort it takes to build that kind of body and that there is a much simpler and less time consuming way to achieve a healthy body. Don't eat if you don't need to eat.

The 21 century boy is skinny and that is how it will be until manual labor comes back in style.
posted by uandt at 3:24 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

"Are you, like, eight feet tall?"

Maybe that was backwards. I don't know.

Maybe that's why I have trouble finding pants.

I have a 38-inch waist and a 34-inch inseam.

I dress to the left, generally.
posted by klangklangston at 3:41 PM on February 7, 2008

"Skinny" makes the clothes look good.

That's why they (men and women) are called "models", folks.
posted by Jay Reimenschneider at 4:02 PM on February 7, 2008

I have a 38-inch waist and a 34-inch inseam.

yeah you got it backwards, it's usually waist-inseam. I was scared too, the way you wrote it, 34 waist and 38 inseam, is someone like Manute Bol
posted by matteo at 4:16 PM on February 7, 2008

What the fuck does it mean to have great taste in men?
posted by Evstar at 4:58 PM on February 7, 2008

You know, the dudes in most of the photos I've seen linked from this thread look very healthy. Skinny? Okay, sure, but lean and muscular in a way that deadly-thin female models clearly are not.
posted by 2or3whiskeysodas at 5:00 PM on February 7, 2008

I'm 6'2", but I have the ass of a 40-year old mother of 4. Pants loathe me.
posted by tehloki at 5:11 PM on February 7, 2008

rocket88, I thought this article was poorly written and not very well considered when I read it this morning. The writer posits that there is a lack of outrage about the thinness of the male models as compared to the outrage expressed about the prevalence of extremely unhealthy looking female models after of a few deaths among them due to eating disorders. Well, duh. So far there haven't been any well-publicized deaths of anorexic male models (though there may well be in the future if this trend in body weight becomes the norm the way it has for women). The writer even goes on to point out that after the outrage died down, primarily very underweight women are being sent down the runways. So of course there's no outrage, it's business as usual.

As far as there being gender based reasons for this acceptance of extremely thin men, it could be that anorexia is vastly underreported by men who are afflicted with it, so the general public simply assumes the best. I remember that not too long ago there were a rash of deaths among wrestlers trying to make weight, which finally brought the unhealthy eating patterns and behaviors that had always been part of the sport to light. The negative attention forced the wrestling community to address its attitudes, training methods, and athletic culture. It often takes some very public tragedies to bring about even the smallest amount of change in what is accepted as normal practice.

To everyone making disparaging remarks about weight in either direction and for either gender, please stop. None of us should be defined by what we weigh, and our physical builds don't solely exist to serve as a marker for passing moral judgment or to allow others to feel smugly superior. Personally, I am tired of people remarking about how thin I am, regardless of whether they think I should be flattered by their comments or not. I was an extremely thin child and spent most of my life into adulthood being called ridiculed and called names because of my natural build. I spent my elementary school years trying in vain to put on weight so that I could feel normal. I'm extremely sensitive to this sort of mean spirited belittling, and think it reflects almost as badly on people who tear down thinness as it does on those who cruelly make fun of anyone overweight. I say almost because thin people also get lots of unsolicited positive comments all of the time, whereas overweight people get nothing but the message that they should feel ashamed. Really, it's none of your effing business what anyone else weighs, and it's especially not important whether you are fatter or skinnier than them.
posted by stagewhisper at 5:21 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

Evstar writes "What the fuck does it mean to have great taste in men?"

To know me is to love me.

Thanks! I'll be here all week! Try the steak!
posted by krinklyfig at 6:31 PM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]

What the fuck does it mean to have great taste in men?

Let me ask my wife...
posted by maxwelton at 6:57 PM on February 7, 2008

Huh. She said she has no first-hand experience so can't answer the question.
posted by maxwelton at 6:57 PM on February 7, 2008 [3 favorites]

Skinny is a disgusting look for a man, and if "indie girls" actually like these fey wisps, it's because they're terrified of being with actual men.

And for the record, I have superb taste in men. That's MEN, not mannequins with sweat glands.

What a stupid thing to say. And you, yourself are a "man." I'm pretty skinny and if that means I'm "disgusting," I'm glad I don't keep company with shallow [insert one of 3 or 4 fitting but abusive words here] like you.
posted by exlotuseater at 10:44 PM on February 7, 2008

As a very happy, very fey wisp, let me be the next skinny person to suggest that you kiss my fucking arse, ethnomethodologist. I've never had any trouble finding a date. YMMV.

I've rarely read a more divisive statement here (and that's saying a lot).
posted by chuckdarwin at 1:30 AM on February 8, 2008

What the fuck does it mean to have great taste in men?

My God, it's a cookbook...A COOKBOOK!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:52 AM on February 8, 2008 [2 favorites]

It looks like skinny guys are the new fat chicks here at metafilter, only with more macho sensibility. Excellent.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 1:37 PM on February 8, 2008