The Language of Magazines: Is "Curvy" Completely Meaningless?

I should have known the term “curvy” was on the fast track to obsolescence when Marie Claire used the slender-but-busty Katherine Heigl as an exemplar of the body type. What makes a woman curvy? It used to be the word was bestowed upon those lovely women who, nonetheless, were heavier than the Hollywood-lollipop standard. Now? The definition has loosened. It seems any celeb who hasn’t retained Rachel Zoe as her stylist could one day be worthy of the term.

That’s not to say that celebrities—or anyone else—should be shunted into an easily definable body-type box. And fashion magazines should absolutely not be arbiters of what any woman should look like. Even so, is the pressure to be slim increased by expanding the definition of “curvy” to include slender women? Are women with different, heavier bodies being squeezed out by the broader definition of the term that once belonged to them? Does it even matter?

Decide for yourself. Here are three women who’ve recently been dubbed “curvy” by magazines.

Jessica Biel and her “curvy figure” in August’s Bazaar:

Kim Raver has “serious curves” in September’s Glamour:

And Anna Faris has a “curvy bod” in the fall edition of InStyle Makeover:

What do you think?

Comments

[Liz]

Well, Kim Raver looks like she has curves but it could be the way she is posed.

I think "curvy" became a term for sexy back when Anna Nicole first became a national model. It now just means you have average or large boobs and/or a curvy butt.

The only way meaning can change is if the celebs starting rejecting it as a identifying characteristic and larger women keep using it to describe themselves. Since "skinny", while still desirable, now is connected to anorexia (thanks to the continual weight watch of tabloids), I think celebs will still be pleased to be described as curvy even if the label doesn't fit.

[Steffi]

That reminds of this one here: http://www.bryanboy.com/bryanboy_le_superstar_fab/2008/06/what-dangerous-curves.html

[Erica]

What happened to the appearance of hips in the definition of "curvy"? When I think of the word I think of Marilyn Monroe, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce--women who have bust, hips and/or behind. When did hips on a woman become sacriligious?

[Erica]

Anna Faris? What, are you kidding me???? Where are her hips?????

[Dune]

None of these women are curvy, none of them. Jessica Biel has what some consider a big behind, imo only by Caucasian standards. If curvy in Hollywood is a euphemism for not being too thin, there should be no mention of Kim Raver. She is a twig, ridulously skinny with no boobs, hips, etc. Katherine Heigl has a big chest, that is all. Never thought she was curvy at all, even before she lost all that weight. Curvy is JLo, Beyonce, women with prominent hips, an actual butt, not necessarily a huge chest.

[ubercherryred]

Curvy, the word is meaningless! It seems to be the latest buzz word!
If these girls are curvy (especially Anna Faris!eek!) then I must be an elephant. How is this helpful for self esteem in readers? Would we call Beth Ditto petite if that was the new buzzword?

[Athena]

Curvy? America Ferrera is the first person that comes to mind. J. Lo and Beyonce are not curvy in my opinion. They just have big behinds and that's it. Besides, are those two women really any bigger than a size 4? That is very far from curvy.

[Sara]

I think a woman can be curvy at any size (to a point) - in my mind curvy means someone with an hourglass figure. It might sound callous but calling yourself curvy because you're slightly or somewhat overweight to me doesn't seem accurate. Being curvy is all about the bust - waist - hip ratio, having the hourglass figure. A woman can be a size 4 or 14, both can be curvy, it's about the overall shape of her body. If she looks like a coke bottle then she's got it. (that last chick is no coke bottle though.)

[laylaness]

Curvy can be defined as an hourglass shape. This is the effect Stacy and Clinton tirelessly try to instill (define your waist, draw the eye down to the chest with deep v's, use volume and print in proportion to your body, create a good silhouette with structured jackets). Marilyn Monroe is the prime example of curviness. I think Kim Kardashian is a good example of a current "celebrity" who is curvy.

Oh, and speaking of Rachel Zoe, how ridiculous is it that she has her own show on Bravo? I mean, really? Her advice would be the same every week: Stop eating, hit the tanning salon at least 3 times a week, wear ridiculously over-sized sunglasses and billowy clothes to spark questions of a baby bump.

[lapetitediva]

From what I've seen, "curvy" means "stick figure with boobs"--e.g. Gisele Bundchen, Angelina Jolie(yes, she's been described as "curvy", in spite of being shaped like an adolescent boy), Marisa Miller, and a couple others whose names I can't think of because I was too busy staring at their scrawny limbs, trying to figure out what the heck made them "curvy".

[Kate]

When I think "curvy," I think Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, America Ferrera, Sara Rodriguez: NEVER ANNA FERRIS. Who's next on the "curvy" front? Kate Moss?

[Mollie]

"Curvy" isn't a size, it's a shape. Of course Beyonce is curvy. Have you seen her? She's also thin. America Ferrera is also curvy, albeit not so thin. I think it's more pernicious to use "curvy" as a euphemism for "not thin" than it is to call small women (curvy or otherwise; Anna Feris clearly doesn't fit the bill, and Biel is borderline) curvy, because it implies that being not-thin is an unspeakable flaw. Which it's not.

[Brigitte]

Curvy in fashionmag speak mean skinny with tits.

I agree with Anthea, Sara and Kate 110%

I hate that curvy is used as a euphamism for fat. Do you know how hard it is to dress when you wear three different clothes sizes?

I always ready the 'curvy' advice, then feel like throwing down the magazines...grr...

Since my bust is a size 8, my waist is size 4 and my hips 10, it is hard to dress in a way that does not make me look like a whale.
I am NOT over weight, my waist size should prove that, I have have hips and boobs, these age good things.

grrr...the anger i have that magazines keep telling me i am fat....grrr

[Ruthie]

I agree with Sara and Kate. Curvy often seems used for those who are overweight to avoid using the O word. To my mind, curvy means you go out, in and then out again - whether you do that at a size 4, 10 or 14. If you go straight up and down, or simply out due to excess weight, then that's not curvy.

[Leta]

Here's the deal with fashion mags: they are trying to sell clothes. Period. If the clothes are draped on a person shaped like a clotheshanger, you notice the clothes. Models who do their job blend in to the background. The few exceptions to this are Vicky's Secret and models who have actually crossed over into the Queen Latifah/Halle Berry spokesmodel territory.

So, come on, kids, this is like asking the meth dealer for dental advice. Of course they don't mean curvy in the true sense of the word. They mean curvy in the sense of "not thin enough for runway".

[Julia]

The woman who plays Joan on Mad Men, Christina Hendricks -- she's curvy!

@ If the clothes are draped on a person shaped like a clotheshanger, you notice the clothes.

I don't think that's true, at least not for me. Clothes on runway models don't appeal to me in the same way they do when they are on women with more meat on their bones.

[abigail]

Where can I find Anna Ferris's pants?

[Glossed Over]

Abigail, according to the magazine, they're from Emporio Armani.

Curvy means you have an hourglass shape. I agree that the word has become meaningless, but in the opposite way that the author does. When magazines try to style different shaped individuals they always show an overweight (sometimes only slightly) woman. This does not make sense. An overweight person who would try to copy those looks but is actually shaped like a pear would have a very difficult time doing so, as would an hourglass shaped person who is not overweight. I vary anywhere from a size 2 to a size 6 depending on how the item is cut and I always need the waist taken in - I measure 36-23-36 (try finding clothes to fit that figure). Curvy women can be all sizes, however, in definition of hourglass, there must be at least a ten inch difference between the size of a woman's breasts and her waist as well as a ten inch difference between her waist and her hips.
I am in college and recently sold the same style/pair of trouser pants to a size 2 petite woman and a size 12 woman - the pants were cut with a tiny waist and extra room for the hips. However, neither woman chose these pants from the rack because the definition on the wall said "curvy." Both women thought it meant that the pants were meant for overweight women until I explained the reasoning behind the pants' definition. Both women tried them (looked stunning), loved them, and took them home.
Oh, the array of truly curvy women.