Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Beauty in Heroines

User avatar
Divia
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4435
Joined: August 2008
Location: Always Cloudy, Central New York

Post by Divia » Tue September 9th, 2008, 11:50 pm

Being a short chick 5'1 its hard for me to get that super thin look unless I decide not to eat for a month. I have hips, and breasts, but I have had them since I was 13. There is no changing that. My ex bf loved it and he said a lot of men do.
News, views, and reviews on books and graphic novels for young adult.
http://yabookmarks.blogspot.com/

User avatar
LCW
Compulsive Reader
Posts: 756
Joined: August 2008
Location: Southern California

Post by LCW » Wed September 10th, 2008, 12:39 am

[quote=""Barbara Passaris""]I'll never forget when I read one of Diana's Outlander books, (Can't recall which it was), when Claire had gained some weight and Jamie said to her, "I like ye fat, Sassenach." I could have KISSED DG for that! He also said, "If there were a skinny woman who was dripping wet, I wouldn't want her." (Paraphrased, b/c I can't remember the exact words. )

I rest my case! [/quote]

Love that!! He also said many times what a "fine fat arse" Claire had! I told my fiance about it while I was reading the series and one day out of the blue he told me I had a fine fat arse! Honestly, I did a double take because coming from him my first reaction was like, "Are you saying I'm fat???" but then we just laughed about it really hard! Maybe he just needs to brush up on his Highlander accent! :D :p :D :p
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. --Arnold Lobel

User avatar
Rowan
Bibliophile
Posts: 1462
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: I love history, but it's boring in school. Historical fiction brings it alive for me.
Preferred HF: Iron-Age Britain, Roman Britain, Medieval Britain
Location: New Orleans
Contact:

Post by Rowan » Tue September 16th, 2008, 1:14 pm

[quote=""nona""]it was amazing the number of men that said if society didn't 'expect' them to be with thinner blondes with large breast they would choose a fuller, thicker curvier woman cuase they were more attracted to them. [/quote]

So in other words these men are going to go with the dictates of society rather than with a woman they are attracted to no matter what her shape. And yet the men who cheat on their wives do so with women they're truly attracted to... Seems to me if men followed their heart (difficult for them to do, I know) rather than society's demands, there might be fewer divorces. Maybe.

User avatar
nona
Bibliophile
Posts: 1149
Joined: September 2008
Location: Oklahoma

Post by nona » Wed September 17th, 2008, 3:56 pm

my point exactly! I don't think most men realize that evetually they will tire of trying to pretend they want something they truelly don't.

User avatar
MLE (Emily Cotton)
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3566
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Wed September 17th, 2008, 4:44 pm

No different from women who are attracted to a man because he's 'dangerous' and then find themselves tied to a guy who won't bring home the bacon and help raise the kids. Except they are lucky if they get that type to marry them -- usually, they just get the kids.
Meanwhile, the guy who is reliable doesn't attract because he's 'dull'. (and maybe even 'too fat')

User avatar
Spitfire
Reader
Posts: 212
Joined: September 2008
Location: Canada

Post by Spitfire » Fri September 19th, 2008, 5:18 pm

I can understand being attracted to a man purely on a physical level, but to actually marry a "Dangerous aka unresponsible" man I can not fathom. Unless a woman had a dysfunction for being comfortable with a man who disrespects her, I can't see how someone with a brain could make such a bad choice. I guess there truly are con artists out there, but I am talking about your regular good looking schmuck. Do some women's brains shut off when it comes to chosing a mate? I truly believe you can find your perfect match, emotionally and physically. You know, every pot has it's lid. I for one picked a very reliable, responsible and dependable man who I am still after 15 years of marriage incredibly attracted to on a physical level. He says the same about me...stretch marks n all! :D
Only the pure of heart can make good soup. - Beethoven

User avatar
MLE (Emily Cotton)
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3566
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Fri September 19th, 2008, 5:39 pm

Actually, there are a lot of women, some of them quite brilliant in other areas, who make this mistake again and again. My personal observation (20 years of working with women made temporarily homeless, usually by just such choices in men), which is verified by all the research, is that women who do not have a good relationship with their fathers (or some appropriate father-surrogate) as little girls spend their adult lives unconsciously seeking to mend the situation, but since they go at it from the wrong end, repeat it.

OTOH, a woman with a good background in this area usually pulls herself out of the mire pretty quickly if she makes one naive choice, and never do anything so dumb again. But it is very frustrating to watch the 'repeat stupidity' of bright women with shattered backgrounds.
Last edited by MLE (Emily Cotton) on Fri September 19th, 2008, 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Charliekat
Scribbler
Posts: 16
Joined: September 2008

Post by Charliekat » Fri September 19th, 2008, 6:01 pm

I find it odd when a heroine from history is described as a stick, and the author acknowledges that he/she knows that this is unattractive of the time, but still creates the character in that way. I think this is just weird. Why not make your character normal size? Because it's modern beauty you want to give her even though you know men wouldn't have liked that?

User avatar
Leyland
Bibliophile
Posts: 1042
Joined: August 2008
Location: Travelers Rest SC

Post by Leyland » Fri September 19th, 2008, 6:33 pm

[quote=""Spitfire""]I can understand being attracted to a man purely on a physical level, but to actually marry a "Dangerous aka unresponsible" man I can not fathom.[/quote]

That makes me think about all the bright, lithe pretty young things in the HF romances who do end up marrying the 'dangerous rake/rogue'. How do you think those marriages really turned out? Will the rogue change his spots? Or did the spunky heroine grow up and throw the rake out into the garden for good!?
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams ~ Arthur O'Shaughnessy, Ode

User avatar
nona
Bibliophile
Posts: 1149
Joined: September 2008
Location: Oklahoma

Post by nona » Fri September 19th, 2008, 6:33 pm

whats beautiful today was not yesterday. Imagine Jessica Simpson or Paris Hilton in the middle of a Scottish raid or in the mist of an Anne Bolyen....makes me want to laugh.

Post Reply

Return to “Historical Romance”