# The female body shape; pears, bananas, apples and hourglasses.



## Ballerina

Which do you prefer? There are other types unmentioned, and measurements may alter slightly sometimes from the description below.

"*Apple (triangle downward)*
Apple-shaped women have broader shoulders and bust, and narrower hips.
This can also be used to describe women who primarily store their weight in their stomach, or upper body in general. 
*Banana, or straight (rectangular)*
Banana-shaped women's waist measurement is less than 9 inches smaller than the hip or bust measurement.
*Pear, Spoon, or Bell (triangle upward)*
Pear-shaped women's hip measurements are greater than their bust measurements.
*Hourglass Shape (triangles opposing, facing in)*
Here, the hip and bust are almost of equal size, with a narrow waist."









Fun facts: "A study of the shapes of over 6,000 women, carried out by researchers at the North Carolina State University circa 2005, found that 46% were banana (rectangular), just over 20% pear, just under 14% apple, and 8% hourglass.[1] Another study has found "that the average woman's waistline had expanded by six inches since the 1950s" and that today's women are taller and have bigger busts and hips than those of the 1950s.[1]"


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## Stormclouds

Well, I'm an "hourglass", so I picked that one


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## Marlon

I chose banana, because I'm a small dude and I find smaller women more attractive.


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## GunnyHighway

I can't really say. I've seen pear look good on some girls and not on others. Same with the others.


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## alex123

I like big butts and I cannot lie........, em, I prefer pear


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## jsgt

I voted banana for the same reason Marlon described.


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## Ballerina

In the same vein of dividing a jug filled with 1L of water into 2 500 mL cups, weight distribution doesn't relate too much to volume. There are a lot of overweight women who are banana shaped, and a lot of underweight/average sized women who are hourglass/apple/pear, since it all pertains to ratio. Some overweight women look misleadingly pear or hourglass, which is why waist measurements are taken. 
It's possible to change from a banana to a pear with weight gain (fat deposits shift to bottom), but it's also possible to change from a pear to a banana with weight gain (fat deposits shift to abdomen and breasts). Banana shapes are only very slightly more likely to be average/underweight. 
The poll reflects every poll everrr on this subject, aha. Hourglass usually takes the lead, followed by pear, followed by banana, followed by apple.


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## vash

The female body; what a beauty.


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## JenN2791

Good lord i never realized this but now that I look at the clear visuals you provided, I guess I have an hourglass figure lol


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## ktbare

I think hourglass looks more feminine. Think I'm a cross between an apple and banana, broad shoulders but straight up and down.


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## Ballerina

This is the first Google result for a female body type calculator http://www.calculator.net/body-type-calculator.html if anyone's interested. :heart I usually measure as a pear, but when I'm bloated I measure as a banana. I basically have donk. Get all up on mah ghetto booty. 


JenN2791 said:


> Good lord i never realized this but now that I look at the clear visuals you provided, I guess I have an hourglass figure lol


Envy.


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## JenN2791

Ballerina said:


> Envy.


Eh envy all you want... I go back to a pear figure when I'm nearing my time of month lol.


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## ktbare

Banana or straight I got. Figured.


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## sas111

Banana, though i'm not going to be picky. Beggars can't be choosers. I'm Banana shape.


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## sarafinanickelbocker

Can't say that I have a preference. They can all look good.


I have a peary hourglass figure. My hips are just a bit wider than my bust.


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## Cerrada

I'm a mix between pear and hourglass. So both?


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## rdrr

banana.


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## Charizard

Hourglass > Pear > Banana > Apple


In marginally related news, I now hunger for fruit.


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## Addler

I like person-shaped women better than fruit-or-other-object-shaped women.


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## strawberryjulius

Addler said:


> I like person-shaped women better than fruit-or-other-object-shaped women.


 Yes!


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## shadowmask

Hourglass and pear. (I forgot to also vote for the latter)


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## Ballerina

JenN2791 said:


> Eh envy all you want... I go back to a pear figure when I'm nearing my time of month lol.


LOL. 


Addler said:


> I like person-shaped women better than fruit-or-other-object-shaped women.


Haaaa it's not literal, uh. You mean you have no preference? That's why it's multiple choice.

I never understood the banana representation. :blank


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## Addler

I know it's not literal; I was making a joke--and pointing out the objectifying classification system we have. Why do we feel the need to divide women into these categories?


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## Haydsmom2007

I'm a pear, myself. Big butt, small boobs. Meh. I like my butt but I wish my boobs were more proportionate. My boyfriend loves the way I'm shaped though... so that's good.

I think hourglass is the nicest looking. Like Kim Kardashian... lol yummy


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## Haydsmom2007

Addler said:


> I know it's not literal; I was making a joke--and pointing out the objectifying classification system we have. Why do we feel the need to divide women into these categories?


well men have different body types too.


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## Tugwahquah

I voted hourglass.

My body is shaped more like a sweet potato.


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## Elleire

lol @ poll. Hardly surprising. :lol

I don't think I have any clear cut preferences; I've seen each pulled off nicely. Having said that, if someone were to put a gun to my head, I'd probably pick pear.

As for me...










I don't count. :blank


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## letitrock

I love the hourglass, I need the wide hips and the waist that comes in, it's lovely


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## IllusionOfHappiness

I think I'm a banana...:lol
I don't know my exact measurements and don't care enough to bother breaking out the measuring tape. But I'm relatively shapeless, so banana it is. 

Not gonna lie though, I'd love to be an hourglass.


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## masterofsadness56

Haydsmom2007 said:


> I think hourglass is the nicest looking. Like Kim Kardashian... lol yummy


 I personally think that look is kinda mediocre....I don't like really big hips, to be honest. Kim Kardashian's body doesn't attract me. Pear is the ideal shape, but I will accept the woman no matter what shape she is if I like her - I like all shapes lol. Body shape is not a big factor at all to me. I'm sure women are insecure about this type of stuff.


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## Hadron92

Banana

The hourglass just looks like a mutant.


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## nycdude

hourglass or pear


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## Haydsmom2007

billsinthehouse said:


> I personally think that look is kinda mediocre....I don't like really big hips, to be honest. Kim Kardashian's body doesn't attract me. Pear is the ideal shape, but I will accept the woman no matter what shape she is if I like her - I like all shapes lol. Body shape is not a big factor at all to me. I'm sure women are insecure about this type of stuff.


ah well, we all have different preferences lol. I think curvy is the most attractive... I think it's the most feminine and pretty lol. But when it comes down to it, women in general are pretty.
Lol I swear I'm not a lesbian.


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## masterofsadness56

Haydsmom2007 said:


> ah well, we all have different preferences lol. I think curvy is the most attractive... I think it's the most feminine and pretty lol. But when it comes down to it, women in general are pretty.
> Lol I swear I'm not a lesbian.


 Women in general are pretty, yeah, I would have to agree :b :yes. I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks that haha. I don't think you are a lesbian lol. Most of the time women give opinions of other women and they are not ridiculed for that. Guys commenting on other guys are ridiculed, though....but yeah, that's another thread :b


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## dudette

Interesting.

I'm an hourglass shape, but I'm short (5'3) and I don't think it makes me look any better tbh. Wish I was pear instead.


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## Fantas Eyes

According to the descriptions I should be an hourglass but I look more like a banana.


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## Ballerina

Addler said:


> I know it's not literal; I was making a joke--and pointing out the objectifying classification system we have. Why do we feel the need to divide women into these categories?


I know, and I jested about your post. Why is it objectifying? Designers use the model to create clothes, magazines use it to describe which clothes you should wear if you want to flatter your body type, and I use it to ask what people's (both female and male) personal preferences are regarding body shape. It's akin to asking someone whether they prefer brunettes or blondes, appearance-wise. It doesn't divide a _woman_ into these categories, a woman's interests and dislikes, her hobbies and intellectual capacity, her career and her family. It divides _her body shape_ into a category, and asks what an individual finds more attractive appearance-wise. And there's nothing wrong with having physical preferences, nor does it mean it's the only thing someone will consider when liking someone, or seeing someone.  It's certainly not true for me, and I recognize a lot of the names under the poll, and doubt they would either. "Yes, she's an illiterate devout Nazi who has seances using the bodies of neighbour cats and only bathes every 2nd of the month which falls on Tuesday, but she's an apple shape, so maybe I should ask her out." Unless the person considering that is an illiterate devout Nazi who has seances using the bodies of neighbour dogs and only bathes every 2nd of the month which falls on Tuesday, in which case it's love. 
And its use of objects is as descriptive as saying, "Clarice has eyes the colour of turquoise and a lithe figure similar to a willow tree." Turquoise and willow trees being objects.



Tugwahquah said:


> I voted hourglass.
> 
> My body is shaped more like a sweet potato.


LOL. Sweet potatoes are delicious. ♥


phoelomek said:


> lol @ poll. Hardly surprising. :lol
> 
> I don't think I have any clear cut preferences; I've seen each pulled off nicely. Having said that, if someone were to put a gun to my head, I'd probably pick pear.
> 
> As for me...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't count. :blank


LOL. I think that happened to me once. 
Now I need to apply for a license to purchase a Smith and Wesson revolver and press it against your temple, screaming incoherently about female body shapes and that you need to choose one or civilians die. 


Haydsmom2007 said:


> ah well, we all have different preferences lol. I think curvy is the most attractive... I think it's the most feminine and pretty lol. But when it comes down to it, women in general are pretty.
> Lol I swear I'm not a lesbian.


Yeah! To all the fiiiine apple ladies out there, the difference between categories are subtle. Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore and Liz Hurley are apple-shaped. It doesn't mean much beyond fun. 


dudette said:


> Interesting.
> 
> I'm an hourglass shape, but I'm short (5'3) and I don't think it makes me look any better tbh. Wish I was pear instead.


We could trade. :cry


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## Jenchu

I have no clue what I am. But it looks like I'm in between Banana shape and Pear shape.


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## MobiusX

hourglass looks like she is fat so I picked pear


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## sansd

Hadron said:


> The hourglass just looks like a mutant.


Yeah, I thought the hourglass-shaped figure in the picture looked deformed (this does not mean I necessarily think actual women with hourglass figures look deformed).


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## noyadefleur

I think hourglass is a nice shape. I was always under the impression that I was pear shaped, but the body type calculator told me I have the "banana" body type. :stu


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## Madbritt

I'm pear shaped, so I chose pear. Big butt, no boobs, and I'm somehow in a family of women ranging from C-cups to M-cups...>:I


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## purplefruit

I'm too lazy to pick up the measuring tape but I'm probably banana. Don't have much of a waist to hip ratio.

_Go banana!_


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## Wacky Wednesdays

Skinny pear shape, would rather be a shorter, petite banana


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## Haydsmom2007

I just did the actual measurements and I am indeed a pear. I'm 36,29,43 lol...


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## diamondheart89

I think I'm an hourglassy pear. I'm 34 DD but my butt is slightly bigger. Oh, and I'm not even tall (5'4). :um Oh wells, guess I'll go sit in my corner with my cats.


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## Rest or Real?

pear early son


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## dudette

Ballerina said:


> We could trade. :cry


Let's!


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## guitarmatt

Hourglasses are the most beautiful..but pears can be hot.


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## equiiaddict

I'm an hourglass.  I love my body shape.


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## sas111

I'd rather be a string bean. Bananas can be real big, have you seen the size of a large exotic banana, the ones that the jungle people eat.


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## leonardess

where is the potato shape option?


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## diamondheart89

I once saw a squash at the gas station.


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## MindOverMood

Yeah, baby ... when it comes to females, Cosmo ain't got nothin'
to do with my selection. 36-24-36? Ha ha, only if she's 5'3".


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## shadowmask

This thread is in desperate need of some more pictorial exemplification.


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## leonardess




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## GunnyHighway

leonardess said:


>


Beyond sexy.


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## Ballerina

I read a little about other body shapes defined by a pair of hobos. Is it just me, or do they all look alike? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/a...usannah-reveal-12-womens-body-types--you.html They forgot aubergine!!! (seriously)


Madbritt said:


> ...M-cups...


Please illustrate this for the sake of scientific and systematic research. 


Eliza said:


> _Go banana!_


You know how to make tea and you quote The Simpsons seamlessly, I may have to steal you. 


dudette said:


> Let's!


It will be painful but worth it!


carambola said:


> Yeah, I thought the hourglass-shaped figure in the picture looked deformed (this does not mean I necessarily think actual women with hourglass figures look deformed).


IKR, hence the disclaimer. 


max4225 said:


> butternut?


I'm using that next time, I hate inconsistent fruit-related titles. :mum (It really did perturb me a little aha.) 


ShinAkuma said:


> hourglass looks like she is fat so I picked pear


 Not going there!


MindOverMood said:


> Yeah, baby ... when it comes to females, Cosmo ain't got nothin'
> to do with my selection. 36-24-36? Ha ha, only if she's 5'3".





















leonardess said:


>


HAHAHA. :heart


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## strawberryjulius

It says I'm a banana. I always thought I was a pear.


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## rgrwng

i work with many pears at the library, but i like them all.


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## PickleNose

I'm not sure why they chose three fruits and a time keeping device.

But anyhow, I generally like curvy women (Show me a woman with a big butt and I'm pretty much guaranteed to be in love). But some thin women appeal to me for reasons I can't really understand. I wouldn't have ever described them as banana shaped though.


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## Revenwyn

I'm a banana.

Edit: On the other link, on page 3, my hubby says I'm a goblet.


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## Ih8Hondas

Hourglass is where it's at. I'm a tall lanky guy and I don't think knocking pelvic bones in the sack would be very fun (not to be confused with I like fat chicks). I like classically curvacious women. Not the curvacious as a way to make obese women feel better about themselves women. Not saying I wouldn't go after a skinny girl though. If her personality doesn't gel with mine her body type isn't going to matter anyway.


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## sadwench

weird, I would've thought apple would pwn pear. I thought small butted and large busted was the thing to be. /shrug. I'm a peary hourglass, getting a little pearier with each bite of this delicious lime pie :teeth


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## melissa75

MindOverMood said:


> Yeah, baby ... when it comes to females, Cosmo ain't got nothin'
> to do with my selection. 36-24-36? Ha ha, only if she's 5'3".


:lol now this song is stuck in my head.

I have no idea what I am since I don't have a measuring tape, but I'm thinking a cross between a banana and a pear...a banana-pear. I prefer pear...don't wanna lose my bootie/hips :no.


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## Insanityonthego

Pear baby!


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## Insane1

Hourglass.. Pear and Banana are also nice.


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## Kennnie

Banana


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## crsohr

Whatever body type this woman has. Her body to me is just perfection.....wow. What type is it? Hourglass?

www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...oman-looks-like-clingy-Herve-Leger-dress.html


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## Revenwyn

crsohr said:


> Whatever body type this woman has. Her body to me is just perfection.....wow. What type is it? Hourglass?
> 
> www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2035742/Jennifer-Love-Hewitt-shows-size-zeros-real-woman-looks-like-clingy-Herve-Leger-dress.html


Apparently she's a pear.


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## heroin

Hourglass or Banana. Large buttocks don't do much for me really.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

I've never fit any of these categories. Honestly I have big breasts and broad shoulders and a very flat stomach. I have narrow hips and thighs that average I guess but I have a butt it's nowhere near flat. I'm an inverted triangle because my shoulders are wider than my hips. But my shape isn't like an apple my stomach is too small and defined and I have a bigger but than expected for an inverted triangle.


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## Secretaz

I always wanted to be an hourglass, skinnier than Kim Kardashian though. Pear would be sexy too, big bums are awesome.

I guess i'm just a banana.


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## Kascheritt

Banana!


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## farfegnugen

Hips are nice!


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## mezzoforte

I find hourglasses the most attractive, but the others are lovely as well. :yes
I'm a slim hourglass - almost a banana. If I had normal-sized boobs, I would be a pear. :b


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## AceEmoKid

Too busy laughing at these fruits and hourglass analogies for the female body to answer. I'm just imagining these strange, distorted bodies, looking like they swallowed a 3 ton apple and it's bulging out of their stomach like some sort of disturbing cartoon character.

But really, I don't care much for body shapes. Maybe banana? Banana seems the most neutral. But then I start imagining a girl hunched over with a banana-curved spine....and then I imagine her "peeling" back her skin to talk to me. *shudders*


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## probably offline

I voted banana because I thought it was a joke. Then I looked at the front page and saw that it was an actual name for a body shape.

Also, I'm banana. But not as extreme as that.


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## Euripides

Not that it matters all that much or at all, but I do fancy me some bananapearhourglasses.


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## meepie

I'm a banana, but I like the pear shaped one which I think I'll eventually have since I'm genetically prone to that.


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## DarrellLicht

... I would go for a dude before I would go 'apple'...


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## Revenwyn

Justayoungcollegegirl20 said:


> I've never fit any of these categories. Honestly I have big breasts and broad shoulders and a very flat stomach. I have narrow hips and thighs that average I guess but I have a butt it's nowhere near flat. I'm an inverted triangle because my shoulders are wider than my hips. But my shape isn't like an apple my stomach is too small and defined and I have a bigger but than expected for an inverted triangle.


I know what you mean. I'm somewhere between a banana and an inverted triangle, depends on if I'm bloated or not. Inverted triangle women are so rare that most style guides don't even acknowledge our existence, when they do, they basically say all clothing looks terrible on us. So I follow what it says and run around naked at home. My husband loves it.


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## WillYouStopDave

I'd prefer pear and hourglass but I'm putting no disrespect out to any of them.


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## Putin

Hourglass, pear, banana, and apple, in order of preference.


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## mattiemoocow

Obviously the majority prefer hourglass, big surprise
It's nature


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## Milco

mattiemoocow said:


> Obviously the majority prefer hourglass, big surprise
> It's nature


I think most girls I've been attracted to have been "banana", and reading OP's post, I see that made up 46% in the survey, so that fits pretty well with my experiences and impressions.
I'm not the majority of people though of course.


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## mattiemoocow

Milco said:


> I think most girls I've been attracted to have been "banana", and reading OP's post, I see that made up 46% in the survey, so that fits pretty well with my experiences and impressions.
> I'm not the majority of people though of course.


it shows that 60% prefer hourglass for me?


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## Milco

mattiemoocow said:


> it shows that 60% prefer hourglass for me?


I meant the survey linked to in the post.
I meant to say something like.. Actually, I'm not sure what I was trying to say. Just that not everybody prefers the hourglass, I guess. And that it's not a figure I've seen all that often in real life.
I don't think people have to worry too much about not being the 'correct' shape.


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## mattiemoocow

Milco said:


> I meant the survey linked to in the post.
> I meant to say something like.. Actually, I'm not sure what I was trying to say. Just that not everybody prefers the hourglass, I guess. And that it's not a figure I've seen all that often in real life.
> I don't think people have to worry too much about not being the 'correct' shape.


Ohhh. yea i know not everyone does but most men do. just another thing we'll never live up to. ah well.


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## Milco

mattiemoocow said:


> Ohhh. yea i know not everyone does but most men do. just another thing we'll never live up to. ah well.


It can be a painful lesson, but maybe an important one, when you realise that most people don't matter


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## M0rbid

Hourglass FTW


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## mattiemoocow

Milco said:


> It can be a painful lesson, but maybe an important one, when you realise that most people don't matter


true ;~;


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## Scrub-Zero

I like all 4 types, and also have a fondness the 5th shape, which is watermelon.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

Revenwyn said:


> I know what you mean. I'm somewhere between a banana and an inverted triangle, depends on if I'm bloated or not. Inverted triangle women are so rare that most style guides don't even acknowledge our existence, when they do, they basically say all clothing looks terrible on us. So I follow what it says and run around naked at home. My husband loves it.


Yea some sites are pretty narrow in what is what.

I really despise sites that lump apple and inverted triangle together.

Because when that happens I'm nothing. Because nowhere near apple shaped and I'm nowhere near any other shape I like these two definition especially the latter they include inverted triangles with full busts defined waists and no flat butts...

http://www.joyofclothes.com/style-advice/shape-guides/the-inverted-triangle.php

http://youlookfab.com/2010/05/20/how-to-dress-the-inverted-triangle-body-type-2010/


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## mezzoforte

Revenwyn said:


> I know what you mean. I'm somewhere between a banana and an inverted triangle, depends on if I'm bloated or not. Inverted triangle women are so rare that most style guides don't even acknowledge our existence, when they do, they basically say all clothing looks terrible on us. *So I follow what it says and run around naked at home. My husband loves it.*


Haha, that's the spirit! :clap


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

mattiemoocow said:


> it shows that 60% prefer hourglass for me?


Most women are bananas.

Which sometimes sucks because for the rest of us we get our woman realness questioned lol.


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## Revenwyn

Justayoungcollegegirl20 said:


> Yea some sites are pretty narrow in what is what.
> 
> I really despise sites that lump apple and inverted triangle together.
> 
> Because when that happens I'm nothing. Because nowhere near apple shaped and I'm nowhere near any other shape I like these two definition especially the latter they include inverted triangles with full busts defined waists and no flat butts...
> 
> http://www.joyofclothes.com/style-advice/shape-guides/the-inverted-triangle.php
> 
> http://youlookfab.com/2010/05/20/how-to-dress-the-inverted-triangle-body-type-2010/


Joy of Clothes style quiz... stuck on question 1 because my style is "none of the above." I am goth.


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## Idontgetit

Where's the orange shape?


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## Terranaut

pears and hourglasses. Women should not have narrow hips. Sorry, but that flaring at the hips is absolutely magnetic. Boob size is not nearly as important. I guess it's nature's cue of ability to get a baby's head through there without complications. But to me it just looks most appealing.


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## wrongnumber

I thought most women were pears. I guess women may turn into bananas / rectangles if they're overweight and put the weight on their torso rather than the hips. But I think most women in the healthy weight range would resemble a pear more than the other shapes.


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## Perkins

Hour glass.


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## Revenwyn

wrongnumber said:


> I thought most women were pears. I guess women may turn into bananas / rectangles if they're overweight and put the weight on their torso rather than the hips. But I think most women in the healthy weight range would resemble a pear more than the other shapes.


Nope. Most women are rectangles, and it's not because of being overweight necessarily. I am 19% body fat and a rectangle/inverted triangle hybrid. A lot of a woman's shape depends on how much the rib cage nips in at the bottom, and how high her rise is (the length between waist and hips.) Some women's ribs are pretty much completely straight. Some have a long torso and short rise, which adds to the rectangular effect.

A rectangle is defined as having 6 or less inches of difference between bust, waist and hips. Most young women are rectangles and they may fill out when they have a baby.

Pears are defined as having more than ten inches of difference between waist and hips as well as less difference between bust and waist. It's usually around 6 inches difference between bust and waist and 10 between waist and hip.


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## wrongnumber

Revenwyn said:


> Nope. Most women are rectangles, and it's not because of being overweight necessarily. I am 19% body fat and a rectangle/inverted triangle hybrid. A lot of a woman's shape depends on how much the rib cage nips in at the bottom, and how high her rise is (the length between waist and hips.) Some women's ribs are pretty much completely straight. Some have a long torso and short rise, which adds to the rectangular effect.


Now that I think about it, and after looking at pictures on the internet, most women do seem like a rectangle, especially if they have low body fat. Though I'd be more inclined to call them subtle pears and hourglasses. A true rectangle to me would be Ellen Page.



Revenwyn said:


> A rectangle is defined as having 6 or less inches of difference between bust, waist and hips. Most young women are rectangles and they may fill out when they have a baby.


Does that mean more than 6 inches of difference between waist vs bust / hip is an hourglass? From different sources I looked at, I've seen 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 inches in difference used as defining the hourglass. :con

The higher numbers (10-12 inches) seem extreme to me, and like they'd only work for big boned women, or women who store a generous amount of fat on the hips and bust. Because a petite woman with low bodyfat couldn't have a waist 12 inches smaller than the hips / bust; where would her organs fit (assuming relative organ proportions don't change as much, though I'm not sure about this)?


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## mdiada

Pear here! My butt has always been much larger than the rest of me. Even as I lose weight, the bottom half is twice if not three times as big as the top. But I gotta say it's damn sexy. :b


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## Revenwyn

wrongnumber said:


> Now that I think about it, and after looking at pictures on the internet, most women do seem like a rectangle, especially if they have low body fat. Though I'd be more inclined to call them subtle pears and hourglasses. A true rectangle to me would be Ellen Page.
> 
> Does that mean more than 6 inches of difference between waist vs bust / hip is an hourglass? From different sources I looked at, I've seen 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 inches in difference used as defining the hourglass. :con
> 
> The higher numbers (10-12 inches) seem extreme to me, and like they'd only work for big boned women, or women who store a generous amount of fat on the hips and bust. Because a petite woman with low bodyfat couldn't have a waist 12 inches smaller than the hips / bust; where would her organs fit (assuming relative organ proportions don't change as much, though I'm not sure about this)?


A petite hourglass would have probably like 7-8 inches of difference (yes it can happen, but most petite women are actually rectangles too.) Most plus sized models (remember, that can be anywhere from a US size 8+) have about 10 inches of difference and don't even remotely represent the plus sized population.

The general rule of thumb for determining an hourglass figure is around 8 inches. Someone who has 7 inches may do well in styles suited for that figure however.

My stats are currently 44-36-42. Yeah, I'm plus sized, but very big boned. I'm not quite an inverted triangle because my shoulders are not much wider than my hips, in fact they are narrower. I just have a large bust (38DD.)


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## ericj

Hourglass > Pear; Pear = Apple

I don't find banana attractive, but wouldn't reject based on it. They would definitely reject me, though, because I'm a blob monster with a gut.


I think "apple" is misleading, though. Most women I've encountered with this shape had very large breasts and a smaller middle. The only things they didn't really have were much butt or hip.


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## Revenwyn

ericj said:


> Hourglass > Pear; Pear = Apple
> 
> I don't find banana attractive, but wouldn't reject based on it. They would definitely reject me, though, because I'm a blob monster with a gut.
> 
> I think "apple" is misleading, though. Most women I've encountered with this shape had very large breasts and a smaller middle. The only things they didn't really have were much butt or hip.


That is actually an inverted triangle.

An apple has smaller breasts about equal or maybe only a couple of inches larger than her midsection, and her hips are about the same width.

So a woman who is 42-39-42 is probably an apple.


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## ericj

Revenwyn said:


> That is actually an inverted triangle.
> 
> An apple has smaller breasts about equal or maybe only a couple of inches larger than her midsection, and her hips are about the same width.
> 
> So a woman who is 42-39-42 is probably an apple.


See the OP. I was basing on their chart.

That sounds like an hourglass or pear, and the complexity is probably why women didn't wear tight form-fitting clothes for much of human history.

Banana = Athletic = Rectangle? A woman without much variation between her hips, shoulders, and waist. My sister's shape.
Pear? Wider hips than waist and shoulders.
Apple? Broad shoulders with distinctly smaller hips.
Hourglass? Similar shoulder/chest and hip widths.

There are a lot of weird variations for overweight and obese women where the weight isn't evenly distributed at all. Some even end up with shapes I'd define more with male shape definitions (like a male apple, where it's like wide shoulders, similar waist width, then much smaller hips).


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## starburst93

I have a pear shape. Personally i think the best is an hourglass. My sister has that, i'm jealous of it.


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## Revenwyn

ericj said:


> See the OP. I was basing on their chart.
> 
> That sounds like an hourglass or pear, and the complexity is probably why women didn't wear tight form-fitting clothes for much of human history.
> 
> Banana = Athletic = Rectangle? A woman without much variation between her hips, shoulders, and waist. My sister's shape.
> Pear? Wider hips than waist and shoulders.
> Apple? Broad shoulders with distinctly smaller hips.
> Hourglass? Similar shoulder/chest and hip widths.
> 
> There are a lot of weird variations for overweight and obese women where the weight isn't evenly distributed at all. Some even end up with shapes I'd define more with male shape definitions (like a male apple, where it's like wide shoulders, similar waist width, then much smaller hips).


What I was saying is that the inverted triangle is a definite female shape that is distinct from the apple shape. What you described here for apple is what most describe as inverted triangle. An apple is by definition larger or the same in the midsection than in the hips.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

Terranaut said:


> pears and hourglasses. Women should not have narrow hips. Sorry, but that flaring at the hips is absolutely magnetic. Boob size is not nearly as important. I guess it's nature's cue of ability to get a baby's head through there without complications. But to me it just looks most appealing.


My grandma and great great grandma had 9 and 15 children respectively. They both had very narrow hips. My grandma's youngest was like 9 or 10 lbs no complications with any of them. I just find that ironic.


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## pati

Hourglass.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

wrongnumber said:


> Now that I think about it, and after looking at pictures on the internet, most women do seem like a rectangle, especially if they have low body fat. Though I'd be more inclined to call them subtle pears and hourglasses. A true rectangle to me would be Ellen Page.
> 
> Does that mean more than 6 inches of difference between waist vs bust / hip is an hourglass? From different sources I looked at, I've seen 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 inches in difference used as defining the hourglass. :con
> 
> The higher numbers (10-12 inches) seem extreme to me, and like they'd only work for big boned women, or women who store a generous amount of fat on the hips and bust. Because a petite woman with low bodyfat couldn't have a waist 12 inches smaller than the hips / bust; where would her organs fit (assuming relative organ proportions don't change as much, though I'm not sure about this)?


Actually at 84 lbs and 5'1" I had an 11 inch difference between my bust and waist line. Now at 100 lbs I'm at about 12 inches.

At this size people have actually insisted I had a boob job I started growing boobs at 6 so I think it may be abnormality or could be genetic cuz my grandma was built the same and bony and more extreme. She was a bigger boned lady though. I'm more delicate small boned and still make that range my mom makes the ten inch range with her butt and she's shorter than me. So yea shapes come in all sizes I think I've seen all sorts of shapes rectangle comes in skinny and fat and body shape doesn't change by weight tai. Unless maybe you're an inverted triangle I can't tell the difference with an apple when fat


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## ltrain

Hourglass is definitely my favourite. My girlfriend is this shape and it isn't a coincidence lol.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

Revenwyn said:


> A petite hourglass would have probably like 7-8 inches of difference (yes it can happen, but most petite women are actually rectangles too.) Most plus sized models (remember, that can be anywhere from a US size 8+) have about 10 inches of difference and don't even remotely represent the plus sized population.
> 
> The general rule of thumb for determining an hourglass figure is around 8 inches. Someone who has 7 inches may do well in styles suited for that figure however.
> 
> My stats are currently 44-36-42. Yeah, I'm plus sized, but very big boned. I'm not quite an inverted triangle because my shoulders are not much wider than my hips, in fact they are narrower. I just have a large bust (38DD.)


If this is true I'm a true hourglass. My hips on any given days are more than 7 inches wider than my waist it's about 8 sometimes 9 on a very good day. I'm very straight hipped still most of my waist definition comes from my shoulders in line with my waist. The hips usually don't look defined I'd say until 10 inches unless you have a big butt.35-25-35
Or 34-24-34 or 33-23-3 would be good examples of petit hourglasses.


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## Justayoungcollegegirl20

Revenwyn said:


> Joy of Clothes style quiz... stuck on question 1 because my style is "none of the above." I am goth.


Lol I never took a quiz I was just read the characteristics they were if I remember right were very accommodating. And gave a lot of possibilities which I liked because I have the shape but I also have a shapely butt and defined waist due to my large defined shoulders. People usually don't pay attention to this really....


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## Terranaut

Justayoungcollegegirl20 said:


> My grandma and great great grandma had 9 and 15 children respectively. They both had very narrow hips. My grandma's youngest was like 9 or 10 lbs no complications with any of them. I just find that ironic.


It is ironic. I don't see many Chinese women with that big-rack-pelvis that is so appealing and many seem almost man-straight. But they out-number any other ethnicity by far. The attraction is subliminal though--it's coded into men like me's sense of attraction without any application of logic about babies and their head sizes making it through without killing the mama. In ancient times though that was very much a concern because woman died in childbirth a lot. A man doesn't ever want that.


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## Cletis

Classic hourglass.


What's with all these old polls? :stu


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## prettyful

I don't think this applies to overweight girls.


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## Hank Scorpio

pineapple


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## Gavroche

I don't see how banana is a relevant fruit here, I'm imagining a woman with a spine so twisted she is essentially.. bananaesque. Frightening image.


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## TicklemeRingo

All of them.


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## cuppy

TicklemeRingo said:


> All of them.


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## Amorphousanomaly

Pears are the hottest. Nice little bewbs and a big, squishy butt, no fat bellies though.
Skinny banana types are often beautiful but maybe not as sexy, imo.


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## louiselouisa

butternut squash.
I wish I was more like a peanut though.


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## Buerhle

Gotta lov em


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## Aminah

Addler said:


> I know it's not literal; I was making a joke--and pointing out the objectifying classification system we have. Why do we feel the need to divide women into these categories?


:clap


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## caelle

Dumb question, but how to you measure the bust? Do you measure on top of the boobs or above or what?

Edit: Anyways, I think I'm a pear. But I have wide shoulders which might give the illusion of a bigger bust? I don't know, I'm ok with pear.


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## Steve French

I like the spoiled bag of milk.


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## Bert Reynolds

The pear is most favored. Delicious.


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## WillYouStopDave

Ballerina said:


> Which do you prefer?


 I go for anything between a pear and an hourglass.....though the hourglass is the only one that bears any resemblance at all to it's name. The other ones are just baffling. You might as well create another category for "sledgehammer".


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## Nylea

I'm a...banana? That doesn't make me feel very good.


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## mezzoforte

Nylea said:


> I'm a...banana? That doesn't make me feel very good.


Bananas are cute. :yes

I think I'm somewhere between a banana and an hourglass.


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## cooperativeCreature

I think I'm a bananana too.


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## Steve French

Really though, this must be quite out of date. Need to add 30-40 on to each of those to make it in sync with this day and age.


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## WillYouStopDave

cooperativeCreature said:


> I think I'm a bananana too.


 I'm a walrus.


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## SouthernTom

Honestly, all of the above look good in my opinion. If i had to be extremely picky I would rule out apple.

However there are other things that would need to be taken into account. For example big boobies wouldn't suit the banana figure, and proportionally the hourglass and pear shapes would not suit a short girl.

I hope I am not offending anybody with my comments :/


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## SouthernTom

Nylea said:


> I'm a...banana? That doesn't make me feel very good.


From what I can see, you look like a very pretty banana :yes


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## chinaski

Pear is the most attractive.

I hate apple.


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## SouthernTom

WillYouStopDave said:


> I'm a walrus.


Walruses can be sexy too ya know!


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## SouthernTom

SouthernTom said:


> Walruses can be sexy too ya know!


Ok, not a walrus, but close enough


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## Nylea

SouthernTom said:


> From what I can see, you look like a very pretty banana :yes


Thank you very much! Haha.



SouthernTom said:


> However there are other things that would need to be taken into account. For example big boobies wouldn't suit the banana figure, and proportionally the hourglass and pear shapes would not suit a short girl.
> 
> I hope I am not offending anybody with my comments :/


Not offensive to me, actually the opposite. I'm barely 5'3", so I guess proportionally the banana body type would be OK. Also...why are these names so unflattering? I've heard "rectangle", "ruler", and now..."banana". I'm envisioning a girl with a severely curved spine, not a girl with a slightly less defined waist compared to the hourglass...


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## ThisGirl15

I picked hourglass since I'm that. 

Though a very petite, skinny hourglass. :/


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## Mr Bacon

I prefer pear-shaped women, generally. Hourglass girls are still attractive.


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## markwalters2

My body shape is like a basket ball.


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## prettyful

Women today have bigger waists and boobs than 1950s because there is more obesity now.


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## Unknown0001

I'm a pear so I picked that. Second would be hourglass.


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## Jade18

prettyful said:


> Women today have bigger waists and boobs than 1950s because there is more obesity now.


+ so many women are on birth control and which yes (can) increase breast size plus hormones in pretty much all meat/dairy lol.

and males can be pearshaped too

and people never have the right image of what hourglass means
but hourglass isnt big boobs/***/hips small waist
its about hip to shoulder ratio you can be flat chested and still hourglass shaped


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## bluegc8

The lady that cut my hair today was an apple. Dam she had big broad shoulders. She was shaped like a football player.


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## Pennywise

Who actually voted for banana or apple?


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## WillYouStopDave

Pennywise said:


> Who actually voted for banana or apple?


 Well, I couldn't figure out what a banana is supposed to be, since I've never seen a woman and thought to myself "Ya know, she looks exactly like a banana". There's no reference. I have no idea what it means. The apple is pretty much the same. I mean, nobody is shaped like an apple. WTF?


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## vicente

I think most women find the banana type the most attractive on other women and themselves. If a girl's BMI is over 21 they're considered fat.

Most men find the hourglass shape to be the most attractive on women.


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## Pennywise

WillYouStopDave said:


> Well, I couldn't figure out what a banana is supposed to be, since I've never seen a woman and thought to myself "Ya know, she looks exactly like a banana". There's no reference. I have no idea what it means. The apple is pretty much the same. I mean, nobody is shaped like an apple. WTF?


I bet an apple shape would be an extremely fat/obese person, while a banana shape makes me think of a scoliosis patient or something. Again, a resounding "No" to both.:no


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## WillYouStopDave

Pennywise said:


> I bet an apple shape would be an extremely fat/obese person, while a banana shape makes me think of a scoliosis patient or something. Again, a resounding "No" to both.:no


 Apples don't have heads or legs. Nor do bananas. An extremely obese person would resemble a tennis ball or a beach ball just as much as they would an apple. Also, the figure on the drawing for the "apple" doesn't look obese at all.


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## probably offline

How the hell did they chose banana for that body shape? It's not like you imagine a banana from any other view than the bent one.

Anyway... team banana(sort of) :banana


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## Pennywise

WillYouStopDave said:


> Apples don't have heads or legs. Nor do bananas. An extremely obese person would resemble a tennis ball or a beach ball just as much as they would an apple. Also, the figure on the drawing for the "apple" doesn't look obese at all.


To be honest, I didn't scroll down to read the OP's actual post, but only looked at the poll choices. And I think the use of fruits as body shape analogies makes it a given that the fruit is not a _literal_ representation of a body type (none of the fruits listed have heads, arms or legs). Rather, the shape of the fruit is meant to be a representation of the body, not including the limbs.

And when I imagine an apple, which has a short, round shape, I imagine it being compared to a short, wide body shape.


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## WillYouStopDave

Pennywise said:


> To be honest, I didn't scroll down to read the OP's actual post, but only looked at the poll choices. And I think the use of fruits as body shape analogies makes it a given that the fruit is not a _literal_ representation of a body type (none of the fruits listed have heads, arms or legs). Rather, the shape of the fruit is meant to be a representation of the body, not including the limbs.
> 
> And when I imagine an apple, which has a short, round shape, I imagine it being compared to a short, wide body shape.


 And yet the banana is still utterly baffling and the figure for the apple does not look short or round.


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## Steve French




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## Eastcheap

prettyful said:


> Women today have bigger waists and boobs than 1950s because there is more obesity now.


Also fewer girdles.


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## SpiderInTheCorner

anything but apple cuz apple looks like a V-shape which is more masculine that feminine


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## Freiheit

According to that stupid calculation I'm a pear because my waist is very small and so is my chest but I also have wide shoulders, wider than my hips, which the calculation doesn't take into account. I think I'm none of them to be honest, but I look most like a banana so that is what I go by.


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## Pennywise

WillYouStopDave said:


> And yet the banana is still utterly baffling and the figure for the apple does not look short or round.


I know that the pictures don't make an apple shape look too big, but like I said, I didn't bother reading the OP's post and therefore didn't look at the pictures. I was just going by my imagination and the mental images I got from thinking of an apple gave me the impression of an obese person.

And yes, the "banana" shape still confuses me too.


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## Eastcheap

Pennywise said:


> I know that the pictures don't make an apple shape look too big


I have to say, all the pictures looked pretty good to me.

Hey, I'm American. When I see "apple-" or "pear-shaped" I picture something _entirely_ different...


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## calichick

It's all in the thighs...


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## Slytherclaw

I was once told my body is shaped like a coca-cola bottle by a woman fitting me for a dress. But that was when I was 12. I have no idea what my body type is.

But I guess I prefer looking at an hourglass shape.


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## Cyclonic

I went with Pear and Hourglass



calichick said:


> It's all in the thighs...


Pretty much


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## millenniumman75

As long as the hips and butt are not shaped like a W, I am fine.


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## Nekomata

Hmm. Took a while staring at the pictures before I selected Hourglass xD


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## WillYouStopDave




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## Fat Man

If I had to choose, I'd go with the pear shape. I find that the most attractive.


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## Junebuug

All female body shapes are attractive


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## tea111red

I guess I am pear shaped, but not extremely. I think my waist to hip ratio is the ideal or close to it, too.


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## hoddesdon

calichick said:


> It's all in the thighs...


Is that you?


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## Compwear

:banana is the most attractive


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## calichick

hoddesdon said:


> Is that you?


No.

Gorgeous woman though, right?


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## WillYouStopDave

^ She's not bad but I don't like her facial expression. It makes her look like she's made of plastic and never moves. Also the bizarre lighting isn't all that flattering.


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