What do you think about popular opinion and the role it plays in society today?
We’re not talking about popular opinion today, but the topic at hand is a popular opinion.
Popular opinion, of course, varies depending on the context, situation, etc.
But it is what most people in a particular place think about a particular thing.
Like the opinion that men generally prefer skinny women.
It is popular around the world.
But popularity isn’t always completely correct.
Just because quite a number of people see things in a particular way does not mean that that is the way it is.
All over the world, men prefer women with different body sizes, influenced by a variety of factors.
But there’s this idea that if you are not skinny, you are not good enough for him.
So women have gone to several lengths to get a slimmer structure, doing things that are not exactly healthy.
But men like all sorts of women.
Whatever your unique composition, there is a man who just wants that.
That being said, let us quickly consider the factors that influence some men’s preference for skinny women.
6 Reasons Why Men Like Skinny Women
1. Cultural Influences
People like to do things that are generally preferred and accepted by their culture.
This is why an Arab or Muslim man will prefer to wear a long kaftan rather than a shirt and trousers (which is more universally acceptable clothing for men).
He does this basically because he wants to look like his culture and be identified as a bonafide member of his society.
So, a man who is from a culture where there is some sort of preference for a thinner body type will usually prefer to be with a skinny woman.
This is not necessarily because he would not like to be with a thick woman but because he is influenced by his culture and what is considered acceptable by his people and their standards.
He won’t just prefer this body type; he will also succeed in coining a justification for his preference, and if he can, he may influence others in the same direction.
2. Media Portrayal
Media portrayal has been a long-standing issue since the inception of mass media.
The media has always been found to portray ideas, cultures, situations, and events in a way that either pleases the public and their sponsors or in a way they deem fit.
Many of the things we see in the media are not exactly as they are portrayed.
For instance, the media often portray third world countries and their residents as people who are still in the stone age with no access to development.
Meanwhile, many third world countries are accepting and experiencing rapid technological development.
These are some of the issues with the media.
Because of the level of influence the media has on so many people, people often tend to do things or behave in certain ways that are considered standard based on what they have seen on their screens.
Somehow, the media have popularly projected skinny women as beautiful and desirable.
Following this, men are often prone to desire thinner women while body shaming the thicker women.
But there is actually no rule anywhere that says a woman has to be skinny to be considered beautiful; it is only something the media has done to our minds.
3. Personal Experiences
Everyday, people are getting into relationships with different people.
And with each of these relationships come unique experiences.
You see that thing they say about the experience being the best teacher?
It is not too far from the truth.
When people have experiences, they tend to shape their perception of and behavior toward things in a way that is consistent with those experiences.
So if they had a stomach upset eating a particular food, they might decide that experience has taught them not to eat that food (even when the upset was caused by a bacteria and not the food itself.)
This shows that even though people learn faster through experience, they may not have learned the correct thing.
A man who may have had a not-so-good experience dating a thick woman may just decide for himself that dating a thinner woman is a better option.
4. Personal Attraction
Everybody who is relationship active has a spec.
Sometimes, people may be more concerned about a person meeting their character and behavioral requirements than their physical requirements.
And there are some people who do not even have any requirements concerning their partner’s character.
They are only concerned with their physical outlook.
Whatever category it is, people look for what they want in the person they want to be with and go for just that.
Some men are naturally attracted to skinny women for several unique reasons.
And would always choose a thinner woman over a thick one at any time.
But this by no means suggests that they are setting up a standard for others to follow.
5. Perceived Health
I was listening to a preacher deliver his sermon the other day, and he said something that caught my attention.
He said, “A fat person who is deliberately exercising may be healthier than a skinny person who isn’t.”
But that’s not what we were taught, No?
I thought it is a popular opinion that people who exercise do so to lose weight and lose extra fat.
And that naturally means that they are slim.
So slim people are healthy, and fat people are unhealthy, no?
I think it is just a misrepresentation of health and physical exercise.
When God created people, he made some bigger than others.
It means that some people are naturally on the big side.
Doing regular exercises will keep them fit and healthy, but not necessarily thin.
But a man may feel like a thinner woman is a healthier woman, and decide to go for her instead.
But if she is not taking care of her health and well-being, he may soon realize that a skinny woman is not necessarily a healthy woman.
6. Peer Pressure
And we cannot also underestimate the functions of peer pressure in choice of preferences like this one.
As unfortunate as it may sound, many people, especially younger people, are still men-pleasers.
These people do not exactly know what they want for themselves, or they just believe that life is all about being in another person’s good book.
So they make their choices based on what is most preferred or most acceptable by their peers.
Because they don’t want their friends laughing at them and calling their woman “fat,” so they choose a skinny woman that looks just like the woman their other friends are dating.
Except that it is a popular choice among the guys, these men may not have any other reason for preferring a woman with a smaller body size.
We have seen that the majority of reasons men prefer skinny women are based on misconceptions and influences.
But this does not mean that preferring a skinny woman is a bad thing.
Neither does it mean that it is wrong to prefer someone who is thick.
The trick is to know what works for you and stick with it, regardless of your body size or shape.