‘Tis true!(warning, artistic nudes, possible NSFW)
I hated the term Chubby Chaser until last spring. I was locked upstairs in a pub by the University of Durham (Durham is my favorite little city in Britain. The cathedral is Norman! The dorm is a castle! The uni boys are uniformly scrumpable and occasionally heterosexual) and heard Dawn French use it on some late night talk show. If Dawn –who is my everything– can bring it back, then I might as well contribute to the cause.
Speaking of Chubby Chasers –guys who will only date big women or tend to obsess about a certain body part– I don’t tend to dig ’em. It smacks a little of fetishism to me, and I don’t want to be anyone’s fetish (well, not that I’m willing to admit in front of God and the Internets although seriously, Hugh Laurie? I’ve loved you since I was eight. Call me.)
What do y’all think?
Eh, I’ve known about Nimoy for years. As for the other, it depends: in a relationship of course you want your partner to like more about you than your body, but so long as you are sure that they do, why would it bother you that your body is attractive to them? If it’s not a relationship (e.g., casual sex), then surely it’s a bonus that your body is attractive to them?
Comment by Kai Jones — November 12, 2007 @ 2:32 pm
While I would shy away from anyone who seems to like me only in part (or only for certain parts), I do think that for many people, the fact that a woman is chubby indicates certain things they want in a mate.
Not every chubby person would be willing to share a sundae in public, or break from convention, or enjoy cuddling on lazy Sunday afternoons… but, a lot of people I know tend to associate those types of activities with chubbier people. While – on the other hand & fairly or not – skinnier people tend to get labeled uptight, controlling, and a whole host of unpleasant & unattractive qualities that a lot of potential suitors would rather avoid.
So, maybe the guys/gals who say they’ll only date chubby people are indicating a personality preference.
And even if they’re not, so long as they like more than just how I look, I love it when they fall head over heels for the look/shape/feel of my body. I’m pretty happy with it; why can’t they be too?
Comment by dangermouse — November 12, 2007 @ 4:14 pm
I don’t think he’s a “chubby chaser,” per se – he’s also done plenty of work with smaller women as well. But he’s a smart, talented guy who is capable of seeing the beauty in more than one type of body, and for that I like him. Even more than I already did. :) I’ve known about his photography for quite some time now – glad to see it posted here, too.
Comment by Leah — November 12, 2007 @ 4:15 pm
I heard an interview with Nimoy on NPR last weekend. It’s worth listening to: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15912659
The pictures are of a group of women called “The Fat Bottom Revue”. The leader of the group told Nimoy, “And she went on further to say, whenever a fat person steps on stage to perform, and it’s not the butt of a joke, that’s a political statement. And I found that quite profound.”
–Lee
Comment by Lee — November 12, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
I can’t figure out which icks me out most: the term “chubby chaser,” or your assumption that Leonard Nimoy must be one because he has taken pictures of fat women.
Comment by Stella — November 12, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
Is it really being a “chubby chaser” if you LIKE women with curves? I understand the problem with the fetish guys, far too obsessive, but what if you genuinely prefer women who aren’t skinny?
Comment by Meander — November 12, 2007 @ 5:39 pm
This has, as many have said, been around a while, and I believe Nimoy has said when he’s been asked (sort of rudely, imho) that he’s not necessarily attracted to fat women. I gather that his interest is more aesthetic, in the sense of finding visual interest or beauty where it’s not ordinarily presumed to be. And good on him.
Comment by Bridey — November 12, 2007 @ 7:03 pm
Please, please change the title of this post if you’re willing. Nimoy actually went out on a limb and took these gorgeous photos and is starting a debate about body shapes, let’s not shut it down by labeling him a fetishist like every other media douchebag.
Comment by Aaack — November 12, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
On the one hand, refusing to date skinny women (if that’s what one does; I don’t know anything about Nimoy in particular) simply because they’re skinny is just as shallow as refusing to date larger women because they’re fat.
On the other hand, you can’t help what revvs your motor… if it’s curves, then more power to you! So long as the *woman* remains of primary importance, and not her body.
Comment by Sarah — November 12, 2007 @ 9:06 pm
I dont think Nimoy went out on any limb or “started” any debate about body shapes here. There have been artists willing to take such a novel concept as finding beauty in the popularly “unbeautiful” all through the ages,’ its what artists do. And while I am, to piggyback Stella’s perfectly expressed sentiments, irked that his photographing fat women means there must be something wrong with him (he’s a fetishist) I also resent the notion that photographing fat women puts him so far “out on a limb” that we should somehow be grateful that he took such a huuuuggge risk to do so! Of course, maybe I’m just grumpy that it’s past my bedtime, who knows?
There’s a terrific book that I found several years ago that does this subject far more justice, and less as voyeur than as a celebrant of the beauty in all bodies. Check it out: http://www.laurietobyedison.com/WomenEnLarge.asp
Comment by Shazza — November 13, 2007 @ 1:06 am
I just get squicked out by the word ‘chubby’, which should never be used in polite conversation (see also: “panty”).
Comment by Margo — November 13, 2007 @ 4:12 am
I also resent the notion that photographing fat women puts him so far “out on a limb” that we should somehow be grateful that he took such a huuuuggge risk to do so!
Okay, fine. Photographing fat women in a positive light is done all the time and is not at all surprising, and we should just treat it like any other book of photos. Good enough? I don’t want to fight with you, I swear we’re on the same side here.
Comment by Aaack (from above) — November 14, 2007 @ 11:26 am
Hugh Laurie is mine. Back off, beeyotch.
Comment by Style Spy — November 14, 2007 @ 7:53 pm
having been plump and delicious most of my adult life, i have found there are some men just drawn to women who don’t have bones sticking out all over the place… just like guys like Donald Trump are obviously drawn to very, very, very thin women. how come no one says Donald’s taste is “squick-making”? i mean, he’s squikmaking in other ways — but no one calls him out on the skinny girl thing. seems to me, that no woman likes to think a man loves her only for her body — whatever shape it may be — but the fact is, men are drawn mostly to bodies first. and probably lots of women are too. some women only like men taller than them, or older than them, or blond or with hair or bald. we all have tastes…
Comment by bonnie-ann black — November 15, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
I don’t think he’s a chubby chaser, gah! But in other irritating foot-in-mouthness, Joy Behar mentioned this on The View and said “These women are definitely not beautiful, not by any stretch…of normalcy.” It was sad to my soul. I loved her. Then the next day, she was talking about her Under $100 Outfit for that segment they do, and she asked if it comes in a 24 Petite, which seems to be her regular comment on all clothing segments they do for some reason and I used to think it was because she was pro-plus size acceptance, then she added: “I mean I’m not a 24, thank God…”
Comment by Mandi — November 16, 2007 @ 12:04 am
There are many variations on a theme. There are men who like a particular size range just like the men who prefer women no larger than a size 6. We all have a type or types that we’re attracted to. I would identify a fetish as more like an obsession, rather than a preference by placing the physical appearance before inner beauty.
Leonard Nimoy is an art connoisseur and is highly respected in the world of art photography and moreover he’s amassed a splendid collection of contemporary art. One doesn’t have to be a “chubby chaser” in order to appreciate the beauty of the female form in all its variations. He’s highlighted in an excellent article in Art and Antiques this month.
Comment by Deborah — November 19, 2007 @ 9:37 pm
*joins Hugh Laurie catfight*
Donald Trump also appears to have a penchant for women with eastern European accents. How come nobody has called him out for that?
I haven’t viewed the pictures because I am at work at the moment, but it seems to me that people should be permitted to have individual preferences when it comes to the sorts of people they are attracted to, physically speaking and not. If a guy prefers a fuller-figured woman over a more slender woman, I’d say more power to him. Same if he prefers a skinny girl over somebody heavier. Just as I prefer men with darker hair over red-heads or blonde guys. However, I would never claim that any one particular physical attribute would be a dealbreaker when it comes to whether or not I would date somebody. That’s where things start to get skitchy I think, when a guy says he wouldn’t date a woman over/under 125 pounds with no exceptions. Ick. At that point it isn’t really about the woman herself anymore, and instead becomes about his own fetishized sexual requirements. That seems so selfish to me, and I’d imagine a guy like that would be no fun in bed, whether or not I fit his ideal physical prototype.
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Details here: http://www.proposal-to-mary.com
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