Comments on: Body Image and Romance

By: Lise Fuller

Lise Fuller — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:00:57 +0000

Feisty! Hey, girl. Great post. I loved it. And no, a woman who has curves certainly isn’t fat! Every woman should have curves. Unfortunately I think the young-boy stereotype body that is sooooo promoted today for women has gone over the top. It’s ridiculous and it’s time, we as women, stood up to it. Women are SUPPOSED to have curves. I can’t stand it when gals get very lean then have no breasts and get breast implants. It’s one of my pet peeves. And I’m a bodybuilder! It’s ridiculous. So, good for you. I think we need more women out there that signify a healthy lifestyle–and that means a woman with curves…

~ Lise

How much danger would you face for the perfect romance?

Lise Fuller, http://www.lisefuller.com, http://www.myspace.com/lisefuller, ROMANTIC TIMES REVIEWERS CHOICE NOMINEE, 2006; Pikes Peak Romance Writers 2006 Author of the Year; Best Newsletter Article of the Year for 2006-Colorado Romance Writers

~On Danger’s Edge, available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and in e-book, Cerridwen Press, http://www.cerridwenpress.com, 4 1/2 Stars from Romantic Times
~Intimate Deceptions, available in e-book, Cerridwen Press, http://www.cerridwenpress.com, RECOMMENDED READS from Coffee Time Romance and Joyfully Reviewed
~Cutting Loose, available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and in e-book, Cerridwen Press, http://www.cerridwenpress.com

By: Shelley Munro

Shelley Munro — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:08:40 +0000

I also wanted to add that I have written two romances with larger heroines, but on the whole I tend to be quite vague with my character descriptions because I know readers like to imagine themselves as the heroine.

VLH – I hear you. I’ve always thought that loving sport as I do, it must be really difficult being buxom.

By: Red

Red — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:54:47 +0000

Hey Shell and Lill, love the interview. And I love realism too, and lots of variety in heroines. I loved I LOVE LACY, I already read it!

By: vlh

vlh — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:27:56 +0000

not all body issues are the same! I’m not heavyset, but I have small breasts, and tire of stories about “buxom” heroines, since apparently I’m deficient because I am a B-cup. Sheesh. Equal time please!! lol

By: Ashlyn Chase

Ashlyn Chase — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:18:18 +0000

I totally understand what you mean. I used to be a model back in the stone age. Yet I’ve always struggled with weight and body image. Now I’m size fourteen and the one thing that saves my sanity is my husband accepting me just as I am.

I’ve written a couple of ‘me-size’ heroines with body image issues. (One is in Vampire Vintage and the other is a Rubinesque that hasn’t been contracted yet.)

They always have a hero who finds them sexy despite their shape or even because of it. I wish we women didn’t depend upon the validation and kindness of others to see ourselves as “okay” but we do.

I understand that in some countries a strong big-boned woman is a plus. Where is it. I’ll move there.

Ash

By: Tempest Knight

Tempest Knight — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:15:27 +0000

My heroines look nothing like Victoria’s Secret models, who are anatomically unreal. Is there any woman here who can relate to them?

By: julia

julia — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 12:55:13 +0000

Lillian, I don’t think there’s any winning with this issue. Body image is such an emotional topic for women, and such a subjective one, the same heroine will be perfect for one reader and ‘fat’ for another. Or how about the blonde Barbie doll constantly derided in books – how does the slim blonde reader feel when she reads that? So you can’t please everyone. Just write the character and please yourself.

Shelley – tag! You’re it!

By: Anita Birt

Anita Birt — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:28:46 +0000

As I think about the heroines in my books from Cerridwen Press, body image isn’t a big deal. The heroes think they are curvy in all the right places and I hope that’s what the readers notice.

By: N.J. Walters

N.J. Walters — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:10:06 +0000

I think it’s hard to leave body issues out of books because it’s not realistic to do so. A few lucky women are confident with their bodies, and that is part of their personalities. The rest of us struggle with body image in one way or another.

I’ve written skinny and larger ladies, all with their own issues. Skinny girls want curves and larger breasts. Larger gals want less curves. The hope is that sometime during the unfolding of the story they come to terms with who they are and learn to accept and love themselves, if they don’t already.

Great topic, Lillian, and congrats on the release of your new book!!!

By: Inez Kelley

Inez Kelley — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:43:52 +0000

*Gosh, I am so Faaaaaaaat!!*

Listen chick, when your total body weight is less than my right thigh, don’t be moaning you are fat. What you are is insecure.

Sexiness is not a bag of bones or a lump of lard. It is a mind set and a persona that exudes confidence and self worth. That confidence is what heroines -and women in general- need. Not a BMI. If you are too busy worrying about the caloric intake of the chocolate your lover wants to bring into the bedroom, he is not going to be interested in your measurements for long.