...There is a preponderance of the non-fit posing nude...I don't think anyone should be ashamed of their bodies. But I had thought that there was some sort of cultural understanding that...people who pose nude are expected to be, at least, a little in shape, and at least a few years prior to retirement age.
At the risk of alienating people I respect and admire, some of whom I consider friends (and some of whom I'd like to become friends with) I actually kind of agree with henry. For whatever it's worth, I say this as an overweight person myself, one who was thin once, but was never fit, and never looked good nude.
I'm always surprised when I see a gallery full of pics of a really unattractive body, with apparently no effort made to find and accentuate whatever positive attributes that person has. I realize that there are some people in the world who will find that person attractive, but let's face it, those people are a minority. I can't help but to wonder why such people show off when they have nothing to show off.
I admire Northand's sentiment that all bodies are beautiful, but, alas, I don't share it. Moreover, I suspect very few people truly feel that way. Come on, people, there's a reason most of us aren't nudists. Most of us don't want anyone seeing our wrinkles and flabby bits, and we're not too interesting in seeing anyone else's wrinkles and flabby bits, either. There's a reason we try to find clothes that hide the stuff we don't like about our bodies, and enhance the parts we do like. There's a reason we worry about growing older and mourn our fading looks and have mid-life crises. There's a reason we spend a fortune on goops and goos and creams and lotions and vitamins and pills and ThighMasters and workout videos and all sorts of contraptions and potions that promise to keep us young and thin for as long as possible.
Also, there's a reason that most models and celebrities are young, thin, and in good shape. There are exceptions of course, but they usually play secondary roles. Movies like _Shallow Hal_ are the exception, not the rule. (Incidentally, I really enjoy that movie. I want Tony Robbins to "hypnotize" me the way he did Hal in that movie, so that I see only people's inner beauty. I'd be a lot happier and less lonely.
YouTube - Shallow Hal - Tony Robbins) There's a reason why we oooh and ahhh over our favorites celebrity studs in the "Celebrity Endowments" forum, not to mention all the "Most handsome member of LPSG" type threads, which many of you have participated in and/or been nominated for.
We say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think there is some consensus about what is considered attractive. The vast majority of us have a preference for young, fit people with clear skin and proportional/symmetrical features. On women we prefer an hourglass shape and on men we prefer a triangular shape. Within those parameters, we all have our own individual preferences (e.g., some of us like hairy guys and some like smooth guys), and we all have own our set of exceptions (e.g., some of us like older or heavier people).
Most of us are well aware of society's standards of beauty, while at the same time recognizing that the standards of Hollywood and the fashion industry are unrealistic. Also, I recognize that certain standards have changed over time (e.g., women keep getting thinner and men keep getting more muscular). It's no surprise to me that many LPSG members might fail to meet Hollywood's standards, but meet or exceed the much more realistic standards of earlier generations. I think it's great that some those people have the self-confidence to show off by posting pics in their galleries. But some folks here are really out of shape (like me) and just don't look good nude, so I'm surprised that they post pics of themselves. I can understand showing off a nice body, but I don't understand showing off a bad one.
Please don't hate me.