How curvy is curvy?

Spring seems to be here, which is great, but it also means all the 'how to get the perfect beach body' magazine issues are just around the corner. Before that happens, I need to rant about the word curvy. First some basic biology...

This is a boy ...

And this is a girl ... they look different and that's ok.

While I applaud the media to some extent for trying (and so very obviously failing) to make women feel ok about being curvy; I can't help but feel that the extreme overuse of the word isn't helping matter. If we strip it back to basics being curvy implies that your waist goes in a little bit more than your hips and that you have some form of breast and bum. Forgive me if I'm wrong but that's just a fairly standard female shape no? Even skinny girls go in and out slightly: its nature, it means you have estrogen. So to be perfectly honest opening a magazine and seeing stunning (and slim) Lucy Mecklenburg 'showing off her curves' makes me raise a sceptical, threaded eye brow. Her body is quite literally beautiful - but is it really curvy or just erm, you know, female??

Lucy Mec

I'm not hating on slim girls or curvy girls, everyone's different, I'm just saying all girls have curves to some extent so plastering the word curvy next to a picture of the most stunning, toned and perfectly proportioned girls in the world might be accurate but it isn't going to make anyone feel any better.

Beyonce: famous curves

I get the intention, (more realistic body image blah bullshit blah) but note to glossy magazines - it's not working. I know it's strange that I can't relate to someone famous 'ballooning' to a size 12 with one whole ripple of stomach fat, in their designer bikini, on their 7th Caribbean holiday of the year but I can't. Let me know when you've got a gorgeous girl with a minimum of three fat rolls and a bit of cellulite for good measure, eating a chippy on Bournemouth beach and you might get a smile out of me ;)

Love Sianie