"Big Beautiful Woman" (commonly abbreviated as BBW) is a euphemism for an
overweight woman.
Meaning and usage
The terms "Big Beautiful Women" and "BBW" were coined by Carole Shaw in 1979, when she launched ''BBW Magazine'', a fashion and
lifestyle magazine
Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by consumers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, fo ...
for "
plus-size" women.
BBW Magazine trademarked the term Big Beautiful Woman, which was later transferred to Dimensions Magazine.
Although "BBW" may have been first used in the context of BBW Magazine, the term's usage spread over the years. It has reached the point that even women who have never heard of the magazine have begun to refer to themselves as "BBWs".
The abbreviation BBW can often be found used in
personal ad
A personal advertisement, sometimes called a contact ad, is a form of classified advertising in which a person seeks to find another person for friendship, romance, marriage, or sexual activity. In British English, it is commonly known as an adve ...
s,
online dating service
Online dating, also known as Internet dating, Virtual dating, or Mobile app dating, is a relatively recent method used by people with a goal of searching for and interacting with potential romantic or sexual partners, via the internet. An onlin ...
s, and
pornography denoting an identification with (or preference for) such women, and is also used to denote events specifically targeted to such women, and persons interested in them, such as specific gathering nights in dance clubs, restaurants, and fashion stores and shows.
The term is also commonly used as a positive euphemism by those involved with the
fat acceptance movement
The fat acceptance movement, also known as fat pride, fat empowerment, and fat activism, is a social movement which seeks to eliminate the social stigma of fatness from social attitudes by pointing out the social obstacles which are faced by ...
.
The term has several near-synonyms with varying shades of meaning, such as "full-figured", "
voluptuous", "
zaftig", and "
Rubenesque
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
", the latter term referring to the art of
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...
, best known for portraying full-bodied women.
Variants
The acronym BBBW stands for Big Beautiful Black Woman. Another variant is SSBBW: Supersized Big Beautiful Woman. There is no formal definition which explains the exact difference between BBW and SSBBW. Some BBWs or SSBBWs consider themselves to be
feedees.
Dimensions Magazine considers a woman over to be an SSBBW.
Big Handsome Man
''Big Handsome Man'' (BHM), or ''Big Hulking Men'', or sometimes ''Big Beautiful Man'' (BBM), refers to a physically or sexually attractive fat man. Women who are attracted to BHMs are called ''Female Fat Admirers'' (FFA). In the gay community, BHMs are sometimes called "
chubs
Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub.
In family Cyprinidae ...
", and men who are attracted to BHMs are known as
chubby chasers.
See also
*
Fat acceptance movement
The fat acceptance movement, also known as fat pride, fat empowerment, and fat activism, is a social movement which seeks to eliminate the social stigma of fatness from social attitudes by pointing out the social obstacles which are faced by ...
*
Fat fetishism
Fat fetishism is a sexual attraction directed towards overweight or obese people due primarily to their weight and size.
A variety of fat fetishism is ''feed(er)ism'' or ''gaining'', where sexual gratification is obtained not from the fat itself ...
*
Female body shape
Female body shape or female figure is the cumulative product of a woman's skeletal structure and the quantity and distribution of muscle and fat on the body.
There is a wide range of normality of female body shapes. Female figures are typical ...
*
Bear (gay culture)
In gay culture, a bear is a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity.
The bear concept can function as an identity or an affiliation, and there is ongoing debate in bear communities about what constitutes a bear ...
*
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
References
External links
{{wikinews, Obesity and the Fat Acceptance Movement: Kira Nerusskaya speaks
BBW Magazine site previously associated with
NAAFA
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is a non-profit, fat acceptance civil-rights organization in the United States dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. . NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination base ...
, a "size-positive" lifestyle magazine with resources and forums.
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptanceis a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people.
Fat acceptance movement
Fat fetishism
Human appearance
Popular culture neologisms
Subcultures