[numbnuts]

Different guys have different preferences regarding women's heights. Personally, I generally find unusually tall and unusually short women attractive. (Average-height women are O.K.) I think a unique height just serves to set a woman apart from the rest, not to make her more or less attractive.

As far as body composition goes, it is well known that most men prefer leaner women. I can appreciate anything from very thin and toned (but not anorexic, no ribs showing) to a little overweight with a curvy, well-proportioned figure. Some other men opt for severely skinny ladies, whereas others can't resist hugely obese mates. I imagine there is also a segment of men who enjoy larger, muscular women, although I don't hear about this group as much.

Regardless of your body type, I'm sure there's someone out there for you. Don't fret if a few people reject or tease you. Rest assured that contrary to popular belief, not all men seek the same body type, so no matter how insecure some of you may be, there are men out there who like you the way you are.

[anna k]

I never thought Calista looked that terrible. She's very slim and her spine stuck out in '98, but I've seen that with other skinny girls who were otherwise healthy. I saw Calista onstage at a Vagina Monologues show in 2001 and thought she looked fine. She resembled a girl I knew who was very tall and narrow and would get made fun of for being so skinny, but I envied her shape because she looked very unique.

People's body shapes in family vary a lot. My dad's cousin was always very thin, and her daughters are slim but more shapely than straight up-and-down, like she is. I have a D-cup size, and my mom is a B cup size. It's practically a genetic crapshoot.

Reading profiles of actresses, there seems to be a lot of ink devoted to how tiny and doll-like and slim and small they are. Tanya Donnelly of Belly once wrote how she hated how male journalists called her doll-like and childlike, commenting on her "small hands." But the actresses seem to invite the "doll-like, fragile" descriptions because it makes them sound more beautiful or more special.