Big beautiful woman, big handsome man
Self-descriptions used by larger people, and by those looking for them.
| Type | Modern shorthand and terms |
|---|---|
| Category | Identity code |
| Stands for | Big beautiful woman, big handsome man |
BBW is usually credited to Carole Shaw, who launched Big Beautiful Woman, a fashion and lifestyle magazine for plus-size women, in 1979. It became a common self-description in personals, and BHM followed as the male counterpart. BBW appears in Craigslist's 2005 acronym guide. Earlier personals often used euphemisms instead, such as Rubenesque.
Sources: Wikipedia, Big Beautiful Woman; Craigslist guide to personals acronyms (2005); Smithsonian, Advertising for Love.
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How this fits into 170 years of personal ad shorthand: From Object Matrimony to LTR: How Personal Ads Learned to Talk in Code.
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