The Loop: Floral swim caps and kissed biceps

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-22569463

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Welcome to The Loop, the Magazine's letters column, including the best of your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.

Debate flared this week after model Jennie Ruck gave the Magazine her account of a choice between slimming down and pursuing a career as a plus-size model.

Among the comments on the BBC News Magazine's Facebook page were those as simple as "I like" (Mimi Naliash), "She look very fine!" (Makan Adam) and the understated "She is o.k." (Martins Mbodi), and also much discussion about whether she should be considered fat, unhealthy or even plus-size.

But what really divided commenters was the use of the phrase "real" woman.

"Real beauty!!" said Giovanni Paduos.

"I think it's great that they show what real people are like and what fashion will look like on them, well done H&M," said Daniel Chaplin.

Dozens of others echoed this. But then the backlash started.

Gillian Hensman made an effort to try to clarify what people meant when they use the word "real", saying it's someone who "represents the majority of us and not the minority". Liz Wotherspoon said a real woman was "not someone's fantasy of what a full-grown woman should look like".

Elise Rankin linked to a poem by Hanne Blank asking what a real woman was. (Here's a clue: it's pretty much everybody including, specifically, women who wear textured rubber swim caps with the plastic flowers on the sides.)

Rosie Jones was worried about skinny women being forgotten. "This woman isn't any more 'real' than a naturally skinny woman. We are ALL 'real'. Enough judging already."

Grammar school

Quite. Judge not, lest ye be judged, certainly regarding body size. But is it OK to judge on apostrophes? That's what we examined on Monday in Bad grammar and the people who hate it.

"Grammar is not just an educational issue. For some adults, it can sabotage friendships and even romantic relationships," we wrote. And, not that we wanted to scupper friendships or romance, we had to follow that up with a (phenomenally popular) grammar quiz.

Question three (What sex is Hilary based on this statement: "I'd like to introduce you to my sister Clara, who lives in Madrid, to Benedict, my brother who doesn't, and to my only other sibling, Hilary") was not popular.

"What sort of communicator deliberately obfuscates the wording (ie 'sibling called Hilary') and then claims that the comma placement explains all in a communication that is meant to be spoken?" raged Caroline Brown of Rochester via the Your Letters box on this page.

Lauren G, tweeting, agreed. "See, question 3 here is technically correct, but it's better to just NOT TALK LIKE THAT."

"7 out of 10: not bad for a Peruginian Londoner," said Chiara Meattelli. "But I still don't get how a male could be called Hilary."

But question four wasn't popular either. "Surely they've confused the Q4 answer?" asked Ken Munn. (We're guessing Ken didn't get the answer he wanted.)

And don't even start on question nine. This whole grammar thing is a tricky business, as we acknowledged. But not as bad as Evelyn Toth put it ("10 questions plus a guaranteed nervous breakdown").

"Half of my Facebook feed could do with this," Dan Francis said (thoughtfully posting it on Twitter).

Matthew Kushinka tweeted surely the healthiest attitude towards the whole thing, saying: "BBC #grammar quiz. Warning: Don't base your self-worth on your score."

So we'll say nothing about Lizzing, who tweeted: "*Hang's head in shame*.... I scored 8 out of 10 on the BBC News Quiz."

And, as if anticipating our discussions about euphemisms, Terry J Brennan posted on Facebook: "As I get older I've noticed my participles do dangle, and frankly it's quite embarrassing!"

Rob Lawson-Matthew said it was "always reassuring when your German housemate does better than you in an English grammar quiz... Germany 7 England 4."

But what about speakers of Texas-German - fifth and in some cases sixth-generation immigrants who still speak the dialect. This was really fascinating stuff (watch it now if you missed it).

"Somehow I'm intrigued by this, and also by the apparent made-up past participles," said Kate Dowell.

Presumably she means in sentences such as "die kuh ist uber die fence gejumpt" which means "the cow jumped over the fence" - though it may sound a bit odd outside Texas.

Verbatim

And now our traditional opportunity to quote our correspondents verbatim.

"Since we are discussing grammar this week, perhaps you should use the correct singular form when referring to the muscle of the upper arm, which is biceps. Should you be minded to use the plural you might like to know it is bicipites. Alternatively you could simply descend into the vernacular and say 'Look at those guns'. A kiss to each is considered de rigueur in certain walks of society." Rob Mullan, Crowmarsh Gifford, UK

Referring to the Loop's prediction that the fear of being videoed when parallel parking goes bad, this turned it on its head.

"I found a small parking space. I said to my wife: 'This is going to be quite a test.' For once, I parallel parked to perfection. 'I hope someone was videoing that!'" Jack Harrison of Tobermory

And our last word:

"BTW it's only about six weeks until the nights start drawing in and we can begin to look forward to the warm smell of sprouts filling the air." Simon Rooke, Nottingham

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