What woman hasn’t flipped through fashion magazines, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over some skinny-minny model with a Barbie waist? She must be so blissfully happy, living the dream in her beach mansion, right? Maybe, maybe not—but either way, you’re not alone in assuming that. One study asked undergraduate women to describe three things: America’s “ideal” female body type, how their lives would change if they had it and how they felt about their own bodies generally. Across the board, women picked thinness as the ideal and listed all the confidence/happiness/general magical-ness that would come with it (and sadly, women with the worst body image had even higher hopes for how life could be). If that sounds like you, toss those unrealistic magazines and, instead, start noticing all the gorgeous curvy women out and about in the world—beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and regardless, happiness has nothing to do with a “look” in the first place.

QUIZ: How Happy Are You?