A friend recently shared an article on G+ about a photo shoot and article by Plus Model Magazine featuring plus-sized models posing nude both alone and coupled with average runway models.
The images are captioned with industry statistics, emphasizing the unhealthy lifestyle lead by most runway models. The full story and all images can be viewed here.
The article discusses the shrinking average size of plus-sized models and encourages women to demand that they be represented by models who are actually plus-sized. Most women are underrepresented in the media as the average size for a women is 14 and even plus sized models are usually smaller than that, as small as size 6 according to the article.
It’s sad that a size 6 woman could be passed as plus-sized, but I don’t think that plus-sized models should be heavier than a 14/16 just because our nation is facing an obesity crisis. Women want to feel represented, I understand that, but women should have healthy models for attainable success. Most women who wear a size 18 or larger are moving into a realm where their weight is becoming a health risk. A model should represent a healthy standard, not a standard set by the overweight masses.
Take the model in the picture above for example. She’s beautiful. Her body is beautiful. She looks happy and healthy. I would love to have a body like hers, juicy thighs, small tummy rolls and all. Looking at traditional runway models like Kate Moss does nothing for me. Like many plus-sized women, I’m curvaceous, even at a healthy weight. I’ll never look like Kate Moss, nor would I want to. But seeing a model my size or heavier, knowing that I’m not a healthy weight, doesn’t encourage me to better myself any more than looking at an emaciated photo of Moss would.
My opinions aren’t going to change the modeling industry, but I hope nonetheless that it does change. Too many women internalize those seemingly perfect images of women and become downtrodden when they realize that it’s an impossible standard. Women need to see healthy, curvy, normal-looking women so they can internalize an attainable ideal for once.
What do you think?
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