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EM RUSCIANO WRITES: “So here it is ladies and gentleman.
The reason why so many of us struggle with our weight.
The reason behind the obesity epidemic facing Western society.
Are you ready for this jelly?
The blame can be squarely laid upon the fleshy shoulders of PLUS-SIZED MODELS (can we also have a collective WTF about the fact that anyone over a size 8 is called ‘plus’ in the fashion world??).
Italian researchers Dr Luca Savorelli and Dr David Dragone from the University of Bologna have concluded, that putting larger women on the catwalk (i.e. bigger than a size 8 ) sends a message to the obese people of the world that it’s okay to be fat.
“To promote chubby fashion models when obesity is one of the major problems of industrialised countries seems to be a paradox…Given that in the US and in Europe people are on average overweight, we conclude that these policies, even when they are welfare improving, may foster the obesity epidemic.”
Of Course! I bet, this very minute ,thousands of overweight people are stalking the catwalks of the world. If just ONE model dare hit the runway weighing in at more than 50kg they’ll all rejoice. I can see them now, pumping their chubby fists in the air screaming: “SEE! She’s a model, she’s not thin, therefore I don’t have to be either!!”
The good “Doctors” had more truth bombs to share at the Royal Economic Society’s annual conference in London this week.
“If being overweight is the average condition and the ideal body weight is thin, increasing the ideal body weight may increase welfare by reducing social pressure.”
Just so we’re all clear. The “Doctors” feel we should keep our models nice and skinny so we all still aspire to be like them thus ensuring we feel insecure about our imperfect bodies. Who needs the boring excuse of “a better quality of life” to lose weight. We need to feel BAD about ourselves to get on the path to a healthier life.
Shame = Killer abs.
For the love of all that is good and right in the world! Seriously. These men were given actual money to come up with this crap?! Was this “state sponsored” research? Silvio Burlusconi protecting his orgiastic aspirations? We CANNOT have overweight hookers women turning up to sex parties can we, Silvio? Even a mask won’t cover that!
Obviously, putting more realistic women on the catwalk WILL NOT make overweight people feel good about being overweight. What a breathtakingly ridiculous statement.
Putting “larger” models on the catwalk would be a HUGE step in the right direction.
I could bleat on about “realistic role models” and “positive body image” but anyone with half a brai
n knows why “real women” on a runway would be a better situation for everyone.
Back to our friends from Italy. I am confused as to why they were concerned about this issue to begin with? Has there been a dramatic increase in overweight models that I am unaware of and did this increase coincide with a spike in the world’s obesity rates?
No, no there hasn’t been. In fact, models are thinner than ever and obesity rates are the highest they’ve ever been. I didn’t need a degree from the University of Bologna to figure out that either.
Back to the drawing board Dottores.”
Em Rusciano will be appearing in her own live show soon- Stories, Songs and Flagellation. Check it out
Take a look at the plus-sized models on the catwalk in our gallery below. Does it make a difference to how you feel about yourself? Do they really have any influence on obesity?
[Post images from V-Magazine]
Click through the gallery of plus-size models on the catwalk
City Chic's launch for the Megan Moir Pardy designed Damn You Alexis range (Pic: http://www.fashionhayley.com )
Comments
255 Comments so far
I think this is really stupid. It isn’t the fashion industry that there is an increase in obesity in the US. It’s the fact that there’s a McDonald’s on EVERY street. Yes, people have the option to opt for a salad instead of a burger, but their salads are more fattening then the burgers and fries! If you’re so concerned about the obesity when stop blaming other people and talk to the government about subsidizing more farmers to lower the prices of fruits and vegetables.
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I think this article is really biased. While I agree that the beauty industry should not promote any unhealthy ways of life, that works for both extremes. Most modeling agencies choose models which are severely underweight, which is also terrible for the body. I’m not even going to comment on the negative depiction of the overweight, ad hominem based points, or conspiracy theory (?), but I feel like overall this issue was weakly represented/
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People who argue about how unhealthy fat is are stupid.
Do you worry yourself about people’s other health issues as much to?
Their acne,hemorrhoids,yeast infections,herpes,etc,etc?
Mind your own damned business and quit yipping about people’s weight.
We’ve all heard it’s unhealthy a million times.Kinda loses it’s meaning after so many times,no wonder people don’t try harder to lose weight!
STFU
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i have trouble with what some people define as plus sized. i’m not fat but i’m not thin either but i have rather wide hips and an actual ass and a rather large chest area and because of that i fit into larger clothes and am therefore deemed “plus sized”. I don’t deny that there is a large amount of obese people in the world but i love that the “plus sized” modelling industry is showing that girls that don’t have a waist width that could use a rubber band as a belt can be models too. i think it’s great for young girls who are naturally curvy, not overweight, but CURVY, that they can be models too. that you don’t have to be stick thin with your ribs sticking out to be considered beautiful.
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sicker are those anorexic models, i think that the good body is the average, not fat and not too skinny
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How about average sized models? We seems to be talking about super skinny and then plus size…but what about somewhere in between? A size 10 or 12? Why must it simply be either extreme? Wouldn’t somewhere between these be a better and more realistic image to project?
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On Saturday my “slim” friend whose had 4 kids and I went to a US store that’s opened in Birmingham UK called Forever21. She tried on what she thought was UK size 10 it was marked an XL but it was too small. She complained to the sales guy about the sizing and he pointed her to the Plus Size section! wtf
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The concept of an ideal size is unhealthy. I am naturally a very small build and wear size 8 clothes. If I were to become a size 12 then chances are I’ve been feasting on McDonalds and avoiding the gym.
On the other hand a friend of mine is struggling to bring her weight down and size 12 is her target weight. Given her naturally broad shoulders, hips and large breasts anything smaller would be an unhealthy weight for her.
People should be encouraged to eat a balanced diet and exercise rather than strive for an ideal weight, size or body shape.
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I agree completely Kate! People always say to my Mum (she’s a petite frame, usually a size 10) “oh you must never have any trouble finding clothes that fit you! you’re tiny!” But in actual fact mum struggles to find clothes that sit properly on her. However, she’s never going to be the same size as me, and I’m never going to look like her either! I’m taller (170) and I’m a 12 or 14 generally. Now despite the things I don’t like about myself, if I lost more than a few kilos, I’d be unhealthy for my build.
I hate hearing about how we’re supposed to look. I think curvy women are sexier anyway! Embrace yourself!
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Being overweight is unhealthy plain and simple. I think some of the girls in the photo above photo above ARE overweight. Yes they look good but it is unhealthy to be overweight. Obesity is a major issue in western countries, let alone the cost involved to our health system. Advocating overweight models in magazines/advertising is not good because it deems acceptable unhealthy lifestyles. No one is born fat, people are fat because they overrated and don’t exercise enough, being slim takes discipline.
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Being underweight is just as, if not MORE unhealthy than a little extra weight, and FYI, just because you think that some of these girls are overweight doesn’t mean they are. Since when are YOU the final authority on whether or not another person is healthy? You’re so ignorant about issues of health and weight that it disgusts me, You are contributing to the problem of people who get in the vicious cycle of depression and obesity. Get educated.
PS. A friend of mine, a bikini model, DIED to be thin. She had to be thin and now she IS DEAD at 24 years old. DO NOT tell me that being thin is the height of health or morality, that is a lie straight from the cover of a magazine.
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Firstly, I do not advocate skinny models in magazines. I agree with you that being underweight is really unhealthy, if you read my comment again you may realise that i never said being skinny was healthy. What I said was that being overweight is unhealthy (fact) and being slim takes discipline (fact), I think most people are aware of this, I am not claiming to be the final authority on health and it was MY opinion that some of the girls were overweight that is why I said ‘I feel’, I accept others will find them to be of average weight.
That being said, if people (as many do) blame magazines for contributing to eating disorders due of their portrayal of unnaturally thin girls, why then do people find it hard to accept that the portrayal of overweight women in magazines could contribute to unhealthy eating habits at the other end of the scale?
Being overweight is unhealthy why promote it as an ideal?
Oh and by attacking people for their opinions by calling them ‘ignorant’ and telling them to ‘get educated’ does not make your point more valid you just come across as rude.
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I think you’re completely missing the point Mm, and also completely incorrect. In many occasions peoples genetic dispositions will be the major factor in their weight.
In my opinion we should be enjoying women in all shapes and sizes as the reality is… that is the reality, women come in all shapes and sizes. When we are flooded with slim/skinny models it is not an honest reflection of healthy women at all.
Just because an obese person can enjoy and feel good about themselves doesn’t mean it will make everyone else obese. If you look at models and think that’s the ideal, then the issue is far deeper than who’s on the front of a magazine.
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“You’re so ignorant about issues of health and weight that it disgusts me,”
Rebecca, YOU are ignorant about issues of health and weight that it worries me. There’s mountains of evidence to show that being overweight and obese can lead to significant health problems. Please look to reliable peer-reviewed health journals such as The Lancet, the International Journal of Obesity and perhaps read material published by various think tanks here in Australia. Obesity is costing this nation — taxpayers like you and me — MONEY. Based on current trajectories, the current cohort of young Australians are likely to have a shorter lifespan than the previous generations (the first time that this has occured in centuries) because they are overweight and obese.
“DO NOT tell me that being thin is the height of health or morality, that is a lie straight from the cover of a magazine.”
Huh? Strawman much? I did not see Mm assert that THIN was the height of health or morality.
“You are contributing to the problem of people who get in the vicious cycle of depression and obesity. ”
Hyperbole. Depression is a lot more complicated than you clearly understand.
“Get educated.”
Take your own advice, sweatheart. Learn to do some research, learn to READ what someone has written, understand what they have said and refute their points with *evidence*, not just some childishly confect injustice to justify your smug sense of outrage.
You’re so ignorant about issues of health and weight that it disgusts me,
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I don’t agree with that. I’m overweight but I exercise. I cannot shift the weight due to medical reasons so to say its because the overweight overeat is ridiculous. Sure I eat fatty foods and enjoy chips, lollies and icecream I’m also pretty tall so as long as my bmi is 65 I’m happy its currently around 70 and hovers between 65 and 72 usually. Assuming overweight people are overweight because they eat a lot is completely wrong and prejudice!
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I’m having a bit of trouble with this post.
It’s really quite poorly written and feels very angst and agenda driven, and the subtle mocking of the researchers only seems to fuel that vibe! These researchers aren’t talking about what ‘should’ be shown, they are talking about the conflicting nature of what a person sees and what a person feels, from statistical evidence they’re researched. I really don’t think published results such as these should be taken out of the context to fuel this kind of article.
Em, I’m sure you’re a great writer and have great things to say (and I do look forward to reading them on here), but this piece really seems to be fuelling an underdeveloped point based on a confused anxiety of the writer. I’d loved to see a rounded out piece based on this topic with some appropriate sources!
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Ok i’m a bigger women and i think that having plus size models are not making us “fat” they are just showing that not only can “skinny” women be models but so can bigger women…. All you see on t.v. these days are so called “perfect” women they all skinny. We all have different body types and most of us work our butt off trying to get to look like all of them but it just wont happen…. Bigger women are being critisized about their weight and i dont think it’s fair not just because im a bigger lady but beacuse it’s rude and not appropriate… I think that there should be more women out there that are proud of thier bodies and not scared to go down town and party without being treated unfairly! but I dont think that, that is going to happen if people keep talking like this, saying that we should loose weight.
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To be honest some of these women in the fashion show above do look overweight. Surely we shouldn’t be celebrating the overweight, just as we shouldn’t with the underweight.
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I love this site, and I usually love what you usually post, but I have to say this article is BS. Of course plus size models make people fat! Every day it makes me sick when I see people trying to justify being overweight. By putting them on a runway or a magazine, fat (yes, they are fat!) becomes the new normal and acceptable. Is that what we want to aspire to?
I recently read a quote from Michelle Bridges and I absolutely loved it because I’m proud of my body, and have worked damn hard to get it! She said the fat gene doesn’t exist – most people are just not willing to put in the real effort to be healthy and fit.
Fashion isn’t supposed to be about representing the average, every-day woman. I’m not advocating the stick-thin models that usually grace the catwalk, but it is important to remember they are just there to be coat hangers! Clothes will generally look better on super slim people, so of course designers are going to use models like that.
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“Fashion isn’t supposed to be about representing the average, every-day woman.” Are you having a lend here Tara? Then who the hell is it supposed to be representative of? What do average every-day women then wear?
Seems you think you can only have the right to wear fasionable clothes in your thin. How sad.
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That’s not what I meant at all. Of course, the actual clothes are supposed to be meant for the average every-day woman, but the fashion industry itself does NOT represent that kind of woman.
I never said that only thin people have the right to wear fashionable clothes. BUT why would the designers themselves want to see their creations on anything but a body that resembles a clothes rack? The women are not supposed to be seen – the clothes are.
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I am fat, and I will tell you why. I was born with an autoimmune disease that causes me to have a very slow metabolism that absorbs all the nutrients from food and causes me to have a severe hormonal imbalance. I also suffer from ry hair, skin, thinner skin which results in more severe stretchmarks (which I have improved with oils), severe lethargy and depression. I have body issues and have since I was 7 and first started eating only vegetables, fruits, lean protein and dairy and some whole grains. Since then I have yo yo dieted. And more often than not I lose one kilo and then I put it back on. I exercise and cycle daily for at least 20kms vigourously. I am a smart, intelligent person who has Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and is attending university, I am ashamed of women when they say that plus size models make people fat. But how is an overweight woman supposed to feel good enough about herself to create a positive, healthy and overall happy lifestyle unless she has enough confidence and self esteem in herself, which is aided in part by clothing and seeing that although you may be heavier than the society induced norm, you can still feel good in nice clothes and look great. Why do people that have no idea about what it means to be overweight get to have a say? Is it because you’re afraid, that one day if you slip up you might end up like us? Imagine never being happy at the beach, surrounded by your friends who are all gorgeous? Not eating anything except an apple and spending 3 hours at the gym after school every night. That’s what I used to do. It wasn’t healthy and I still didn’t lose weight. But guess what, at least I know that I’m not nearly as mean and nasty as those of you who think being fat or overweight or ‘curvy’ would be the worst the in the world.
Some people don’t get to be skinny, ever, and that’s how it always will be. No matter what, some diseases cause weight gain, cause lethargy and depression, it’s hard to exercise when you can’t get out of bed because you think your life is meaningless.
I think you need to remember that although most people just see a fat woman or girl, underneath, inside is a person, with feelings.
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Wow so being healthy is now obese??? Since when is being a size 10, 12 or 14 obese??? The incredible stupidity of these people boggles the mind! For most women aiming to be a size 8 or under is unrealistic and unhealthy. Yes, some women are naturally that thin but that’s few and far between. Let’s not forget being unhealthily thin also leads to severe health issues and eventually death. We should be promoting healthy, natural bodies and making sure everyone is being represented in fashion rather than forcing unimaginable and unrealistic images on women.
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I’m size 12/14 and according to my BMI I’m classed as obese. I’m not particularly short either.
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Maybe it depends on where you shop?
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PS I absolutely disagree with the fashion industry parading around skin and bones anorexic models. It bad practice all around.
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I would say you missed the point of the research. Irrespective of the research positive body image is important for emotional wellbeing of a person however from a physical health point of view, if you are overweight (BMI and other medical tests have diagnosed you as overweight not your dress size) it s bad. To say that have plus size models are great for body image and self esteem but what about the physical issues of being overweight?
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Although i dont like seeing bones jutting out all over the runway, i also wouldn’t want to be seeing fat rolls hanging out everywhere, and if given the choice i’d choose bones because ‘yes’ it is more inspirational.
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Melanie – I think you’ll likely find that women deep in the hell of anorexia who have their bones jutting out will hardly find that inspirational. For your own good I would seriously try to find some other form of life inspiration – and quickly.
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Why is it that a ‘plus size’ model is anything over an Australian size 8 and ‘plus size’ clothing is anything over a 16?
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Rolls???? Rib cages??? what is worse??
I am sorry, I am a healthy size 6, yes not a plus size, however I can speak on the behalf of plus sized them. Now who has been to a shopping centre and saw a monstrosity of an outfit on a petite young lady and on the other hand who has been to a shopping centre and seen a bit too much on a bigger girl. It doesn’t matter what size you are as long as you are comfortable within yourself. The only thing any size of women or men can do is to dress appropriately to what suits them and attracts attention to their best feature.
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I hardly remember anything these women were wearing, I was too distracted by the rolls…? How about plus size male models? do they have a voice?
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Well, I got stuck at the end of the first paragraph. Because it IS OK to be fat. It may not be all together healthy, and it’s probably unwise to be obese, but it’s OK to be whatever you want to be. I don’t think anymore needs to be said, and the good Dottore is a dickhead.
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I think “plus-size models” (what a crap name) are great for me because I see them and think, “hey, she looks hot in that! I could look hot in that too!” I’m an Australian size 16 and struggling with that at the moment. Loving fashion and not fitting into things often means shopping trips end in tears and self-loathing.
Some of these models have very athletic legs and curvaceous upper bodies – something to aspire to if you’re quite overweight, perhaps. I’d rather aspire to being happy with myself, curvy (if that’s what my body’s predisposition is) and healthy than traditional-model-thin.
It’d be great to see encouragement of healthy lifestyles and acceptance of individual differences. We are never all going to be the same size or shape.
Being very overweight is a health risk (and whilst people say to me, “You’re not that big Steph”, technically given my height and weight, my BMI has me at ‘obese’ which is painful to admit) but being curvy, or slim, or athletic, whatever, just means you are YOU.
PS, I also noticed no double chins!! Obviously that’s a prerequisite for being a plus size model! “Be as curvy as you want, but no double chins allowed!”
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There is so much focus on plus size women or plus size models needing to change the industry or being empowered, etc. and how they’re not treated fairly and made to feel bad about their body shape/size, but I have to say it’s almost hypocritical because, as ridiculous as it sounds, thin people get the same treatment. It’s like a war between fat and thin. If you’re plus size, you’re ‘fat’. If you’re thin, you’re not a ‘real woman’. The ‘real woman’ thing bothers me to no end. Society tells me on the one hand that I should be grateful that I’m a size 4 (or that I should be even thinner), and on the other hand scrutinizes me and writes me off as not being a ‘real woman’ because real women have curves. I’m sure the same goes for plus size women. On the one hand, they’re told that they should be skinnier like the majority of models in print advertisements, but on the other, they’re told they should be proud of being real women with curves and who wants to be like those gross skinny people anyway?
Can’t we just be grateful that we have bodies, regardless of how they look? It’s a tall order and one that will never be satisfied, I think, but I get so upset when I repeatedly read things about defending plus size models that take the angle of putting down thinner ones. I know that the industry is very biased toward thinner people (and they’re often unhealthy, which is obviously a bad message), but if someone is healthy, that’s what should matter most — whether they’re a size 2 or a size 14. Obviously morbid obesity isn’t healthy and the concern there should be in feeling well over being set size, just as eating disorders need medical and emotional attention. Not everyone who’s a size 2 is sick just like not everyone who’s a size 12 is. I’m rambling… but I’m just fed up with all of this “real woman” shit. You can be a real woman if you’re fat, thin, ‘curvy’, flat-chested, transgendered, short, tall. Last time I checked, I was a woman!
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“Can’t we just be grateful that we have bodies”…that’s great perspective. We’re living, breathing humans with the potential to change the world around us; if only we could focus more on what we do and what we can do, rather than how we look.
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This is not a good piece of writing. It comes across as alarmist.
The quotes from the doctors themselves don’t seem controversial or offensive to me at all. The commentary by the writer is completely over blown. She implies that the doctors from Bologna conducted extensive research and that their one outcome was in finding that overweight models contribute to obesity. This was the agenda of the blogger not the researchers’.
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Models in general do not have a long shelf life, but I am sure the goal is healthy for you weight, underweight has just as many dangers as overweight as well many models have drug or eating issues that shorten their lives do to trying to stay thin…..every year a few super models pass but because there are so many and another one stepping up to the plate no one notices much.
thin…..every year a few super models pass but because there are so many and another one stepping up to the plate no one notices much.
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My husband just came in, looked over my shoulder at the fashion show and said “Phroaw….can you get one of those dresses?”
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If there was a ‘like’ button on this comment, I’d press it. Some of those dresses are super-hot! Curvy girls pull of some of those styles beautifully. (Get rid of the Ed Hardy t-shirts though, ugh!)
EDIT – I found the like button!!
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How could anyone call the gorgeous ladies in the attached pictures ‘fat’, ‘obese’ or ‘chubby’ ??
Ladies, does viewing these pictures make you want to head for the nearest cake-shop ? I think not….
PS. Calling yourself ‘Dottore’ in Italy doesn’t necessarily mean you have a PhD…..
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In the 50′s models were more realistic, and while not fat, certainly more of an average weight. A woman at her ideal weight is around a size 6 -10 depending on height, maybe a 4 if she is very short. In those days we didn’t have women dieting to the point of anorexia or bulimia, nor did we have such an obesity epidemic , which stems from the fact that many women feel if they can’t look like a model, why bother staying healthy, may as well eat twinkies and stay inactive.
Back in the 50′s a model was likely a size 8 (sizes have changed, maybe that’s a 4-6 today) while an average woman was a 10 or 12. Today a model is a size 0 or 2 (todays sizes), while the average woman is an 8 or 10 (yesterdays 12 or 14). There is a much bigger discrepancy now, so the ideal is far more unattainable.
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huh….I wonder how many of those plus-size models are actually technically overweight. According to most BMI calculators I can quite safely gain over 10kg and still be considered within “normal range”, and I’m not model thin. Wouldn’t a size 14 still be considered quite normal from a health perspective for a woman with the height to carry of being a model?
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Yes if she was 185cms!
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I’d have to say,that grey swimsuit in the second picture just looks utterly unappealing when worn by a model with extra rolls and love handles-it just doesn’t work.And that’s why we have thin models,to show off the clothes without distraction.
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If we all put down the chocolate (and the remote) and actually got off our butts and exercised there wouldn’t be a problem! Obesity has nothing to do with models… I agree you can be plus sized and healthy but obesity is a whole different story. I’m a healthy 180cm, size 10 and I actually get offended seeing people in the media like Beth Ditto be applauded for her size. My sister is obese and I thinking images like that are JUST as unhealthy as seeing models that could masquerade as coat hangers.
I guess I’ve veered off topic a bit…
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Oh so that’s why I am fat…..damn you plus size models!!
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AHA! I have discovered a new form of bias against a certain type of body part for bigger women……No Double Chin!!!! Look a these models one of them is bigger than I am by quite a bit…still where is her double chin? I have noticed the most noticable thing about plus sized models is that they are all very skinny in the head area; so you can have a big body, but at least your head has to be slim the jaw a perfect crescent.
Whatever, I am just saying I think all this stuff about bigger models is bollocks and they are still freaks of nature, or fans of lipo under the chin.
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so true ! how is that ? is it lipo, photoshop or good luck ?
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this people make me sick. Honestly, I am considered plus size, and probably will be for the rest of my life, even at my smallest I wore a size bigger than what I wear now because muscle weighs more than fat. I’m 5’11 with a size 12-14. I work out almost 2 hours everyday, and my blood pressure is perfect, and my pulse rate is at an athletic level. I went from plus-size modeling to doing pin-up modeling because I have girl parts that will never be as small as a regular model, I like having a curvy figure which came from genes, my family u have a butt or boobs and I was lucky to get both. Does this mean, that I am making others fat? I don’t think so, especially if one saw my workout routine, my skinny friends don’t even workout as much.
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It is not possible for muscle to weigh more than fat. 1kg of fat would weigh exactly the same as 1kg of muscle. Fat takes up more volume than muscle – therefore you would look slimmer by losing fat and increasing muscle.
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Yes, and 1kg of metal would weigh the same as 1kg of feathers, but metal still weighs more than feathers! If you take the same volume of each, the weight is then compared. Muscle does weigh more than fat.
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There’s a bit of truth buried in the sensationalism here.
Whenever plus-size models are discussed most people rush to say they are normal and healthy.Healthy, yes, usually. But normal? No! They are all far taller than average. That’s why they can be a size 16 and not be overweight. But if you are of average height and a size 14-16, 99 times out of 100 you are overweight. Yes some people have medical conditions that cause this, but the vast majority don’t.
I am just a little under average height. When I was a size 16 I was classified as obese and was putting my body under great stress. But everyone apart from my doctor was telling me I was just curvy, voluptuous etc. The worst thing anybody would say was I was maybe just a touch overweight. Try 30 kilo’s overweight! They pointed me in the direction of models like Crystal Renn and actresses like Marilyn Monroe. But Crystal Renn is very tall and thus svelte and well proportioned, and Marilyn Monroe was a small-boned size 8-10, not a 16 as is often claimed. I didn’t look like those women, I looked like the Michelin Man. Rolls where they didn’t belong. My body was stretched to breaking point, quite literally, as my many stretchmarks show.
I started losing weight. At size 14 I was still very overweight, verging on obese. At size 12 I was still significantly overweight. This is when people started telling me I was getting too skinny! At a size 10 I was in the healthy weight range, but still at the upper end. Today I’m a size 8-10 and finally I feel healthy.
I think it is wrong to normalise being overweight and obese. I think most people agree on this, they just don’t agree on what overweight actually means. The standards have shifted. It used to mean anyone who was a size 12+. Now it’s more like size 20+.
Plus size models don’t normalise it, because they are not normal. In the same way, regular models have de-normalised size 6-8. They are tall, so many (NOT all) look unnaturally thin at these sizes. That’s what people associate with being a size 6-8 these days. But the average size 6-8 woman doesn’t look anything like a catwalk model. They are not too skinny. They look healthy. Because they are.
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To be fair, it is sometimes very easy to misrepresent legitimate research, especially in the contemporary climate of rampant anti-intellectualism. It sounds quite ridiculous in that article, and it probably IS ridiculous, but there is a chance that the ridiculous pieces are either taken out of context or horribly translated from Italian.
That said, I am all in favor of plus-size models. It seems obvious to me that our models should be representative of real people. Models should emulate [regular] people. But this research seems to suggest exactly the opposite: that all ‘real’ people all necessarily aspire to be models. That people should emulate models.
Without any research to back me up, that sounds at least as damaging as the ‘risks’ of plus-size models, if not a hundred times more-so.
~Kenmore
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Plus sized models are not making us fat! Processed food, soda, fast food and preservatives are making us fat! AND SICK!
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More than “plus size” being an issue, can I aks why MamaMia seems to keep ripping off story ideas from smaller blogs? I read all about this first thing this morning on a “normal” blog.
Not for the first time, I feel that MamaMia is swamping personal blogs by pinching their ideas?
Or is this an innocent case of unfortunate timing?
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I just find this so offensive. For many women, a “healthy” weight and a “normal” dress size differ depending on many factors, such as bone structure, genetics, and stage of life. These healthy, normal bodies are beautiful and should be celebrated. I’m glad that they are beginning to appear more often on catwalks and in print media.
However, I also have to point out that these healthy, normal bodies are not obese and in no way promote obesity. To conclude that a model who does not have her ribs showing through is overweight and somehow promoting being overweight is simply ridiculous.
Women should neither have to starve nor over-eat to feel OK. Studies like this are not helping us to find the balance between these two extremes and to develop any type of satisfaction in our bodies.
There is no singular “right” type of body to have. Until people stop maligning the large or the little or whatever in between, we’re going to be stuck in this quagmire of comparison, shame, and illness.
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They are larger then normal model but not exactly obese? what are those Italians on about?
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Plus sized models would only make us fat if they sat on us and force fed us chippies. Which actually sounds like fun….
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You know, before the internet and the 24 hour news cycle, these two clowns would have held their silly view, it would have been known only to them and a few others in their immediate vicinity and that would have been it. Instead we now are having to digest and discuss this nonsensical idea that has no basis in fact or truth. Let’s move on.
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“plus size models are making us fat” .Good!!..nothing to do with the packet of Tim Tams i polished off earlier then!!!
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Love your work Flo!
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Am I missing something????
I only ever see ‘plus-size models’ when there is an article about ‘plus-size models’. I never see them anywhere….. how can they have influenced obesity!
On the other hand I see a McDonalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks, Nandos, Red Rooster etc etc etc on a daily basis – they are everywhere!!!
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Good point, Georgie.
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I think we should embrace the world we live in but at the same time encourage health and wellbeing. The reality is that being overweight leads to heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many other illnesses. Being too skinny is just as bad. Balance and moderation are the key to most things in life
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yeay for Em on mamamia! i love the saintly bitch – it just doesn’t get updated often enough…
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Well nooooo, plus sized models don’t make us fat but to me using them is indicative of a worrying trend to normalise chubbiness as the new ‘average’ and it just bloody well isn’t or shouldn’t be. When I was in my late teens a few decades ago none of my peers was the least little bit overweight. Take a walk down any local mall however and teenage girls are sporting muffin tops and bellies like middleaged women. I don’t think that glorifying women with a bmi greater than 26 (or whatever the healthy upper limit is) is any better than glorifying those with a bmi less than 18. I believe those two girls in the upper photo whilst beautiful, are not what your average doctor or dietician would consider to be within their healthy weight range.
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I totally agree with you mytwocents and have made similar comments on this site before on other posts and have received a barrage of negative feedback. The terminology people use also annoys me – plus sized, curvy, voluptuous – no, sometimes it should just be called fat, and it’s generally not healthy to be over or underweight. Western society is getting fatter and fatter and obesity is an epidemic.
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Clairec… You’re right! Its not ok to be fat and I’m sick of people saying it is!
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Exactly!! Again, it’s the ‘protecting the overweight’ thing again. Seems as though it’s perfectly fine to critisize and maked pointed remarks to people on the skinny side (and yes, underweight can be unhealthy just as overweight can be) but god forbid pointed remarks are targetted overweight people.
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Well said! I agree 100%!
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No one is promoting being fat. No one I have ever known wants to be big. And despite the OBVIOUS health issues, plus sized women still deserve to feel beautiful or worthwhile. Plus size models are so not about making fat average, they are about promoting positive body image.
Now, I’m a fat girl. I’ve always been bigger, and knowing how judgmentally people look at me had absolutely destroyed my self confidence. It was at the point where I didn’t want to go out because I had no clothes and I knew people would look at me and judge me for my “muffin top and belly like middle aged women”. Since then, I’ve started rebuilding my self esteem, despite views like that, and seeing gorgeous girls who are curvy and confident, like the growing online community of ‘fatshion’ bloggers, has really helped. Since then I actually have some of the confidence that comments like yours always made me feel I didn’t deserve, and since then I’ve actually lost weight because I’ve started taking better care of myself now that I love myself enough to realize thats what I do deserve.
I’m not saying that being fat is fine, but comments like this, that make thinking big girls can be beautiful seem wrong, don’t help. And I know it is completely up to the individual to lose weight and take responsibility, but maybe if more people told each other they were gorgeous and not disgusting and shameful then it might be a whole lot easier to do that. Our self-esteem is so tied up with how we look, and sometimes it feels like people think because I and others are fat, we don’t deserve to feel good about ourselves until we shed the shameful jiggly bits. God forbid a fat person likes themselves.
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Jesus, you couldn’t have misconstrued my meaning more if you tried. Don’t try to make me out to be a bad guy because I have a legitimate concern about society becoming increasingly unhealthy and this being represented as being normal. The hijacking of the words voluptuous and curvy to describe obesity is a case in point. Your self esteem issues are your problem. I never once suggested that a bigger girl should not like herself.
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Despite all the tall models on the runway – my legs STILL wont grow!
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“If being overweight is the average condition and the ideal body weight is thin, increasing the ideal body weight may increase welfare by reducing social pressure.” Call me stupid, but to me this means the complete opposite of what you’re saying, Em, it says that by using larger models (ie, increasing the ideal body weight) you are reducing social pressure and therefore making things better. Any chance you may have misunderstood?
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I got exactly the same impression as you, J. I read it five times and I’m pretty sure Em has misunderstood.
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WELL!!! What a spirited debate this issue has sparked. Fabulous.
Well done all.
Em x
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What a crock of shit – plus size models making us fat! What is making us fat is busy lifestyles which means that we eat more fast food and we don’t exercise. People need to realise that what we put in our mouth and the portion size and lack of exercise is making people obese!
We need to stop blaming others and making up excuses for our weight gain and take control and responsibility and start making the time to make healthy meals, eat smaller portions and exercise. If this happens then we as a nation will start to see the benefits such as weight loss, less cases of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure etc….
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