warning: i am about to proceed with a plus-sized rant about "plus-sized" models...
So this morning, I found myself googling apple shaped body fashion tips, as i am growing increasingly frustrated with not knowing how to best flatter my figure. As I was reading article after article, I noticed that they all said the same thing at some point throughout the article. They all said, "how to fit your apple shaped body...for the plus sized woman."
Okay, I know I may be a bit delusional when it comes to my body and my size, but I know logically that I am not plus-sized. Yet, my heart immediately sank because I inadvertantly lumped myself into the plus-sized category simply because of my natural body shape. Yes, I am more apple than pear, though i'm probably one of those genetically altered papple creations. I do tend to carry more of my weight in my chest and abdomen, and have more narrow hips and legs. Thank you genetics for that one. Regardless of where I carry my weight, it really did get me wondering about what constitutes a plus-size.
Back to google I went.
Wikipedia states that the height requirements for plus-sized models are the same as for regular models...most agencies have a minimum height requirement of 5'9". I then went on to read where plus-sizing begins for models...a 10/12.
Seriously?
Whatever happened to an average yet healthy size? I certainly wouldn't consider a 10/12 to be plus-sized, especially on someone 5'9" or taller! Think about this...I am 5'6"...a good three inches shorter, if not more, than most plus-sized models, and am an average weight. My BMI and their BMI's probably aren't that far apart when you take into consideration the height differences. Yet, I doubt very many people on the street would look at me and say, "wow, you are some good plus-sized material."
Nor would most people stop some of those models on the street and go, "wow, you are seriously plus-sized."
I want to commend the media on trying to create a shift in what society considers beautiful and acceptable, yet I can't help but think that the people they are calling plus-sized are really just normal women. I have to say that I think that by featuring small "plus-sized" women in magazines, the media may still be promoting the idea of thin=acceptable, in a roundabout way.
Maybe if the media just did away with categories all together and featured women who were petite, tall women, naturally thin women, curvy women, and women with full figures ALL in the same magazine without classifying them that it might do a better job at promoting beauty at any size.
I know, I am just a silly consumer...but I can still have opinions, right?
Anyway, that's my rant for the day :))
love,
LB <3
Ughh..this is something I have always had an issue with. "Plus size" models are really only "plus size" relative to their emaciated runway counterparts. And the sad thing is, that is size 10-12 in high end DESIGNER clothes, which in "normal sizing" is about a 6-8, which is NO WAY near plus size. Most plus size models are still far smaller than the average American woman.
ReplyDeleteI feel like plus size (in terms of modeling) now is really another way of referring to a model that has curves. I remember at the NEDA walk when the young woman who was the first plus size model to win ANTM got on the stage to speak, and she seemed like a perfectly normal size to me. I would NEVER look at her and think plus sized.
Things are all so skewed now...
My thoughts on this are: WHO CARES ABOUT SIZES?! There shouldn't be such a thing as labelling a person based on sizes... :\
ReplyDelete