‘Plus Size’ Model Wins America’s Next Top Model.
by Reena Daruwalla, guest writer for Nancy Hayssen.com
The latest buzz all over the internet is of course the fact that ‘plus size’ Whitney Thompson won the TV reality show America’s Next Top Model. Since this show is not aired in India and since I anyway don’t like watching reality shows much, I only know as much about it as I read on the internet.
So I thought to myself how wonderful that societal mores and the pressure to be thin and waif life are probably easing up now, that perhaps we are looking at a paradigm shift in world of fashion and modeling as well!
However, when I read more, it turned out that when they said ‘plus size’ they are actually talking about a size 10! Not so great after all, if they are calling a size 10 plus size. However it is still a departure from the norm that a usual stick insect body type was not picked as a winner.
In an industry that reveres the size 0 concept and in a sense encourages people to be an unrealistic size thereby spurring an improbable and unhealthy pursuit to be thin, the fashion industry unwittingly encourages eating disorders and related health issues.
However, this does seem to be the beginning of a trend where a healthier and more realistic ideal of beauty is coming to the fore. The fact that the winner of this contest actually has curves and a realistic, womanly body that does not resemble a clothes hanger is very heartening.
So what if they are calling a size 10 a ‘plus size’, the winner is still a beautiful woman who has the feminine appearance of a real woman rather than the almost androgynous look that a lot of fashion models sport. This is sending out a positive message that women are supposed to look like women, with curves and soft lines rather than be angular and bony.
This win sends out the positive message that Healthy is Sexy, Healthy is Beautiful!
After reading your blog I quickly understand why you would take the stance you did about overweight and obses women. You seem to act surprised that a size 10 is a plus size, however, you fail to recognize that the average size for a woman is a size 8. Therefore a 10 is a plus size. Also I think you did not realize that ~33% of the United States is considered obese(http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm). We should absolutely NOT be promoting any image of a woman that is ‘plus sized’. Obesity is a nationwide epidemic that will lead to widespread diabetes and heart disease.
You also fail to realize that ANTM does not matter for anything. Most of the models do not go anywhere beyond the show. This show is simply a form of entertainment and merely shows the opinion of Tyra Banks. If the picked a fat woman as the winner it was simply to cause a controversy and not because of any expectation of a successful career.
Comment by theivyvice — May 18, 2008 @ 8:07 am
Thankyou for your comment about Chloe Marshall on my site, I do agree with you I’m so glad that she’s doing something about representing a wider spectrum of beauty in the public eye, and showing that a size 16 can be just as beautiful as a size 6.
And I’m so glad that the ‘token fat girl’ in ANTM has finally won the prize, though Whitney is most certainly no where near fat!! Its crazy the way that the media’s perception of a ‘normal’ sized body is so narrow.
Comment by Beakerella — May 18, 2008 @ 9:58 am
Sorry, but I also have a hard time calling that a “plus size”. That’s like handing somebody an empty dinner plate and saying, “Hey, tonight you get something extra — a plate!”
Thanks for visiting my post on Chloe Marshall, the UK plus size model making waves, at http://self-help.thehappyguy.com/2008/04/18/a-poster-girl-for-what/
Comment by David Leonhardt — May 18, 2008 @ 11:58 am
I agree with you. The girl is beautiful but not plus-sized. Larger than the typical model, yes – but NOT big by any use of the word. I suppose that progress is progress though, and it’s nice to see a girl who is not a size 0 or 2 win.C
Comment by C — May 18, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
@ Beakerella, David and C- Thank you for seeing and understanding what i tried to convey in this post.
@theivyvice – I a well aware of what an epidemic obesity is in the US, i am also aware of what an epidemic eating disorders are. These epidemics are fast reaching our shores as the side effects of ‘progress’ Further i am aware of certain statistics:
60% of American women wear size 14 and higher. That’s over 50 million women!
The average American woman is 5-foot-4 and weighs over 140 pounds and is a size 14.
For more statistics, please read : http://www.nancyhayssen.com/blog/148/shocking-body-image-statistics/
No one is saying be obese and unhealthy, the argument I (and a lot of very sane people) try to make is try and be as healthy as you can given your particular body type. Don’t try to be an unattainable, elusive even unrealistic size portrayed by the media, because those are perhaps what you may call genetically gifted or whatever, but not, what the average person looks like.
The average real woman is one that is healthy, one who eats right, is active, confident of herself and comfortable in her own skin. That woman can be any size or shape which is ideal for her body type. That is what a real woman is, a woman that does not feel the need to conform to the media ideal of a woman who is seems has to be a certain size to be beautiful or sexy.
Comment by Reena — May 18, 2008 @ 4:53 pm