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by Reena Daruwalla, guest writer for Nancy Hayssen.com

People like Janice Dickinson undo a lot of good done by others trying to promote the concept of a healthy and positive body image, by making rude and demeaning remarks; remarks which perpetuate the ‘thin is beautiful’ myth and which reject the real woman’s body as it is meant to be: “I DON’T DO FAT!” she says.

Witness the irony in a statement that she made; “I have no problem with a woman who is happy in her own skin. What I do have problems with are women who expect a whole industry to change because they don’t like how they look.” This actually laughable, because here is a woman who wants everyone to believe that size 0 is normal and that that is the ‘standard’ to aspire to.

Although one would argue that as a fashion industry insider for decades and having been a supermodel, she knows what she is talking about, you have to wonder about her when she says things like, “models shouldn’t be average or then there would be no point to having a modeling industry.” So you are selling to the average woman, but woe betide you if you look like the average woman does!

What is also very funny and rather telling is that her own son, Nathan went behind her back to hire plus size models on the request from a client, which indicated a demand for them in the market which rather belies her own stance now doesn’t it!

This is obviously not a woman concerned with what message she and the fashion industry as a whole send out to women and young girls; she does not seem to care that the constant portrayal of unrealistic sized models in the media undermine the already fragile confidence of young girls and women who are trying to come to terms with their bodies, their body image and battling with self esteem issues.

Small wonder then, that Hollywood NOW Love Your Body Chairperson, former Miss Plus America, plus-size fashion model & actress Chenese Lewis, is outraged. She has protested, saying that, “Janice Dickinson’s treatment of not only plus-size models, but all female models who aren’t a size “0”, is unacceptable. She is setting a horrible example for young girls, and is mean-spirited in a sad attempt to gain ratings.”

If this is Ms Dickinson’s attempt to gain ratings, then it is a pernicious reason to instill doubt and negativity in people’s minds about their own body.