In the January 2012 issue of PLUS Model Magazine, plus-size model Katya Zharkova is featured in an explosive editorial where thought provoking statistics and statements are revealed.
*Check out all the images here*
- Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less.
- Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity within the plus-size modeling industry continues to be questioned. The majority of plus-size models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14, while the customers continue to express their dissatisfaction.
- Most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for Anorexia.
- 50% of women wear a size 14 or larger, but most standard clothing outlets cater to sizes 14 or smaller.
If we continue to ignore and rely on others to decide what we want to see, change will never happen. We have to be vocal and proactive, patient and realistic.
Tips on how we can help create change:
- Support the companies who market to you.
- Use social networking sites and email to let brands and designers know how you feel about clothing, options and the use of straight sized models (thin models) to market to you.
- Your dollars count! If you stop buying at “Store A” and let them know you will not be purchasing clothing until they market to you, this will raise concern.
- Use every avenue and opportunity you have available to you for your voice to be heard.
- Indie designers need our support.
The answer to the question is this, there is nothing wrong with our bodies. We are bombarded with weight-loss ads every single day, multiple times a day because it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that preys on the fear of being fat. Not everyone is meant to be skinny, our bodies are beautiful and we are not talking about health here because not every skinny person is healthy.
Don’t forget to check out the entire feature by clicking HERE!
About Editor-in-Chief, Madeline Jones
Always an activist and looking to bring plus size women into a fashion forward mentality, in 2006 she combined forces with friend and online magazine publisher, Valery Amador, to create PLUS Model Magazine, where they could respond to plus women's demand for fashionable clothing displayed prominently on appropriately sized models. Since then, Ms. Jones has quickly become the, 'Anna Wintour' of the plus size industry where she is frequently called upon for her expertise and insight; Appearances and interviews include ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, Entertainment Tonight, Coco Perez, Fox News, HuffingtonPost.com and 200+ other media sources.
- Web |
- More Posts (1315)
Related posts:
- PLUS Model Magazine’s “Plus Size Bodies” Editorial On Fox 4 Dallas
- PLUS Model Magazine To Feature The Stars Behind the Controversial Editorial “Plus Size Bodies, What Is Wrong With Them Anyway?”
- When it Comes To Models, What Exactly Is “Plus-Size”?
- Get Plus Model Katya Zharkova’s Beauty Look as Seen in – Plus Bodies, What is Wrong With Them Anyway?
- Behind The Scenes: Plus Size Bodies, What’s Wrong With Them Anyway? – Katya Zharkova
There is a difference between overweight and morbidly obese. There is a difference between health problems (a lot of which are brought in by the weight, mind you), heredity, and just plain laziness. And if people would pay more attention to WHAT and HOW MUCH they eat… Also, as for that anorexic BMI thing. I am technically in thy category. I eat all the time. Some people are just naturally thin and can’t help it but get mocked for it anyways.
I have been a “girl watcher” for over 65 years, and I have no style preferences. I DO find that ladies who look like adult females are the most attractive. The ladies that appear more like 12 year-old boys, like many models today, are a bit rediculous. I also believe that the sizes should be an unchanging standard, shared by all labels. Now even us guys have to try a pair of jeans, because a 32″ waist can be 34″ in some lines. With a reasonably healthy diet and a normal amount of activity, a lady who carries herself with pride will look her best, and look beautiful.
I stopped reading the comments after I skimmed through a bunch of them, and I feel the need to offer a quick reply. For those of you who are quick to blame overweight people for their condition, I will offer you a firsthand account that we are all different. Being healthy does not equal being skinny. I have a chronic hormone disorder that does not allow my body to process things as others normally would. I could go out to eat with my friends and if we all ate the same things, I would gain more weight from whatever the meal was. On daily basis, I avoid sugars, simple carbs, processed foods, fatty/fried foods, etc. As well, I maintain a balance of carbs, protein, etc and eat mass amounts of vegetables. I log everything I eat, and maintain a certain caloric intake daily. Everyday I try to exercise 3omin to an hour or so. Despite all of that, I am a size 16. If you would like to tell me that my weight is my problem when I have battled depression over the condition that plagues my body, shame on you. Nobody knows what anyone else is going through. Hormone disorders, thyroid issues, depression, autoimmune disorders, mental illness, financial status, and then some are all just some examples of factors affecting a woman’s weight. It is certainly not right for an outsider to place blame on a woman who already has to ask herself every day, why don’t I look like everyone else? Why don’t any clothes fit me the right way? How come I cannot eat anything outside of a strict diet, and all I do is maintain a perpetual overweight status. When you have experienced that every day, then we can talk. Until then please stop telling me that this is a “health issue.” I will take my strict diet over the fried food diet my “skinny” friends subscribe to. Thank you and have a nice day!
Health? You’re just eaten up with sisterly concern for all those poor fat girls? B.S.!
Weight is not the only indicator for health. In fact, it’s probably not in the top 3. Show me your blood work. What are your numbers? What is your lung function? What are your lipids? What is your blood sugar? Are you anemic? What is your blood pressure? Can you pass a cardiac stress test?
Do you know how many thin women are unhealthy because they live on alcohol, nicotine, and illegal/legal drugs that act as appetite suppressants? Thin does NOT by definition equal healthy. And that’s just physical health. We’ve barely touched on psychological and spiritual health.
So raise your hand if you actually withhold judgment on the beauty of a person until you verify that they are well and truly healthy , which of course would entail looking at their most recent lab results. Not even you, Dr. Disturbed?
Two things…no, three. Carrie Fisher once said that adult life was just high school with ashtrays. How right she was.
Hashimito’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease caused by pregnancy, NOT having extra weight to start with. The mother’s body thinks the baby is a ‘foreign’ entity and starts to attack the thyroid gland. It is very common in women who have more than one pregnancy. It is frustrating to treat because doctors must be careful with the dose of thyroid supplement they prescribe because high doses cause heart damage. It damages women’s metabolic rate. But oh wait, even referring to “glands” is forbidden by fat people, right?
Now, back to the actual subject of this article, which is clothes. If designing and marketing attractive, smart clothes to any woman who wears a 12 or larger is tantamount to enabling them to overeat like my sister-in-law and therefore MORALLY reprehensible, should bigger gals be forced to wear burkhas while dieting/exercising until they are skinny enough to be worthy of a nice wardrobe? How does one use an elliptical machine in a burkha?
Instead of trusting fat women to buy burkhas, should they instead be issued them by self-righteous know-it-alls who of course have their best interests at heart? Then fatties can be put in special fitness camps and put on strictly supervised diet and exercise programs until they are appropriately thin and permitted to leave and finally shop. After all, they clearly have no self-control, self-discipline, or personal responsibility of any kind. Right? If some of you sweet souls don’t intervene, we’ll all end up like the characters in WALL-E!! Hurry!
An earlier comment of mine may have in-advertantly offended some ladies. If so, my sincere appologies.
As I ststed, with normal healthy diet & a reasonable amont of exersize, if you stand proud you will look great. Some folks are born with a tendency to bigger or smaller, slight or stocky. That does not matter. Over half of one’s looks are in the personality. (most of the ladies in Victoria’s secret commercials are a turn-off. They look mean & un-happy)
If YOU know your weight & shape are right, be Proud, stand Proud, and you will be a beautiful woman.
@ sage,
I agree with the rest of your comment, but I’m sorry, as a thyroid patient myself, I can’t let your comment about hashimoto’s thyroiditis to stand. It is an autoimmune disorder, but it is not caused by pregnancy. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hashimotos-disease/DS00567
Just like many other autoimmune disorders, scientists and doctors do not fully understand what causes the body’s immune system to do this. It does run in some families (there is thyroid disease on both sides of my family), but it also occurs without any family history being present.
I’m going to take the opportunity of a teaching moment here. I actually wrote a term paper and did a speech on this subject this past semester for a college class.
I myself have Graves’ Disease, which is also another autoimmune disorder that targets the thyroid gland. In Graves’ disease, the antibodies that target the thyroid gland and mimic the action of thyroid stimulating hormone, which is part of the biofeedback loop that controls the production of thyroid hormone in the thyroid gland. Because the body of a Graves’ disease patient produces so many antibodies, the disease causes the thyroid gland to go into hyper mode and pump out the max amount of thyroid hormone 24/7. Like most Graves’ disease patients, I dropped weight drastically when my disease first started. I also nearly died – at 13. After years of going in and out of remission, my thyroid actually burned itself out and ceased to function – it essentially died. A year ago it started functioning again out of the blue, and since the autoimmune response generally does not go away by itself, I was once again hyperthyroid. As a permanent solution I underwent a total thyroidectomy this past summer (they surgically removed my entire thyroid gland) and I am now completely dependent on replacement thyroid hormone.
In Hashimoto’s on the other hand, the antibodies produced by the patient’s immune system attack the thyroid gland, actually destroying it over time. Because some of the thyroid hormone produced is stored in the thyroid gland cells before being released into the blood stream, when those cells are destroyed the thyroid hormones get dumped into the bloodstream all at once. At other times as cells continue to be destroyed, the gland’s ability to produce thyroid hormone is diminished and levels of thyroid hormones in the blood drop. Hashimoto’s sufferers actually have the more difficult time because they cycle so much between hyperactivity and hypoactivity.
Then there is also unspecified hypothyroidism/subclinical hypothyroidism. They don’t know what causes it, and because the lab results do not all specifically match the accepted values for hypothyroidism, it often goes undiagnosed. Essentially the thyroid gland is producing just under the amount of thyroid hormone the body needs, but not enough of a deficit to trigger more production of the thyroid stimulating hormone.
Thyroid hormone controls many things throughout the body. Metabolic rate (the rate at which cells use energy), heart rate (abnormalities can in some extreme cases cause cardiac arrest), protein synthesis, affect long bone growth and neuronal maturation, and increase the body’s sensitivity to substances such as adrenaline. The thyroid hormones are essential to proper development and differentiation of all cells of the human body. These hormones also regulate protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism, affecting how human cells use energetic compounds. They also stimulate vitamin metabolism.
The problem most people with hypothyroidism face is that even the most careful and meticulous doctor is not going to be able to perfectly mimic the body’s biofeedback loop with lab tests and prescriptions. The body’s thyroid hormone needs are normally constant, but can also change without warning. The human body also, as has already been exhaustively covered in the comments, is not uniform from one person to another. The lab results doctors go by to set the replacement thyroid hormone level for hypothyroid patients is based on averages of the lab results of a selection of patients with “normal” thyroid function. It’s not going to be perfect for everyone. So unfortunately many hypothyroid patients even when they are on replacement thyroid hormone therapy are still subclinically hypothyroid. Meaning their metabolism is lowered – and they have more difficulty with normal bodily processes – and it’s more difficult to lose weight.
I am a Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patient, diagnosed in 2001. I was initially and incorrectly diagnosed with postpartum depression. Thyroid disease does not run in my family. I was told by three endocrinologists that pregnancy triggered this autoimmune response and I would NOT have developed it had I not had children. There may be other causes but don’t discount that one. It is real. The disease is a nightmare and I rarely discuss it.
Back to clothes: when is the last time you enjoyed shopping for clothes? When is the last time you left a dressing room at a major clothing chain store without feeling horrendous and possibly needing therapy? I buy a lot of my clothes on-line (16W) or go to a local female tailor to make them, because I hate having to deal with snotty salesgirls, spending hours trying on stacks of things that don’t fit properly, and wasting my time. If there were reasonably-priced alternatives for us so-called “plus sizes” (a Target-priced version of Lane Bryant but with more professional clothes available), I would just turn over my paycheck to them every week and stock up!
I too have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but it does run in my family (I was diagnosed with hypothyroid at 16). It was made much worse by my pregnancy and postpartum period with my daughter. I was told it would worsen with another pregnancy but that pregnancy was not the cause. Every time I think I’m on the right track, my energy lowers and I know my levels have changed and I need prescription changes. Get a good endocrinologist and go every 6 months. It has made a world of difference for me. The regular doctor thought my levels were in a good range last time I was feeling low, but they were actually not optimal. Once the endocrinologist caught this, I’ve been feeling much better!
Kind of charme and heart has to be it. But in that position at this picture nothing is to see …!
To “Sage” —Hashimoto’s is not brought on by pregnancy. I have it (have never been pregnant) and have a friend who is 40, very thin, never been pregnant either and has it. It’s usually hereditary and not something brought on by being heavy either.
I know how a lot of you feel, I have been struggling with my weight since I was child. Recently I went from a size 22 to an 18, but yet I still hate shopping for my self….all the stores out there make it seem that SKINNY girls are the only ones who have to feel and look sexy and I think that is wrong. Not everyone is meant to be a 0 or whatever size Hollywood considers sexy. I also hate that stores make us pay more for our clothes. All my life I felt that I had to be skinny and at one point I was, but being skinny made me look like I was sick because of my bone structure. Well now I am happy with how I look. I believe that everyone has to be happy with who they are and companies out there need to realize that as well. Who cares if the model isn’t a size 0, there are MANY beautiful plus women out there and I consider myself to be one of them.
It is misleading to state that people are anorexic if they have a certain BMI. BMI is about averages of weight, not about determining anorexia. Being underweight does not mean that you are anorexic. You are anorexic if you don’t eat. Some people eat normally and are naturally skinny.
People who are overweight or obese may be damaging their thyroid glands, a problem that could contribute to or worsen their weight problems, according to Italian researchers. It’s thought that obesity may trigger inflammation, which in turn is damaging the thyroid, according to the study reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism’s December 2008 issue.
I am in no way stating it’s not real, In fact I was told when I was examined 6 yrs ago, I had the startings of it, I was also told I could turn it around by losing 20 pounds!
As for the one who states it’s caused by having babies..NO I have researched this, there is not one article to support your claim that I have found. Autoimmune yes, hereditary yes, but not always!
I’m happy as a fluffy girl..lol.. Did I lose 20 pounds yep, I Lost 45, do I do it intentionally to look good, nope, it just happened after I had my last baby! At the age of 38! I’m still fluffy, and I don’t care, I’m healthy, I dance, play with the kids, run stairs at work, and I’m still married to my high school sweetheart, he’s been with me from 120 to 220! I get whistled at, smiled at, drinks bought, and my number asked for! You have to love your self no matter what.
And if you want more info on thyroid, check Mayo, webmd, ask.com, and even google!
@Hunybee, I think it was an oversimplification of the fact that postpartum hypothyroidism usually (90% of cases) develops into Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
Oh no, I talked about glands! I am a fat stereotype!
There seems to be a misunderstanding about the word curvy. Curvy means you have boobs and hips and a waist in between to create curves, not overweight!!
Also, Victoria Secret Models work to look like that. Yes, they are tall and pretty but they maintain a healthy diet and exercise to stay fit. They aren’t mean and unhappy looking, that’s just a projection from people who aren’t willing to put the same effort into their own bodies.
Personally I find it very sad and disturbing that everyone is butting heads with each other on this. Plus sized women calling thin women anorexic and thin women calling plus sized women fat and lazy. You all seriously need to snap out of this “us against them” attitude. All women are beautiful in their own way. Different shapes, sizes, colors who are you to put that beauty in a box and say “This is right and you all are wrong”? I think BOTH models are beautiful and have beautiful bodies! There is no need to label one as anorexic and the other as fat, flabby and say she must have health issues in either case. Its simply childish and there is no need for it. You don’t know these people you’re bashing on a personal level so who are you to speculate what their health and lifestyle is like? I know many plus sized women who are very active and have healthy eating habits as well as thinner women and vice versa. What is so wrong with the idea of women banding together and supporting each other for the way they are? Is it so wrong to look at the woman next to you and say “You’re beautiful” or simply compliment them, no matter what body type, color, clothing etc? You all have a lot of growing up to do on both ends of the spectrum.
Personally, I like rubenesque girls. Mind you, not morbidly obese girls, but the curvy ones do tickle my fancy. Furthermore, you can be a bit plump and still quite healthy. I know lots of bigger people (guys and gals) who can easily go out and spend a day working quite hard in their yard. I doubt if many of those waifs could do so. However, if you get winded walking up a single flight of stairs, that’s a different story.
I sometimes look at the My Habit site associated with Amazon.com. It is fascinating in that in order to help customers guess better whether clothing is cut right, the site reveals the actual measurements and height of its models. When comparing to a standard size chart, I have seen models who are 5’10″ or 5’11″ who appear to be a size 10. When you really think about it, an attractive size 10 woman at that height most likely has a very healthy BMI. In other words, she is modeling an example of good healthy beauty.
“oversimplification”? …….. I only brought that out to due to a previous conversation, my original comment was really saying we got off course! What’s wrong with our bodies? Answer…nothing if you are happy! I also think the magazine is great. And there is happiness in every size!
I just clarified that pregnancy has nothing whatsoever to do with being the cause of hashimoto, I am very well aware that an increase in hormones due to pregnancy and after can cause issues, but one person declared pregnancy as the soul reason for women to have thyroid issues! Men can have this issue, as well as women who have never had children. I think that hardly counts as 90%?
As far as being a stereotype? Maybe you are talking about another conversation? That wasn’t my point I was making.
I love every thing about this article, We are the New Sexy, get with it or be lost……..
To bring it back to clothing…I can remember the one time in my life that I fit into “normal” (according to clothing manufacturers and fashion designers) sizes…it was at my most ill with Graves’ Disease. I had shot up to 5’10″ and weighed 123 lbs. I was literally skin and bones because it took a year to get properly diagnosed and into treatment and mine was a severe case – and my body had started eating my muscles for energy. I wasn’t kidding when I say I almost died. It’s a miracle I didn’t experience lasting organ damage.
I remember finally starting to feel better a few weeks before school started back up again. We went clothe shopping and for the first time in my life I could walk into a store, pick anything off the rack and it fit. So…I was thin, emaciated, honestly I looked like a starvation victim – and the size I fit into? Size….7.
This was back in 1990. That’s one of the reasons I find it so ludicrous that “plus size” models today are a size 6. WTH?
I’ve been a size 7, and for me, it wasn’t pretty. I’m not saying size 7 is not pretty for other people – that’s the thing. Bodies are not uniform, can’t be made uniform no matter how hard we try. But for me, saying that size 6 is “plus size” makes absolutely no sense.
What’s the problem here? She is a sexy curvacious woman! I would rather bang a girl with a bit of chub on her than a stupid scrawny stick figure. As for people complaining about obesity, give me a bloody break! Lots of girls these days are suffering from bulimia and anorexia thanks to these stick figure models they look up to.
Not everyone has the luxury of using “Thyroiditis” as their excuse for being fat! Some people just sit and eat pizza, ice cream and fried food all the time. Some people eat when their sad, when they are bored or when others are eating! Some people simple abuse FOOD! To me that is disgusting! Sorry to say but it is. I believe that beauty comes in ManY shapes and sizes! And NO you do not have to be sz 0! I think skinny is just as unattractive as obese honestly! I think any healthy woman who is active at least 2-3 times per week and eats sensible balanced meals should not be more than 180lbs! Unless your over 6 feet tall! I think that should be obtainable for most woman! Some people simply DO NOT TRY! And then they sit their and complain about how come the rest of the world is not fat like me? Umm because we try to take care and not be slobs! How big do you want to see a model? 300-400 lbs? Would that make YOU happy? Possible, but the rest of us just thinks its gross. Find and activity that you like to do and do it! NEVER diet! Just eat a balanced meal and u should have no problems! A woman who wants something will find a way; a woman who doesn’t will find an excuse.” BTW I am not a skinny chick. I weight 145lbs and am 5’6″. I have a strong body bc I like to do pole dancing for fitness. Its the one thing I don’t mind getting my a** up and doing a few times per week! I have been doing it for 7 month now and have dropped a little over 20 lbs. Slowly and steadily. My build is similar to Beyonce. I have curves and I am strong and sexy! Its fun to be sexy! You should try! Peace!
This isn’t so much a magazine as it is a support group. While it is obviously psychologically healthy for Plus sized persons to insist that they are healthy and that their weight reflects a natural human norm…the fact is that America’s exploding waist-line, rampant obesity, and health issues related to being Plus sized – argue that its far more healthy and natural to maintain a size 2-4 – not a size 10+. This is a blatant and self perpetuating effort for many individuals to declare there is nothing wrong with being overweight…it’s our natural condition and is naturally “beautiful.” The fact of the matter is that it is neither… and such self congratulatory praise for an overweight physical condition sets an unhealthy example.
This is a great trailer for a documentary on media and women called Miss Representation. I’m not a smapper, I just saw this yesterday and want to spread the word. It is powerful! If the link doesn’t come through you can google for ‘Miss Representation Trailer’. Highly suggest it.
http://vimeo.com/28066212
It makes me laugh when fat women describe themselves as “curvey”….LOL If you have an hour-glass figure (ie, waist is small than breasts and hips) then I can buy that. That might look somewhat attractive on a big girl. However, if you have rolls all over…those are lumps…not curves. There IS a difference. Maybe part of the problem is that too many are in denial about who/what they are so they won’t do anything about changing it. I’ve been fat (5’9″ and a size 14 at my largest after I had my second child) and I was unhappy about being that size. But instead of complaining about the lack of clothing choices, I got off my big fat behind and did something about it. Novel thought, huh? Now I’m slim, fit size 4/6 and happier than ever! It’s not rocket science. MOST fat people don’t have glandular problems, they have “I can’t push my fat butt away from the table” problems.
@Nicole Townsend. Out of the 150 million Americans who are overweight (over 50% of the American population), how many do you know that make your statement: ” MOST fat people don’t have glandular problems, they have “I can’t push my fat butt away from the table” problems.” I think you are basing that statement on YOUR experience, which is fine. But to say “most” fat people, and in the USA alone we may be speaking of 150 million folks, I want to know how many you know and have monitored their eating habits, 100 million? It would have to be at least 75 million (half of the fat people here) to make “most” be true. Girl, you must have some rolodex and time to keep up with all of those people and what they are eating and doing in the personal lives…
@Nicole Townsend. Just out of curiosity, how many of the so called FAT people in the U.S.A. (about 150 million if it’s more than 50%) do you know and whose personal eating habits you’ve monitored to make the statement:
“MOST fat people don’t have glandular problems, they have “I can’t push my fat butt away from the table” problems.” About 75 million? Wow, girl, you must have some rolodex or contact manager. Lots of time too to keep track of all those folks and what they are eating…
Sorry, my last comment didn’t post at first, and I had to rewrite it. Now both are there.
I don’t agree with fat people not being able to push themselves away from the table. I don’t eat very much but I am a size 18. Everyone is different and gain weight for different reasons. There is to much stereotyping about fat people and I don’t agree with that.
@Celeste
Considering the fact that I’m in the gym working out 6 days out of the week, you’re right…I don’t have the time (or the inclination frankly) to keep track of what fat people eat. However, I did read an article (and I wish I could remember the source to cite) that was a study on the percentage of overweight people actually have glandular disorders. It stated that the actual percentage was quite small and that MOST overweight people became that way due to lack of proper exercise and poor diet. Don’t shoot the messenger….LOL
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1066937,00.html
Just for anyone who is telling me I can’t be heavy and healthy. I’m pretty sure I could outrun many, outflex more and have never once had a bad doctor’s visit!
@ Mary – I’ll be honest and tell you that I’ve grown so very bored of your blathering and seeming inability to see anything other than what you want to see in what I’ve said that I barely even skimmed your last response to me. It’s worth neither the time, nor the effort.
Just to clear up something, by the way. I never said that my opinion was based upon my concern for obese people, or that I should hate them for their own good. In reality, I just really don’t care about their health anymore than a thin person’s, as I don’t even know them. You wanted to see it that, so you saw it. I care about them giving me dirty looks, when I don’t dress with my bits hanging out and I’m just going about my business or do anything that should merit that response in public, and hearing comments about the fact that I am thin. I care about articles that say I must be anorexic and turn around to say, “love your body!” (but only if you’re plus sized). I care about men coming to this site and saying how unattractive and gross thin women are and how real women have curves, and the curvy women thinking that’s just great, but God forbid a man tell an overweight woman that real women are thin. It’s all just so ridiculous. This argument FEELS ridiculous, as if I’m trying to discuss something with a child who is intent only on being right rather than anything else.
@ Celeste – As my boyfriend said when I was asking him what he thought of the arguments on both sides of the argument regarding why people perceive the general population of overweight people, he said something to this effect as well as I can recall, “All you have to do is go to a grocery store and see the many families consisting of obese parents and obese children with carts full of 75% junk food. Now ask those parents why their families are overweight and not many will mention the junk food but they will likely tell you it’s genetics.” It’s not always “thin people” who are perpetuating the stereotypes or the attempt to bullshit everyone about something that (at least for many) is very, very obvious. He agreed with me that it’s not only obese shoppers who fill their carts with crap (and certainly thin people can be JUST as unhealthy if they eat that much junk), but if obesity is an issue for that shopper, then why fill the cart with crap that’s only going to make it worse? If people can not see the logic in it, why do you think that is? If you’re obese and you don’t fit into that category, then I’m guessing that most of the people who find issue with it aren’t talking about you, so why take such offense to something that doesn’t apply to you?
That having been said, I still disagree with making statements like, “You can’t polish a turd.” or “You suffer from can’t push your fat ass away from the table.” Those are not statements that attempt to get a point across and end up just being hurtful.
@ Jimbo – I do not agree that the model in this photo is fat, obese or terribly overweight. She is “thick” if you want to put a label on it, but she also looks like she exercises and has a good bit of muscle. I may have strong opinions on anti-thin double standards, to say that model is “fat” and would be attractive if she were thinner is very unfair.
What about us girls stuck in between size 10 to 14. They are either two short and big or long and lean. Think Marilyn Monroe curves no one designs for that anymore. A chest, a butt, thighs (no chicken legs here)and a little waist. I am tired of taking everything I buy to the tailors.
I had forwarded a link to this page on my facebook site about 6 hours ago. Since then, about 15% (and counting) of my 436 friends have responded publicly or privately in response to my story. So many women try to keep up with what our media pushes as beautiful. We want to wear the clothing that the mannequin is showing us and look as good in them. I am a healthy woman. I want my children to see that no matter what they look like, if they feel good about themselves, they can accomplish anything. My friends are supporting the fact that I was courageous enough to put my weight out in the open like that. Why not? I’m proud! I look good for a mother of two who had back to back c-sections. I work hard to have the endurance to ride my bicycle 100 miles in one day. I don’t look like a runway model….I look like me. Confidence goes a long way. Anyway, below is what I posted. Thank you for what you do!
“I had to pass this along to all the women in my life. I am a woman who had lost about 50 pounds two years ago. From there I had kept it all off. As most of you know, last year I started cycling and running (and pretending to swim haha). I am strong, but no matter what I eat (or don’t eat), now matter how many miles I put on these legs, my weight has remained constant at 155. My pant size went down a couple of notches, but is now maintained at a 10 (sometimes an 8). Some size 6 dresses will fit me as long as the mama hips fit in there LOL. I am telling you this because even though you will never see me on a runway, I am proud of what I have accomplished. I am considered an Athena racer because of my weight. For the life of me I don’t understand why the category exists. If you can swim .9 miles, bike 25 miles and run 6 miles you are an athlete. Heck, if you can do any one of those you are an athlete. Does it really matter that I weigh more? Is it any more difficult for me to do this than the other mothers of two who happen to weigh 135 pounds? Our bodies determine what is healthy and natural and it our jobs to keep it that way. My 2500+ miles on my bike and my 300+ miles running last year were not in vein. I embrace my 155. I will continue to change my fat to muscle, but I will not expect to look like a runway model. That “plus” size model looks pretty good to me. Thanks for listening. Time for breakfast!
”
@ Disturbed
Really? You don’t care about fat women’s health? Then why did you bring it up in the first place? You keep saying the same things without making any new points. You apparently can’t legitimately discredit what I’ve said (or you would have done so already, as you’ve had ample opportunity), so you resort to calling me childish. Really? When you’re the one who’s insisting you’re right just because “you know it” but refuse to provide any proof that you are? Well.
I would like to address something that you addressed to Celeste but was also an issue you addressed to me previously. Why do I care about people talking about a category of fat people that I am not a part of? Because it’s not like people ask me which category I’m in before ridiculing me. People don’t stop and ask me whether my weight issues come from genetic/glandular problems before spouting the stereotype at me that I’m overweight and therefore I must overeat all the time and sit around like a slug. The people (and not just teenagers) who have deemed it appropriate to moo at me in public didn’t ask me about my health history before deciding it was okay to moo at me. Sure my thyroidectomy scar is visible but most of the people I interact with that don’t know me personally (but still have no issue with approaching me and giving me dieting/exercise advice!) haven’t seemed to know what it means/is from.
Why would I care about a group I’m not a part of? Because people treat me like I am a part of it.
That’s actually one of the things I just don’t understand. You rail about people assuming that you are in the category of thin women that starve themselves/is anorexic. Yet you assume, without knowing a fat person’s medical history, that they are in the category of overeaters/sloths. Can’t you see these are one in the same thing, that they are both stereotypes? And if you’re so against the stereotypes of thin people, why do you perpetrate similar stereotypes about fat people? If you are against double standards, why do you perpetuate them?
I do see a glimmer of hope, though. Thank you for saying the following:
“That having been said, I still disagree with making statements like, “You can’t polish a turd.” or “You suffer from can’t push your fat ass away from the table.” Those are not statements that attempt to get a point across and end up just being hurtful.”
and for your comment to Jimbo.
That gives me hope that you may have actually, finally got it, or at least a part of it. *applauds* (In all seriousness, no sarcasm at all intended. Really! I swear.)
@ Nicole
I don’t even know where to begin with your comment. I thought Disturbed was being hateful and bigoted to fat people…but your comments…wow. I wish you could find that article and post it for us. I would be very interested to see the source of it, to see if Kate Harding is right that if you scratch the surface of articles like that, you find a press release from a weight-loss company. Interestingly enough, I found an article that disputes your position with a simple 20 second google search: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/09/09/the-real-cause-of-obesity.html
@ RPC in Hawaii
I’ve said it all before in previous comments, so I’m not going to reiterate it for you. Aside from pointing out that I personally nearly died at a size seven which was the lowest size I’ve ever been – and thus the statement “size 2-4 is healthy” is an oxymoron to me (and I bet I’m not the only one) – all I’ll say is stereotypes, stereotypes, stereotypes. I highly suggest you read at least some of the articles I’ve posted links to. They will likely prove highly educational. If you actually read them.
@ Tiffay
I agree that overeating and sitting around all day without any health reasons for the second part of that is disgusting. (If you’re in traction for example, you’re obviously going to be sitting – or laying – around all day.) However please prove your statement that most fat people are like this. And by “prove,” I mean provide actual proof, not a simple “I’ve seen it” or “everyone knows this is true.” Otherwise your argument has no merit and is just perpetuating a stereotype that it is long past it’s welcome.
@ Judy, Jimbo, please see above and all of my previous comments.
Interesting, I just got back from a very tiring day of shopping – what I found was in many “a list” stores, plain and simple the sizes are smaller – how can it be I go some places and I am an 8 and others I am a 14 – that just does not add up. I totally agree, models although many beautiful in their own right are expected to be far to small; granted there are those who cant help it high metabolism etc but the industry is boarding on insanity with their expectations. All women are shaped differently, plan and simple but many retailers focus on one body type, rather discouraging for a girl with a little more in the chest and in the trunk! So all you “large” girls – flaunt what you got don’t be ashamed to be yourself…. you’re beautiful!
We see everyone complaining about telling fashion designers to cater for plus size and everyday normal people but how many of you think of the fashion world as something unique, something just out of the reach as ordinary? Maybe the fashion industry should stay like that, only 1% of the population of girls’ body are ideal to be a model. If we were to open up this world everyday people like you and me would be able to jump into something and roam the runways. I know of many fashion designers who have tried to cater to larger girls but it just doesn’t work, when was the last time you went into a sale store and found that the racks only had size 12-18s? These clothes that the fashion designers have created are not getting sold! They do not gain any profit from doing this so they return to creating pieces aimed at smaller women. Personally I like to see things out of the ordinary from magazines which i pay to buy. If i wanted normal people in clothes i would just go out onto the streets and stare for a while. The fashion industry is a world of its own.
These arguments are absolutely ridiculous for so many reasons
1) Nobody is saying put unhealthy people in magazines, in fact they are saying just the opposite. Teenagers read magazines, young people in general read magazines. Teenagers are getting the wrong idea of what they should be from these magazines. Young girls barely reaching adolescence should not be bombarded by photos of women so ridiculously tiny that it makes girls reevaluate their sizes constantly. The women in magazines do not even begin to represent REAL women and what REAL women look like. There is just a need for a balancing act. Can anybody honestly say that a size 6 is obese? No, because a size 6, is a healthy size. For some crazy reason a size 6 is being considered a plus size, which it is not. All that is being said is let REAL people be on the covers of magazines. People of all shapes and sizes not just one size.
2) It is impossible to tell someone’s health history by looking at them. You cannot tell someone whether they are healthy or not unless you are their doctor. If we really look closely at the causes of obesity, we can discuss how cheap processed, sodium, and carb filled food is, and how society’s lower middle class end’s up the biggest. But it seems that a lot of you are not to interested in the facts of size and how it really happens.
3) I am a pretty active person. I do enjoy junk food, but you know what else I enjoy? 3-day backpacking trips, horseback riding, rafting, walking my dog, swimming, working with kids, and for some reason I am 200 pounds and have been for years. Oh wait I remember why, weight, is not always based on health, there are MANY reasons a person can be plus-sized.
4) Most models have pretty high metabolisms and work out constantly, it is their job, but what about the people with multiple jobs and multiple kids? They do not have time to spend all day in the gym. What about the people with slow metabolisms? They can workout and do, but they are not going to ever be a size 0, unless they have no job, no other life, and spend all their lives in a gym.
Holly’s right.
Accept one another as we are, accept ourselves as we are.
And, Manufacturers, stop downsizing the clothing, you’re helping create a culture of denial.
I have always been a size 8 in all stores until now, now in Gap, I’m a size 1.
Some stores are changing clothing sizes to flatter the ego of women who are, in the main eating too much, now that we are all so much wealthier in the western world and can afford to eat what ever we want. For those of you without health problems, Girls it’s time you learned to handle your wealth.
How far is this going to go, are they going to marginalize slim women by further down sizing clothing so we become, -1 or -2 so they can stoke the ego of people who are in the main, clearly being greedy. Decieving women over the correct size of their clothes is making overweight women look pathetic and delusional, and is ignoring slim women’s rights to wear their correct sized clothing. We have feelings too.
Being honest about your true dress size is a good monitor on over/under consumption. And for the few of us at both ends of the spectrum who can’t help the size we are, lets just enjoy and make the best of what we are.
Models: In intellect we have a standard/model of intelligence to aspire to that most of us never reach, and we don’t fall apart or go into depression if we don’t attain that ideal. Clothing looks better on tall, slim models, be thankful for the ideal, live with it and adapt fashion to suit your own figure. We can’t all be perfect but we can be the very best of who we are.
Are there any plus size models with short hair? It seems that having long sexy hair helps these women appear attractive in the larger western culture sense… But are they still sexy when they have short close cropped hair or does that throw off the balance of their womanly figures. What I mean is that long hair helps the proportions of the head and upper body balance out the bottom into an hour glass, but without that extra oomph, is it still consider attractive. I’ve also noticed personally that long hair helps a weak or double chin appear stronger and leaner as the hair cuts into that space… Ah, I’m just rambling now.
How about the other side of the issue? I am naturally thin. I have ALWAYS had a problem GAINING weight. I was 98 lbs until I turned 40 yrs old. Even after giving birth to 4 children. I don’t starve myself, I have a great appetite AND I love food! I am now 48 yrs old, I’m 5 ft 2 inches & I weigh 112 lbs. I am SOOOO sick of the insults aimed toward thin women; body like a stick, body like a child, skinny, the list goes on & on…. Or how about the phrase real women have curves, which implies that if a woman is thin she can’t possibly have curves? My (approximate) measurements : 34-23-40. I am not TOO thin, I am not a stick, I DO not have the body of a child. And frankly I am sick of the insults. What about MY self-confidence AND that of the countless other thin women and teens? Ironically the MAJORITY of the insults ALWAYS come from “larger” (in society’s eyes) women. ***** I posted the above comment on their FB pg and it keeps disappearing! I wonder why?
“What’s the problem here? She is a sexy curvacious woman! I would rather bang a girl with a bit of chub on her than a stupid scrawny stick figure.”
“Fit is hot. Skinny is not.”
Thanks to comments like this, my very thin (teenager) sister is having a very hard time. She started eating a lot, including junk food, because she’s very thin and has a hard time finding clothes that fit her. People also make fun of her for being skinny. She loves skirts but doesn’t wear them because she thinks she looks awful in them. She’s a stick figure, but I think she’s beautiful just the way she is. I also have “plus size” friends, beautiful girls too! Why so much hate? Seriously, stop it. Some people are skinny because they are anorexic, other people are fat because they are lazy and eat way too much. But many people don’t choose being skinny/fat, that’s just the way they are.
I’m very thin myself, and all my life people laughed at me and said I was ugly because I didn’t look like a “real woman” (I read a comment from another person with a similar story here). I don’t care much about what people say, I know I’m healthy and that’s what’s important to me. Sadly, other people (like my sister) do not see it that way.
threadhot1 : We big girls gotta stik 2gether right?
Hell no!! ALL girls (people, in general) gotta stik 2gether!! Stop dividing!! I’m a skinny person and still love plus size women!! Come on, don’t segregate yourselves, we all should support all shapes and sizes.
I have curves and I am proud of it. My boobs are real and not filled with artificial materials–unlike the models who have had plastic surgery. I can turn heads in a heartbeat in my jeans and sweaters. I am 44 years old and have boy toys who are in their late 20′s & early 30′s. I am a size 18 L; 5′ 9″ and sporting a 44DD chest …….
And Baby, I am not going anywhere…..So, go ahead and knock us plus size girls, we’re having fun with your husbands, brothers, and maybe your sons……
meow…..
@Disturbed:
He agreed with me that it’s not only obese shoppers who fill their carts with crap (and certainly thin people can be JUST as unhealthy if they eat that much junk), but if obesity is an issue for that shopper, then why fill the cart with crap that’s only going to make it worse? If people can not see the logic in it, why do you think that is? If you’re obese and you don’t fit into that category, then I’m guessing that most of the people who find issue with it aren’t talking about you, so why take such offense to something that doesn’t apply to you?
EMPATHY. Do you think you have any? (I’m not being sarcastic here). Whether it applies to me or not, I do not want to see people mistreated, misjudged or abused. As I said to someone else, of the 150 million supposedly overweight/obese people in the U.S.A. how many do you know and how many have you monitored? You read something in an article, yet you accept it for gospel truth and judge people you don’t even know. I try to avoid making judgments about people who I don’t know, and accepting any old article as truth. I actually started thinking about this and wondering how does anybody even know about what is happening with this obesity epidemic? I just spent the weekend in NYC and was looking around to see if 1/2 the people I saw were overweight. Honestly, out of the thousands I saw maybe 10% were. So I don’t know where the figures are coming from. Considering 25 million people do not even have health insurance it’s not like they can get statistics on the entire country. And are doctors allowed to give out those statistics? But that’s getting off topic.
The reason why I am defending the plus sized women on here is because I think all women regardless of their size deserve nice and well made clothes. Period. I am not going to tell another person what they should eat, what is wrong with them etc. It is frankly, none of my business. But I do not want to see them put down without saying something because some people feel like they have the right to tell other people what to wear, what to eat, how to live their lives. I cannot stop you or anyone else from doing so, but I can voice my disapproval of it. With freedom of speech, if you have the right to put people down, I have the right to say it’s wrong and to defend them.