Plus Size Bodies, What Is Wrong With Them Anyway?
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!
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!
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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!
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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!
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Kind of charme and heart has to be it. But in that position at this picture nothing is to see …!
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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.
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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.
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There is nothing wrong with being a larger lady nor is there anything wrong with being a smaller lady. The important thing is being a healty lady. Beauty comes mostly from within. A posative self image translates to an attractive outward image. Women (and men) should strive to be a healthy weight. Too much in either direction is not good. I have seen beauty and ugly at both ends of the scale and all the way between. In my experience and my personal preference is that most men like a woman with at least some curves. Sure, we may wag our toung at that pretty little thing in the magazine from time to time but here in the real world, real women are what we really want. So my two cents are if you are truely happy with your body and are reasonable healthy, relax and enjoy life. But if you aren’t happy with yourself or you have health issues related to your weight (too high or too low) take steps to correct it. But do it because it is write for you not because you think others expect it of you.
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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!
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@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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…