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As many of you have probably already heard, Whitney is the 1st “plus-size” model to win America’s Next Top Model. That would be great, but yet I’m baffled by on what universe is Whitney a plus size model? Were the producers smoking when they decided she was going to be placed in the plus size category??? But looking at the other model’s photos I can see what universe Tyra and the producers are in. In their world Fatima (as shown above) is considered to be of “normal” size. When did that become normal? Now please don’t misunderstand me, I AM NOT THIN BASHING. And as we have stated before the writers of this blog are thin women (naturally). But I’m not even addressing thin anymore, that’s not thin- that’s malnourishment. Big, small or medium- whatever you are, it’s fine if it’s healthy. But that’s NOT healthy. Just as we, and many others, will agree that if you overeat that it’s unhealthy, we also feel undereating is unhealthy. And since the war on fat and overeating has been overly fought, we at EAC feel it is necessary to shed light on the other dangerous spectrum that is thinology. So I think It’s time that we define a new word.
Model Idealism: The idea or belief that models are the norm and true or ideal standard of beauty. All beauty is therefore correlated to how close one appears to the model figure. In model idealism, too thin does not exist. The thinner the better. Therefore words like “plus” insinuate that something extra is being added to the norm.
That’s an accurate term for what goes on…good job.
& yay, Whitney! *haha!* I did hear Tyra speak in her defense during the judging time and say, “She’s only ‘plus size’ in the MODEL world…walking down the street she’s just a HOT GIRL,” which I thought was well-put.
* : )
Nice cover, Tyra. *shakes head in disappointment*
Ok. So maybe she IS only ‘plus size’ in the model world. But how many women watch shows like ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and get the impression that those contestants are the epitome of beautiful? So many women see stick-thin women presented as ‘beautiful’ and believe that they should put forth an effort to look the same.
Consider the core concept of ‘model’: a model is someone or something that is meant to be a representation, and often is meant to be emulated (hence ‘role model’). Women who are models are supposed to be such that others want to follow their lead; they are presented as the ideal female spokespeople.
When we see only super-skinny women in the role of ’spokesperson for women,’ we come to believe (in those warped little heads of ours) that if we look ‘normal’ (average weight and curvy figures), we aren’t being the best women we can be.
Tyra doesn’t seem to understand that a lot of women take modelling far more seriously than they should. For too many girls, the model world is the real world. And it’s all because of what modelling is: a demonstration of what a woman is ’supposed to be.’
Actually…high-end department stores used to employ ‘models’ to show outfits to customers…there’s a great scene in How to Marry a Millionaire that depicts exactly this.
At any rate, models used to be expecteds to fit standard or ’sample size’ clothing that was provided by the clothing maker…and this is why, I believe, there were no larger models for a long time. Samples were sent in size 6 and that was it. Women in the double-digit sizes could still look at outfits on models and then have the outfit ordered in her own size. So the ‘model’ was originally intended to be average-sized, to fit the sample clothing that the designers sent to the shop.
And I know of plenty of ‘plus size’ models before this Whitney chick came along…Emme, Sophie Dahl, and Anna Nicole Smith, to name some.
As a side note, I didn’t believe that those judges, in good conscience, could *possibly* have elected Fatima to win ~ that woman is a poster-girl for emaciation! Sure, sure…with a ‘pretty face’ et cetera….but there’s no denying that there was something…hmm…concentration-campy about her. I’ll leave it at that.
And they were probably betting that Anya and Fatima could get plenty of work on their own after the show was over, whereas Whitney can make the most of her “launch” into modelling without necessarily relegated to the plus-size, consolation prize, alterna-world of “big girl” modelling.
I notice that at the end of the show someone (Tyra? or Paulina?) mentioned that Whitney is not a “plus-size” model, she’s a “full-figured” model. I think the most accurate term would be “fullER-figured,” as in, “fuller-figured” than most other high fashion models. We really do have a warped sense of normal (well-illustrated with your pictures!)
Again, I can’t remember who said this, but the comment was made that Whitney is the type of woman a man wants in his bed, but Anya is the type of woman that women want to see selling clothes in magazines. It does raise the question: does our (female consumers) consumption of fashion magazines go up in proportion to the thinness of the featured models? Are there stats on this? I just wonder.
Those pics are great!!
Goes to show that in our world thin is the ideal weight. If I wasn’t well educated by EAC I would look at those pictures and think if I am the “plus size” girl then I need to work my way to “normal”. Where is health in all of this? It just seems like almost everyone even dare I say doctors will look at a thin wait malnourished girl and not think twice about her health b/c she is already defined as healthy. Which I have found out recently (talking with a former nurse) that doctors and nurses are NOT required to take nutrition courses. No wonder all the diet frauds. I personally did not know this, and to me this literally means they have may have absolutely nothing to go by except for the BMI which we all know where that has gotten us.