FINDING A HEALTHY MEDIUM
A few Sundays back, I wrote about the stir created after Glamour magazine featured a picture of a model who was a few pounds heavier than the ones most of us are accustomed to seeing. Glamour’s readers were thrilled by the picture, and the magazine was soon inundated with letters and emails from delighted readers.
And for the most part, the feedback I received about the column was equally enthusiastic. All but one.
“I can tell you that personally, the last thing I want to see when I open a fashion magazine is ‘reality,’” wrote Liza in a comment on my Gazz blog. “If I want to see overweight, common, unfashionable women, I need look no further than any street at any time of day, anywhere in this state.”
Liza wrote that she reads magazines like Vogue, Harpers, and Glamour because she loves style and beauty, as well as the mystique and art of fashion and fashion models. “When it comes to selling magazines, it’s the 5′10″ 110 lb. model that sells them,” says Liza.
The fashion industry has been pushing their skeletal=beauty equation ever since Twiggy in the 60s, and since then, young women have been starving (and up-chucking) themselves to death in the pursuit of meeting those unhealthy standards.
From a financial perspective, I don’t understand the thinking of those in the fashion industry. To me, the reason for using models that are shaped more like average women seems obvious: Women know that what looks good on a pencil isn’t likely to look as good on a highlighter. But if an outfit works on a model who is shaped more like the average woman, then the average woman is more likely to want to purchase that outfit.
But Liza disagreed with that, too. “Designers don’t want heavy women wearing their fashions. That’s why you can’t get Prada in an 18. It’s just the reality of high fashion–the greatest creation in the world is lost on a wide backside, and that’s just a sad fact of life. Besides, designers are all about exclusivity, and given that most American women are overweight, ultra thin is exclusive. Sad reality.”
It hasn’t always been that way, though. In paintings from the 19th century and earlier, beautiful women were full-figured, Rubenesque. Even into the 1950s, celebrities were curvaceous.
To be skinny was seen as unhealthy and therefore dangerous, and to such a degree that thinness was shocking. Since shocking meant getting noticed, advertising gurus took note and made use of it, as did fashion designers. In the mid-1990s, when skinny alone was no longer enough to draw attention, it was taken to the next level with heroin chic–even more severely jutting bones, pale skin, and dark circles under the eyes. A look reflective of drug addiction.
If advertisers and designers are paying attention, perhaps some will be savvy enough to realize that featuring an average-sized woman in ads has become every bit as shocking and attention-getting as Twiggy and those heroin chic chicks once were.
It’s interesting to consider how much of what we like or believe to be attractive and important is shaped by television, movies, and magazines. In the 1950s, Marilyn Monroe-a size 14-was the epitome of sexy. Then along came Twiggy.
In the 1950s, men were predominantly clean-shaven. Mustaches and beards were viewed as an indicator of shiftiness or danger (think of the criminal landlord twirling his handlebar mustache). Then along came Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck with their manly mustaches, and the public’s perception toward facial hair changed.
Used to be that men who were losing their hair resorted to toupees, comb-overs, or hats, until Yul Brynner and Telly Sevalas came along and demonstrated how good hairless could look.
I can’t help but hope that the days of uber-thin models are nearing an end, that a healthier trend will begin. I doubt Liza would agree.
Though she did have a point.
“There’s a happy medium somewhere between toothpick models and the overweight of this country,” wrote Liza. “But if you need fashion magazines to validate yourself, then you have bigger problems than body image issues. If you accept yourself for what you are, then you shouldn’t care what the magazines say.”
September 28th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Karin, you should get on Youtube and pull up the Allen Grant and George Barris photos taken of Marilyn Monroe right before she died. She was no size 14. Being the fashion visionary that she was, she was already downplaying her bust and hips in anticipation of the 60s. Moreover, a size 14 fifty years ago was certainly not the same as a 14 today.
I think it’s truly stunning that American women are looking to the fashion industry to condone obesity. That’s really what you’re saying. The majority of American women are in some state of obesity, and instead of dealing with that issue, they lash out at the fashion industry for setting an unrealistic standard of beauty. What a crock.
I also don’t think it’s the fashion industry’s job to instill self esteem in the average overweight American woman - they need to either reconcile themselves to their situation of lose weight. Instead, they expect a seal of approval from Anna Wintour.
I thin the issue here is far deeper than fashion models. It’s not the fashion industry’s job to make heavy women feel good about themselves. If heavy women want to run fashion then they need to stop buying clothes and magazines that are designed for thin women.
Or maybe, just maybe, overweight women could take responsibility for themselves and their health. But then, that would require a lot more effort than b*&^ing about the fashion industry and all the meanies who make “real” women feel ugly.
(If my other post shows up I apologize for being repetitive but they routinely show an error when I try to post them).
September 29th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Where do you get that women want the fashion industry to condone obesity? In your eyes, is there no middle ground? Are woman either skeletal or obese?
Anorexics and bulimics, in an effort to try and normalize their condition, will defend it as an accomplishment of self-control, insisting their thin-ness is attainable by any woman who is strong enough to deprive their self in the same manner.
I want to see HEALTHY women. Healthy does not equal heavy any more than skinny equals beautiful. Do you have daughters? If so, how can it not bother you to see them constantly dieting in an attempt to look like the models and other “beautiful” celebrities?
My daughter is actually very small for her age. Like I was at 12, she can eat anything she wants and not gain weight. A few of her friends, though, aren’t as fortunate. It’s painful to watch their building obsession with weight and seeing what it does to their self-esteem at 12 and 13 years old, especially considering that this is just the beginning for them. THAT is what is fueling my wish to see the end of ultra thin models.
According to a study of 1,500 girls, one third of 11-year-olds believe they’re ‘too fat’ and a third has already dieted at some point in their lives. Five per cent said they were always on a diet because they were so unhappy with the shape of their body. One in three blamed pictures of skinny celebrities in magazines and on the internet for their weight. More than one in four admitted to having skipped meals in order to stay slim.
One in five 11-year-old girls has visited a pro-anorexia website for tips on staying skinny.
The survey results show the extreme - and potentially dangerous - measures young girls are going to in order to emulate models and celebrities.
If there was a video game or a television show that encouraged children to starve themselves and many of them did just that, parents would rise up in protest. Just imagine the lawsuits. But here we have an entire industry doing exactly that, and those who want it changed are accused of wanting to promote obesity? I don’t understand your reasoning.
September 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
I remember dieting myself at that age and I’m no spring chicken. That’s really not a product of modern weight ideals.
We just aren’t communicating here. My point is that self esteem should not be founded on what is coming out of the fashion industry. The fashion industry is fantasy and entertainment - like the movies - and it should be part of a well rounded and realistic view of the world. If girls are dying to attain an unrealistic standard of beauty then the issue is not with the fashion industry but with the girls’ ability to think for herself and that goes way deeper that fashion.
I look at fashion magazines. They are filled with airbrushed seventeen year olds who don’t exist in the real world - certainly not the one I live in. They register no where in my own personal standards for my appearance. Those models might as well be the Easter Bunny for all I care.
You, on the other hand, seem to blame the fashion industry for female self esteem issues springing from unrealistic expectations. My point is that women/girls need to look inward for their standards and self esteem. You think the fashion industry should reflect the reality of the trend in this country towards larger figured women. I think you have it backwards. American women need to take personal responsibility for themselves rather than looking to the fashion industry to validate them. You accuse me of thinking only scarecrows are fashionable and I think what you really mean by “real” women is overweight women. Also, the fact that 75% of American women are overweight to some degree suggests that runway models are having little impact on American women. What the runway models are really doing, is making women feel bad about themselves and that’s why I think you resent them.
I’m well in my forties. At 5′8″, 135, I’m a cow by fashion industry standards and too old to even live. But guess what, I still read the magazines and you know why? Because I have my own personal standards that are not contingent on expecting to reflect what I see in fashion magazines and those standards are age and weight appropriate.
And no, I have no daughters, only sons - grown and I have two nieces who are like daughters to me. But if I had daughters, I would tell them the same thing I told my sons - that self esteem is something they needed to earn. If you give yourself reasons to have self esteem, then you’ll have it. I’m not a fan of the 9th place medal method of child rearing and I don’t believe in telling overweight girls it’s okay to be heavy anymore than telling them that they should measure themselves by the ridiculous standards of the fashion industry.
You should check out the Style section of the New York Times. It’s fashion week in Milan and they have several slide shows behind the scenes. Look at the designers and reporters. Many of them look just like typical American women - short and somewhat heavy or of very normal, healthy and realistic weight. In fact, Vogue used to be notorious for having some of the most frumpy editors in the business. have you ever seen photos of Donna Karan? They can certainly handle it.
I know the fantasy from reality. I know ridiculous beauty standards. I also know there is an epidemic of obesity in this country and instead of dealing with it, American women want the fashion industry to reflect this reality. and that too me is screwed up. There is a happy medium between fashion and reality and I’ve said that all along. But it comes from being able to tell the difference and that’s the solution to the issues you’re talking about - not fattening up runway models (by the way, while societal weight fashions have fluctuated, runway models have always, always been extremely thin).
I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
September 29th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
P.S. Then I’ll shut up. As far as normal sized women and girls getting caught up in this, see my argument about self esteem and thinking for oneself. I’m heavy to by industry standards too but I am able to think for myself and that’s my solution to the problem.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Perhaps your self esteem doesn’t come out of the fashion industry, but you have to know that you’re an exception. For the norm, it has a major impact and no amount of parental shoring up can counterbalance the definition our children are getting regarding what society views as attractive. Sure, kids should think for themselves, but have they EVER? The world isn’t that way. Children want to fit in. We adults are supposed to be their protectors. By perpetuating this skinny beauty myth, we’re encouraging unhealthy eating habits.
I don’t resent models, nor am I envious. I was in a swimsuit calendar myself about 20 years back. But the pressures on models are different now than then, despite what you say.
And yes, I DO blame the fashion industry for women’s self esteem issues. Where do you think this insanity starts? Why are anorexia and bulimia so out of control? Sure, you deserve a pat on the back for managing to have high self esteem regardless of your own physical shortcomings, but all children aren’t lucky enough to have well-balanced meals provided by well-balanced parents. I’m not asking the fashion industry to validate overweight women. I’m asking them to be responsible and sensible. If that means my way of thinking is screwed up, that doesn’t bother me a bit. In my world, compassion trumps fashion every time.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:51 am
My self esteem is about where it should be based on how much of it I deserve. I’m no example of anything. I just don’t agree with you that the fashion industry is responsible for the self esteem of American women. Fashion is a business, fueled by one thing and one thing only; money. Besides, it’s not the fashion industry setting the standards - it’s the women adopting those standards who set the rules. No trends lasts if women (consumers) don’t pick it up. So blame your fellow women, not fashion designers.
I also understand following fashion and I’m no exception to the rules, believe me. Our only real difference is in taking personal responsibility. If I’m starving myself, I figure I’m caught up in a trend, not that some meanie is setting impossible standards for me.
Hey, if “real” women want to rule, then reject the magazines, the models, the fashions and start spending your money on clothes and publications that cater to “real” women. It’s money that gets their attention you know. It’s money that makes the rules. Yet all the “real” women keep buying the magazines, and the designers who use “skeletal” model while all the while becoming statistically fatter then complaining about the fashion industry setting ridiculous standards. What am I missing here? Thinness in fashion is simply a reaction to the the prevailing trend towards of obesity in our culture. So it’s obesity that’s really fueling the trend towards extreme thinness. Women of normal weight are the ones caught in the middle. So blame the fatties Karin, not the fashion industry
And Mark Fast, nobody ever heard of him until he put those models on the runway. He’s had a fashion fifteen minutes that will definitely get him some attention but the guy is talking out of both sides of his face. His clothes are obviously not designed with the typical woman in mind. Only the bravest wear tight fitting knit. I doubt any 180 pound women will be running out to buy his creations. He made a point and got some press but don’t look for “real” women to embrace designs that, by definition, do not contemplate anyone over a size 4. I mean, the guy designs clothes that are basically every woman’s nightmare, then he puts them on plus size models?! How patronizing.
But like I said, if women can’t take responsibility for themselves then it’s a pretty sad commentary on their substance to expect an industry as superficial as fashion to do it.
September 30th, 2009 at 10:58 am
P.S. I understand you are compassionate and I’m clearly not. But the best thing you could do for young girls is instead of teaching them to expect others to instill them with self esteem, prepare them for the reality of a world that is full of people who won’t give them ninth place medals to boost their self esteem. The world is not full of people like you Karin, it’s full of people like me. Sadly.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Totally off the subject, Liza, but you’re really fun to debate with.
September 30th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Ladies: An excellent debate, much like a marathon tennis match. You both make some excellent points and I agree with some of what each of you have said.
It’s been as much fun for me to read and ponder as it has been for the two of you to take your shots, but if I were judging this debate I would have to give the nod to Karin.
Liza, you said yourself (I’m paraphrasing here)that fashion is fantasy and that you can separate it from reality. I agree that while it may well be fantasy for some, but there are far too many young girls and women in the world who cannot make that distinction, and therefore take weight and body image issues to the extreme.
Whether the influence comes from from high fashion, movies, TV or a combination, it ultimately boils down to one of the most difficult of all things for adolescents to handle: PEER PRESSURE! Bobbie Sue wants to look good for the star quarterback, so she has to drop a few pounds so he will look past Betty Jo and see her instead. And it snowballs from there.
As for not being a fan of the “9TH place medal method of child rearing”, I believe Karin posted that column (All’s Not Fair) on August 4, 2006.
(FYI, this is coming from a mid-fifties dad who had a hand in raising two daughters and a son, so I’m not as far out of the loop on this topic as you might think.)
October 1st, 2009 at 8:48 am
Mike,
Karin holds the fashion industry responsible for her self esteem issues and those of young women. That’s been my issue with her argument all along. You don’t see men whining and crying because they feel pressured by GQ to wax their chests and have six pack abs. Yet women are always blaming someone and as a woman, I get tired of it.
Peer pressure isn’t going anywhere, either, no matter what the fashion industry says or does, and not just for kids. I’m in my forties and I have this friend who can still talk me into the most ridiculously stupid situations. But when find myself, up to my neck in a situation that is unforgivable for a woman my age, I don’t blame the friend, I blame myself, and I take responsibility.
I’ve said it all along, fashion is a business. Women should take charge, be proactive and take on the fashion industry if they want things to change. Karin thinks the fashion powers that be are a bunch of meanies for putting pressure on 12 year olds to diet. Karin says women labor under unrealistic standards. I say the ever increasing size and girth of your average “real” woman does not support that theory. I mean, look around. I dont’ exactly see women on Capital Street fainting from the effort to be ultra thin.
Karin wants the fashion industry to take responsibility for her and all the dieting little girls. I say, put your money where your mouth is instead of whining.
I keep my weight in check because I don’t want to be fat. If Vogue comes out tomorrow and says it’s the newest in thing to be fat, I will continue to watch my weight. Karin might then start to rail that the fashion industry is promoting poor eating habits by encouraging little girls to eat junk food for a quick weight gain.
I see things for what they are and go from there. It’s just my approach. Karin thinks my attitude results from a lack of compassion. I think teaching young women to think for themselves is far more compassionate than sending them out in a world expecting a ninth place medal.
I think we’ve handled it in a fairly civil manner but, like a people sparring over abortion, we will never, ever change the other’s mind.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:50 am
P.S. Karin, you are a worthy adversary as well.
December 4th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Thanks, I like this post it is very good and informative. I am sure that this post will be very helpful