Jettica

I just posted the following to my blog (link in sig) and I wondered what your opinions were. Mine are kind of skewed and I'm finding it hard to define what I mean. But opinions appreciated.

--
Plus Size Models in the Media:

I have some issues here because I strive to be thinner. However, seeing people my size in the media make me feel good. These people look brilliant yet they still make me want to be thinner. I think what it is is that I want to be thinner but I always want to have that affinity with bigger girls modelling and in the media and stuff. I’m never going to be model sized I’ll always have these curves.






Beth Ditto looks fantastic in this picture, I love her style, her music and her attitude. She loves herself just as she is and I’ve heard people say that she is being irresponsible flaunting herself around as it projects the image to young women that it’s okay to be fat. Alright, it’s okay to be curvy, okay to love your body and okay to be confident. It’s probably not okay to be fat, heart disease and all that shizzle but I don’t think Beth’s attitude portrays that. I can’t help feeling that she’d look bloody amazing if she lost two stone. She’d still be big and she’s hot now so she’d be even hotter then.


I think her attitude is an inspiration and although I’m sort of torn on the skinny models / normal women in magazines I think Beth is doing it all right.


My reason for not minding skinny models in magazines is that they are making me strive to get down to a health weight of 11stone, slightly larger models would make me want to get down to 12 or 13 which is less healthy. Also, no matter what anyone says I stick by the fact that most clothes look more appealing on a size ten body than a size fourteen one. It comes from a marketing point of view I think as a marketeer I wouldn’t put my clothes on a /large/ model because people that might be thinner will see that and think they’ll look awful. Sad but true.


I think there is a time and a place for plus sized models (In formal wear shoots, dresses, jeans etc) and a time for skinny models (lingere, beachwear, crop tops, work out gear.)


Check out this article: Becoming a Professional Plus-Size Model - Interview | Hourglass 8 | Social Media Adult Marketing Consultants | Kelly Shibari


It gives details on how to become a plus size (which oddly is size 14-16) model. I know a lot of my readers are hot and if you ever need portfolios then I would seriously LOVE to photograph you. Go on, do it. Model!

__________________

LaLaLou

I love Beth Ditto, love her music, her style, her sense of humour, she's great!

Back on topic, I can see the pros and cons when it comes to plus size (by that I mean bigger than size 14/16 tbh) models or public figures. We all know that being too overweight can have just as many health implications as being underweight. But I can't help but feel glad to see someone nearer my size in the media, being confident, successful and talented. I think people like Beth Ditto, make alot of overweight teens and young people realise that they *can* make it in their chosen field, that they should be confident in themselves, and believe in themselves.

On the other hand, I suppose seeing lots and lots of overweight people in the spotlight could make it more "normal" - sorry, not sure what other word to use :s - to be seriously overweight. IMO, we should all strive to be healthy, and that generally means not being obese.

I think an overweight figure can influence people to remain overweight, just as a super-skinny figure could influence impressionable young people to lose weight they don't need as that's seen as desirable.

I'd love to see more average sizes in fashion magazines. I understand that clothes hang better on smaller sizes, but why not use a size 12, that's a perfectly healthy, normal size that alot of people who buy the clothes will wear.

__________________





My mini goals:

Lose 1 stone - Done 04/09/09
Lose 2 stones by Christmas '09 Done - 13/11/2009
Get into size 18
Cycle 10km on bike

Jettica

Exactly, don't encourage people to be overweight and don't encourage them to be underweight.

It's a complicated game and would be hard to find the perfect size, maybe someone who is a size twelve but with a flat stomach. So a larger person who is quite fit perhaps.

__________________

Konvictz

i think there is more of a problem with overweight than underweight.

did you hear that aparently heidi klum is too fat to be modeling.

but yeah as above, there is no perfect weight...especially if your a man who works out, with all the muscle mass etc. theres people at 10 stone who are healthy and theres people at 14 stone (same height) who are healthy...different body compositions...

__________________
if u want something bad enough, u will get it...

Mirror

Well, while most models seen in media are completely stick thin, it is a refreshing change to see women like Beth Ditto in fashion photo shoots.
However, agreeing with what has already been said, this can also send out the wrong message to impressionable teenagers.
Really the only thing that could be done would be to put healthy weight range people on the cover of magazines or in fashion shoots to try and please everyone but I feel as if we will be waiting a very long time before that ever happens.
Although this has been taken up by the media quite recently and a lot of people have expressed outrage at the lengths editors go to distort a photograph.
In Scotland as well they are planning to try and ban photoshop or at least get the magazine to place the words "This has been altered" on the image.

YouTube - The Photoshop Effect
A great video about how photoshop is used in the media and how outrageous some of the changes are.
There's a part 2 & 3 as well!

__________________


Goals:
Lower body fat
To get to a size 10 (Currently a size 12)

foxyxcoxy

this is my kinda topic, tat girl is so super confident, wher does she get her clothes because i cant find anything with that amazin detail t even fit up my leg or watever.

clothes aside she's different i think thats why she's loved, the fact that she's had access to the top weightloss programs for a long time now and hasnt gone down that route in amazin to me. it shows courage to stand up to the victoria becham lovers and wannabees. plus she hasnt had surgery which makes me love her even more.

i wish i could be that happy wit myself. and i wish more people had her courage then our world wouldnt be filled with such UNREAL EXPECTATIONS of woman.
its scewing with peoples minds.

but the one thing i will agree 100% on is that most clothes look better on skinny girlS

EXCEPT MAXI DRESSES ha ha grow some boobies b*tch's

DQ

See this is where i disagree. Isn't this just perpetuating the whole myth?? I don't think clothes look better on skinny girls - I think we are so used to seeing skinny girls in all the gorgeous clothes we think it's the norm. I see Victoria Beckham and don't wish I could look like her in her clothes - I think jeans, etc look much nicer on a woman with booty and curves. Ditto with swimwear etc - if a woman has a healthy body, with nice skin why shouldn't she advertise lingerie, etc??

I don't advocate obesity, but I think if there were more 'normal' sized people shown wearing clothes maybe we wouldn't have such unrealistic expectations of ourselves.

__________________

Spannerwanner

I think it would make sense if clothes for skinny people were modeled by skinny people and clothers for fat people by fat people. That way the customer can get an idea of what it might look like on them.

The problem is that most clothes are modeled by people smaller than the intended customer (even plus size ones) and they are also always quite a bit taller. This plus all the air-brushing makes for unrealistic images.

__________________





Current goal: to get to a healthy BMI.
Medium term goal: to sit in a seat on the bus and not spill over into the next seat (I've been trying this for ages - is it even possible? Maybe all the bus seats are made for Twiggy!)
Long term goal: to be a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

Konvictz

maybe nice cloths fitting nice skinny models is a good thing? because it gives us something to aim for. after watching that video.

as a male, when i see my friend drolling over some male topless model, and then she tells me how fat i am, it makes me think, i should try hard and get a nice body.

but i enjoy seeing cloths modelled by men with good bodies because i personally feel that i will be able to acheive a nice body some time in the future, probably not as nice as theirs but nice enough to make me happy.

might be a little different for women. they change their skin formation and their shape and their complexion and everything to make them look better in a magazine, which is giving women something very difficult to acheive. whereas my idea of success will be if i can just see my pacs (infact i can already feel them, waiting to loose the fat)...

__________________
if u want something bad enough, u will get it...

Spannerwanner

The thing is that some clothes just don't suit skinny women but do look good on women with curves. And some clothes are the other way round. The type of clothes Twiggy wore in the 60s would look daft on me but Marylin Munroe's wardrobe would look terrible on someone with no bust or hips. The same applies to men but maybe not to such an extreme.

And then there are clothes like the terrifying flash-back to the 80s we are currently seeing that look good on nobody!

__________________





Current goal: to get to a healthy BMI.
Medium term goal: to sit in a seat on the bus and not spill over into the next seat (I've been trying this for ages - is it even possible? Maybe all the bus seats are made for Twiggy!)
Long term goal: to be a healthy weight for the rest of my life.

Jenmac

I would like to see shorter, older models of various body types in the fashion press. I love clothes and high fashion, but I haven't aspired to look like a 14-year-old girl since I was 12! And most women are not six foot two with a 38inch inside leg measurement, so I think it would be great to see a variety of heights.

I think height may play a part in the enduring popularity of Kate Moss. Though she was extremely slim earlier on in her career, the fact she is about 5' 7" makes her look a lot more "normal" even at a very low weight, and IMO she has never looked 'scary skinny'. I'd like to see more fitness-type models too, women with bodies like Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas for example.

And I agree that plus-sized models often don't look plus-sized! Seeing a dress on a 5'10" size 18 gives absolutely no indication of how it will look on a fat body. The models don't have bingo wings, rolls, or anything like that.

__________________