I haven’t met one woman in my life that is
completely happy and satisfied with her appearance. Compared to men that just don’t seem to care about their appearance as much as we do,
we are always able to find something that is wrong with us.
This might have to do with the fashion
industry continuously presenting us images of women that are as far away from
the image of normal and healthy women as you can imagine.
While it is common knowledge that models are
at the bottom line of a healthy BMI, a magazine dedicated to plus-size fashion
and models has now sparked a controversy with a feature claiming that most
runway models meet the Body Mass Index criteria for anorexia.
The feature was accompanied by a bold shoot
that sees a nude plus-size model posing alongside a skinny 'straight-size'
model.
PLUS Model Magazine says that it aims to encourage plus-size consumers to
pressure retailers to better cater to them, and stop promoting a skinny ideal.
Looking at the image of 'plus-size’ model
Katya Zharko and a size zero model makes me feel quite sad. There are naturally slim people
and they are as beautiful and gorgeous as full-figured ladies,
but the model in this picture looks extremely unhealthy to me.
Reading that twenty years ago the average
fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman and that it is 23% now is
alarming and it sure does not contribute to women accepting and loving
themselves the way they are.
For many of us it is difficult enough to come
to terms with our appearance and to figure out who we are. It doesn’t help much
seeing unrealistically skinny models in magazines all the time.
But there are also exceptions. German women’s magazine
Brigitte supports the idea of a healthy body image by featuring 'normal’
women in its photo shoots instead of size zero models.
I find this pretty inspiring! The women
featured as models in the magazine are briefly introduced before they present fashion and new
styles.
The magazine not only features women of all shapes and sizes but
furthermore of all ages. The quality of the photos are up to the
highest standard and turn ‘normal’ women into role models for all of us.
There is nothing wrong with your body; there
is something wrong with the representation of female bodies in most fashion
magazines!
Look for magazines that feature ‘normal’
women as models and support them. Who knows, there might not be such a thing as
size zero models in the future if there is no demand!