Sized Down

There's been a few interesting articles and opinion pieces around lately stemming from a model used in Glamour magazine who is a size 12, therefore plus size, model. She's beautiful, no doubt. Almost because of how natural she looks as a result of her size.

I think it's sort of funny when these things pop up. I guess I wonder how much commentary we can have about how skinny girls are put in magazines and given perfect skin and perky boobs using photo editing software. It seems... redundant, unnecessary, cliche, in fact almost degrading. As in 'you poor women, always having to look at photos of completely unrealistic Barbie type figures whom you can't compare to ever; not in a million years. And we sympathize and identify the problem and it is truly horrible... but we won't change it.' So I say, what's the point of humoring us with the talk.
There is no editor of any "women's" magazine that will honestly only portray everyday women; no editor that will stop writing stories about the right way to apply make up to get that man to think your sexy so that he takes you home when you first meet, but not on the first date because what about safe sex practice, and then you please him immensely in bed, but also win at sports while still respecting his manhood which will make him want to settle down, bare your children, and support your every whim - as an independent woman, of course.
So what's the point. Don't pretend like the talk is the solution.

Oops. I ranted. Well, in the midst of the commentary and the effects of this woman's photo I have found some cool stuff. One thing is a NY Times article on the actual size of people these days. Interesting to note that the average women is the dimensions of size 12 clothing (I phrase the statement that way because there's the idea that clothes are labeled smaller sizes than they truly are - as in, the dimensions of Marilyn Monroe's size 12/14 were actually smaller than today's 12/14.)

Also, another kind of cool thing I happened upon is a model named Crystal Renn who has a quite successful career in Australia (and somewhere in Europe?) She is definitely plus size by model industry standards - I believe a 14 in US sizes. And Here's a post that comments about a Harper's Bazaar photo shoot in which the photographer actually does an amazing job of highlighting the curves and lines of her body instead of the more typical tendency to mask or hide it.

I'm not quite sure what I get out of these discussions, or even what I hope to convey to anyone reading this particular post. I know two things though - I don't buy fashion magazines and you don't have to tell me twice to appreciate the human body and form for exactly what it is. Without the editing software.