Recently I was watching a "makeover" segment on some women's television show while paging through a magazine advertising expensive and high-fashion clothes. This was in the gym, and although many of the women exercising near me probably would have loved to undergo a free makeover (it is hard to look glamorous early in the morning while sweating), I doubt any could fit into the size zero and under clothes modeled in the magazine. The models had arms so thin they could fit through a doughnut hole and it was obvious that they were as curveless as a Q-tip. "Why," I asked myself, "do magazines still feel it necessary to display clothes, shoes, and even jewelry on bodies that are so unrepresentative of the typical woman?" In contrast, the women usually selected for the weekly makeovers have bodies similar to those one sees every day in the supermarket, at work, at PTA meetings. Is the reason for the impossibly perfect bodies shown in the advertisements that we, the public, would be less inclined to desire the products being advertised if the models looked like ordinary people, i.e. like us?
Clearly this message is at odds with the "after" appearance of the women who are transformed on a television program with the help of fashion, hair and make-up experts. Although my sample is small, confined as it is to the TV programs I watch while in the gym, I rarely see anyone who would be considered thin and most of the women are a comfortable size 10 or higher. What is so wonderful about the end result is that the women look beautiful, glamorous, and happy with themselves and wear clothes that reveal, in a flattering way, their not "perfect" bodies.
So there is the paradox of women's magazines that advertise clothes that anyone with more than 3 percent body fat would have trouble wearing and at the same time, television programs showing what women with womanly fat stores should be wearing.
The same disconnect between reality and fantasy pops up occasionally in women's magazines devoted to fitness and health. There is usually a feature on exercises that will transform sagging, lumpy, tight or underutilized muscles into toned and sculpted body parts. The model demonstrating the exercises, often involving a chair or large ball, has a faultless figure. She is not overly thin because her body is well muscled but anyone looking at her would recognize the necessity of giving up one's day job to achieve her body. Why don't these magazines use people whose bodies are not perfect? Would we be less inspired or more?
Several years ago, I ran a weight-management center that included private or group sessions with personal trainers as part of the program. We were delighted when one of the people applying for the job was several pounds overweight and confessed to many years of struggling with her weight. We knew--and our clients confirmed this--that they would feel comfortable working out with someone who understood their issues and did not sport an ideal body.
As we enter the New Year, expect to be assaulted by relentless advertisements for weight-loss programs, exercise programs promising total physical transformations in only weeks, and exhortations by almost anyone in health professions to become healthier by becoming thinner. Achieving a healthy weight by eating and exercising is an important goal. But it is also very important to gain and maintain respect for one's body, with all its imperfections, regardless of one's weight. Perfection is achieved only in the magazines and that, perhaps, only with an airbrush.
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And we are all supposed to reach for an airbrushed ideal that is virtually unattainable by most of the population, yet everyone who has commented so far seems to be all for continuing this madness. I wish I could convey in words how hellish it is to suffer from an eating disorder, and to be trying to recover in a society that not only idolizes thinness, but shames people into thinking normal is wrong.
Pretty powerful statement there, fanned and faved.
It doesn't make it bad necessarily, it's just the way it is.
We like to have an ideal to work towards.
I don't think women who have a less than perfect body should feel bad about themselves. I think there is beauty in many shapes but I also don't think they should get upset if the ideal is presented to them on magazines, etc.
I am slender but a bit hippy than the "standard". I also sew. When I look at patterns I do not get upset if the models don't have the width I do. In fact, none of them do, but I don't get upset all. I just know that I am not the ideal and that is totally ok but I can still make awesome clothes that suit me! That's all I care about!
Also, I don't agree that just because the average woman now is a size 10, that should be the ideal. No no no...it's very simple. Eat a mostly plant based diet, exercise 3x a week, avoid sugar and drugs...you will become more compact and svelte naturally. Most of us were not meant to be fat or big we have just let ourselves become that. Leaders in fitness and beauty can remind of us this fact.
DrSnuggles is right that clothes simply look better on thin frames.
When I see clothing that seems to give the model lumps and bumps, I can see that the clothes would not be flattering on a less-perfect body & I avoid them. It is very useful to have a standard for modeling - we aren't left guessing.
It's a pretty simple answer, clothes (in and of themselves) look better on thinner frames. This allows the pattern and styling to be the focus as opposed to the body of the model. The problem with this from a business standpoint is that clothes are accessories to our bodies and not 'in and of themselves'.
The danger comes from when young women (or older women) see these models as representations of beauty as opposed to the world's best mannequins.
These fashion magazines do more damage to young girls than they ever do positive in the world. I have used them to teach my daughter and my nieces about false advertising and the dangers of following trends in terms of body image. I wanted them to develop good senses of their own bodies rather than some idealized image of someone else's idea of perfection. It worked, thank goodness. They're some pretty media savvy young women.
All of the women in my family are overweight and so I have a very hard time figuring out what a healthy size would be for me. I'm currently a 14/16. I have a large chest so my shirts are bigger than my pants.
I've been working towards a healthier weight for a while now and an idea of what size clothes would be healthy for me would truly be helpful and appreciated. thank you.
I understand about not knowing how your body is supposed to look because I'm adopted and I get my shape from my bio-father's side. My mom and sisters are all shaped alike - under 5'4".
My advice is to find a weight and size that feels good on you and discuss it with a nutritionist and your doctor. I thought I should be smaller but my doctor says my weight is perfect for my frame. Any smaller and I feel awkward with no femininity, no curves. Tall women can't judge themselves by the weight standards of average women. It just doesn't work that way. That's true of clothing sizes too. Find what fits and to hell with the size. Find a good tailor and make the clothes fit YOU.
Granted, if I saw an overweight trainer or teacher working semi-long term at a gym or studio who never seemed to get fitter, it would be a drawback. But a great teacher will motivate you with their personality, support, and workout, not just their looks.
One summer I took a second job working with a local wedding gown designer--she had me helping her with the summer Wedding Conventions---and boy did I learn from that.
Not only did she have a preferred body shape/weight/size for her potential clients, she also had racial preferences and face beauty "standards". Only very thin, very pretty White or Asian girls were even allowed to try on the samples....ONLY. Everyone else she found an excuse to send to other booths/designers, or flat out IGNORED until they went away.
Unbelievable, but true! I came out of that experience hating her and the whole wedding scene.
I also came out of it with a decision to cater to everyone BUT extremely pretty, extremely thin White or Asian girls, and now design sexy *flattering* lingerie exclusively for plus sizes.