The tides are turning.

[logansrogue]

Four in five consumers in aglobal survey say models and celebs are too thin.

That's a whopping 80 percent of a sample of the global market. In Australia, it's even higher. 94 percent, people. NINETY-FOUR. I wonder if the fashion moguls are listening to this? (I have to wonder if they even care, they tend to wrap themselves up in a bubble). A couple are taking the initiative to hire bigger models for the catwalk, but it's a little frustrating that they get obviously overweight women instead of, ooh, I dunno - average shaped women? Why does it have to be one or the other? Don't get me wrong - the overweight girls were gorgeous, (and when I say overweight I mean the clinical term, as in, ten to twenty kilos over one's BMI range) but I just yearn for a little balance!

This is an issue very dear to my heart. I think healthy body image in women is *very* important. I'm very cynical about the fashion industry, and I can't help but feel that they (here I enter batshit feminist territory - turn back if you don't want to know) preen women from the most vulnerable point in their lives - teenagers - with media bombardment and glossy mags, and then do their best to KEEP women buying, keep women obsessed with things that *don't really matter*. And it's not for power, it's not for anything other than money. They think that women are so fucking stupid and self-obsessed with their looks, or even just so insecure, that they'll buy anything if they trigger the right fear in the woman. Your skin is too bumpy. You have cellulite. You're getting lines. Your butt is too fat. Your boobs are too saggy. What's up with your hair? It must be SHINY SHINY SHINY!

It's a perpetual "You're not good enough unless you buy *this*" that I think is so fucking insidious. I'm prey to it as much as anyone, and I can't stand it.

Hopefully this, and the other changes that are taking place in the fashion world, will let the clothes retailers (couldn't give a stuff about the fashion designers - they don't design for people, they design for art and kudos) know that getting super-thin models for their advert campaigns and showing off their clothes on ridiculously slim mannequins isn't going to help them sell clothes. And oh, I don't know, stocking sizes that are actually the sizes they're supposed to be? I tried on a size twelve pants the other day and I nearly bust out of them. And I am SO A SIZE TWELVE!!!

(God, I come off as such the disgruntled porky chick. LOL!)

Comments

[gracie-in-greek.livejournal.com]

*Loves* Awwwww--I agree, hun, and you're absolutely perfect as you are. I'm a rather curvy okay maybe you'd call it chubby okay well maybe pudgy okay FINE I'm just plain fat but I've always said I'd rather look and feel the way I do about myself then become like one of those stick-figures with there bones sticking out everywhere. It gives me the heeby-geebies.


Now may I do some horrible horrible self-pimpage at you? I'll...like, make puppy dog eyes or send you cookies or something?

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Pimp away, darling. I think you're GORGEOUS!

[gracie-in-greek.livejournal.com]

NO ONE'S MORE GORGE THEN YOU! *HEARTS*

*Pimppimp*

It's a revision of an older fic, and I think it came out pretty good, but your opinion would mean the world to me. ♥

http://community.livejournal.com/harryhermione/1717515.html?thread=16875019

[asweetdownfall.livejournal.com]

AMEN. Basically.

Oh no you don't, Nancy.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

LOL you're very kind!

[roguewords.livejournal.com]

You? I love.

for real.

Seriously, (and this is kinda silly and petty, but it fits what your saying) my senior year of high school, they had a fashion show of what dresses a few of the shops had for sell. In the group of girls included there were the cheerleader sticks, the basketball athletically small girls, and me and another larger girl. I was about a size 14 in juniors, then? The stick girls found fabulous dresses, first try. The basketball girls had to try on two or three dresses, but found well fitting pretty dresses. The larger girl (who was also a cheerleader and looked fantastic in her cheerleading uniform) and I tried on practically every larger size dress in the store. I ended up wearing a dress two sizes too small and way too long (god forbid someone hem something they weren't being paid for) and she finally found something resembling a sack.

They gave us coupons for dresses at those stores. I promptly threw mine in the trash. The dress I ended up wearing I actually bought at a shop that specialized in pageant dresses. And they worked with me, hemming and taking it in to make me feel like those other girls had the first time they tried on a dress.


... ok, so I ramble. But my point is that you're right. The industry places too much attention on the teeny tiny girls or the larger ones. We in the middle just get left out, and it's wrong.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

It's frustrating because I don't consider myself a 'plus' size. I'm AVERAGE size. Yet I can't find anything in my size at some of these spunky fashion stores. And you know what? It's THEIR loss. They're losing *my* money. And if I'm just one of many, imagine how much money they're missing out on - no wonder they charge so much! :T

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

I'd even describe you as quite slim. Not too skinny, but a little slimmer than average.
Its crazy....

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

It IS crazy! *I'm* too fat for fashion! *laugh*

[stephiepenguin.livejournal.com]

Do you know what's insane? You're familiar with the size of my body, and yesterday I nearly had to buy a size SIX for a certain brand. There is no fucking way that I'm a size six, so the only option is that they're changing their sizes down. Soon we'll have crazy American-style sizes, with zeros and things. >8o(

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

... That's nuts. You're an eight or ten, aren't you?

[greenforest-elf.livejournal.com]

>preen women from the most vulnerable point in their lives - teenagers - with >media bombardment and glossy mags, and then do their best to KEEP women >buying, keep women obsessed with things that *don't really matter*

I think its happening way younger than that these days (ever seen bratz dolls or even the bloody cartoon - can you say "PLASTIC SURGERY" on a kids show - they were discussing how beauty will get them further in their studies) grrrrr

Just walking around shops looking at kids clothes makes me sick, stuff to fit a 6/7/8yr old is more suited for a 16 yr old.

Kids just cant be kids these days, its fking sad as they all want to be 'grown ups' but have no idea how much fun it is to just be a kid and play in the dirt.

Looking at a friends kids mag (she is 8), its full of cartoons etc and then sections on make up and designer clothes WTF????

It would be good if the fashion industry takes note, good for the development of future kids not to be fucked up with media images on what everyone should look like/wear/act/say/do/be!!!!

oh and Nancy, you are far far far more sexier than those horible stick insects/bags of bones :)

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've noticed it creeping into the preteen market, I just didn't want to think about it :(

Ohhh, thank you darling! *hugs*

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

I really liked this post. RANTING!NANCY IS MY FAVOURITE. <3

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

ROFLMAO! You are not the first person to say that, and you know, the reaction really mystities me! LOL!

[fyrdrakken]

Since this topic reminded me of a very good Pandagon post from last week, I'm passing it along: On the bullshit people will say regarding why women starve themselves in an attempt to look attractive. The best bits were lurking in the comments, including a few gems from a couple of women who were built like models in their twenties (tall, thin, but bosomy) and then put on some weight after hitting 30 and having a kid or two who pointed out that A) when they were gorgeous they had men telling them they needed to lose weight, B) when they were outside that uberdesirable size range they started getting catty remarks from women (though when they were thin they got approving or envious remarks from other women), and C) one of them noted how much more strength and energy she had after she'd bulked up to an "unattractive" size. And the one I loved that simply debunked the stupid columnist's theory (about women gussying themselves up to impress other women and men simply being grateful at any female deigning to share her body with them) by sarcastically noting how lesbians are such high-maintenance fashion plates and gay men are such fat slobs.

[logansrogue.livejournal.com]

HA! Yeah, most lesbians I've seen aren't too fussed in being a playboy spread. LOL.

I'll read that up - it's a bit hard for me to give thoughtful discourse at the moment because I'm in the grips of some pretty awful period pains and all I have is panadol and ibuprofen to stop them :( (I need my Buscopan but I've run out!!)

And dude - the amount of walking my size-sixteen sister can do is utterly astounding. Kilometres with children and shopping - you wouldn't believe it.