Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Here's something that really bugs me

Since when is a size 10 considered "plus size"? Does this girl look plus sized to you?


Because I think she's beautiful. I would love to look like her. But Plus Size? I think not. And yet she's all over the news because she won the "Ame.rica's To.p Mo.del" competition and she's a size 10. Not a size 2 like the girls that usually win that competition. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad she won. Most of the other girls in that competition look starved and underweight. It's nice that they acknowledge the fact that a girl can have curves and still be beautiful. But why all the hype about her "size"? She looks normal. Healthy. Beautiful. Why does society have to label her as plus sized(which is really just another word for overweight)

How can we raise daughters to have a healthy body image when this is what we're telling them is plus sized? Why isn't she considered in the same class as the other size 2 models? She's not in the news because she won. She's in the news because of her size.

I am a plus size. I prefer not to tell you what size I wear, but it is quite a bit larger than a size 10. No, I am not happy with my weight. Yes, I have problems with body image. But I looked good as a size 10. I can see that when I look back at pictures. But you know what? I wasn't happy with my body, even then. Because society told me that in order to be beautiful, I had to be a size 2. And skin and bones. I haven't been that skinny since I was 17 years old. And I wasn't healthy then. I rarely ate and when I did, it was junk food. I'm not saying I'm at my healthiest weight now and I certainly need to lose some pounds but I want to raise a confident, healthy daughter who is health conscious but not weight obsessed.

And that's going to hard to do when all she sees when she turns on the t.v. or looks at a magazine is girls like the ones pictures above labeled as overweight. Sigh. I hate the media.

3 comments:

M3 said...

That's a tough one -- I think you nailed it when you said tv and magazines are going to cause serious image problems with our daughters. All you see now are the lollipop celebrities (normal head on a starved little body). The one area where I see positive role models is in athletics -- there are some incredibly talented and "normal, healthy-looking" soccer players, tennis players, volleyball players and more that I'll try to highlight for R&M instead of the models and celebrities that they're going to be bombarded with. Will be an uphill battle though...

Unknown said...

I think she is an average size by American standards. She is very pretty! I always liked the actress Kate Winslet because she had great curves. Even though she has lost weight, I still like her :) I've worked with many pre-teen and teenage girls on a healthy body image perception for years. For mothers, it is so important to be a good role model for your children and teach them, at a young age, to have healthy habits and be content with their true body shape. I could go on and on....

Julie said...

She's beautiful and "normal sized" people!!! Sheesh! Pluss sized, no way!!!