2/16/15

Let me preface this with saying I am not a size 4 nor am I a size 14; I am however somewhere in between. We all have our insecurities but these days I can’t imagine being a young girl growing up now having all of these conflicting images about what is and isn’t beautiful. With this said Sports Illustrated has recently come out with its latest swimsuit edition which has become somewhat controversial. There are, brace yourself, pictures of “plus size models”. One of the girls is a size 10. Size 10 and they are calling her plus size. This is the average size for a woman in our country. Now I understand that our nation overall is overweight and that we have a very large population of those who are obese. Now why is it that we are making such a big deal about a beautiful, clearly healthy woman who is fit? So she’s not a size 2, who the hell cares? I understand that the world of fashion is unlike any other but let’s be realistic, more often than not the clothes are horrid and unless you are five foot ten and weigh 120 pounds, the clothes won’t fit you anyway. The whole industry is a joke if you ask me. It doesn’t promote clothes unless you are rich and can afford them, rather it promotes an unhealthy and unrealistic image of women. You don’t have to be under a size 4 to be beautiful or fit or healthy. Magazines only promote our skewed view of women. People don’t realize how much smoke and mirror deception there is in these industries. Lighting, proper positioning, and Photoshop can make anyone look good. A while back there was this whole “thigh gap” scandal, in which there was controversy over the use of Photoshop to slim models’ thighs to create a thigh gap, meaning that there is a space between their thighs when their legs are together. This is ridiculous. How is it that we have become so obsessed with numbers such as weight and size that they forget about health? Think back to the 50’s when women like Marilyn Monroe were considered to be the ideal body type. She was not a size 2, she was anywhere from a size 12 to a size 16. I don’t think a number is important as long as someone is healthy. There are a lot of women who are considered “plus size” and are in incredible shape, very fit and healthy. So why is it that we can’t accept women for who they are and their real beauty because all that we see on screen and in the magazines is not real? It’s make-up, and lighting, and special effects, and editing that create a beautiful illusion. Do not get me wrong there are people who are beautiful and don’t need all of these things but the reality is that these false images are fed to us from a very young age and we are led to believe that anything less is inferior. We are not inferior.