"'Your mother ate my dog!'- Paquita Maria Sanchez, Dead Alive, AKA Brain Dead"
Plus sized Runway models at London Fashion Week
Thu, 09/24/2009 - 11:27
http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/09/23/a-step-down-the-runway-in-the-right-...
Yeah, she's a real porker... sure
Pictured above is Hayley Morley, a UK size 12 model who spurred controversy when she brought some realism to the runway. Hayley and two other ‘’curvy'’ women appeared alongside stick-figure thin models in Mark Fast’s London Fashion Week show last Saturday. The biggest shocker is that their inclusion prompted Fast’s stylist and creative designer to walk out over ‘’creative differences.'’
Luckily, two freelancers stepped in to help with the show. Amanda May, Fast’s creative director, told the UK’s Daily Mail that the designer ‘'’wanted women to know they didn’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress.'’ This is not the first time Fast has opened his mind to the idea of using life-sized women on the runway: he is also involved in All Walks Beyond The Catwalk, an initiative that uses models up to size 16 and age 65 to show-off threads. It’s one small step in ending the fashion industry’s obsession with emaciated-looking women
jeeesus can the weird gay dudes who work in fashion give the fucking ladies a break? I can't believe the stylist 'walked out' because these chicks were going to be in the show.
here's the thing that has never made sense to me: the argument is 'clothes look better on the taller, thinner models'
But, like, they don't. They don't look better or worse. they're, like, clothes. And I never understood an industry that designs clothes that are 1) made for unrealistically thin sizes and 2) ugly to a point that no real woman would want to wear them anyway.
Can someone, once, just look at a designer's runway clothes and laugh and say, 'what the fuck is this ugly crap? No one is going to buy this!' and put those creeps in their place? Just once?
Thu, 09/24/2009 - 19:06
#2
Sat, 09/26/2009 - 08:56
#3
Sat, 09/26/2009 - 13:04
#4
Sat, 09/26/2009 - 18:53
#5
Sat, 09/26/2009 - 22:13
#6
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 13:05
#7
Bust does have some good fat-oriented content lately....
http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/10/01/fat-studies-a-field-of-study-that-is...
BUST Blog
Fat Studies: A field that is gaining prominence
‘’She’s majoring in Fat Studies'’ might sound like a cruel frat boy heckle, but the field of study really does exist–and an increasing number of identity scholars are out to prove that size does matter.
Have you ever stopped to wonder why Ursula, the evil sea-witch from the Little Mermaid, is characterized as larger-than-life? Professor Julia McCrossin (pictured left) has. She’s researching the impact of literary characters’ size in plotlines, claiming that ‘’when authors create fat characters, they don’t do so innocently or free from the cultural baggage fat people have traditionally had,'’ according to this GW Hatchet article.
Another leading Fat Studies figure is Esther Rothblum (pictured right), who is trained in psychology and currently squeezes sizeist issues into the women’s studies classes she teaches as SDSU. Rothblum just finished co-editing the first fat studies anthology, The Fat Studies Reader, which covers subjects ranging form the historical construction of fatness to airline seat discrimination.
Speaking from my own experience as a women’s studies student, sizeism was frequently linked with other identity-related isms in class discussions. Body image was always a hot topic for research papers, which ranged from media representation to ‘’fat acceptance.'’ A dissertation or few on size stereotypes is definitely in order, but what do you think about an entire field of study? They should at least come up with a different name. Any suggestions?
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 13:07
#8
okay, this does piss me off because these women look regular to me...
http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/10/02/plus-size-pretties-in-a-lady-mag.html
Usually we don’t have anything good to say about traditional lady mags (or for that matter, Fox News), but this month, Glamour’s finally on to something — plus-size models! Plus-size really meaning ‘normal-size,’ ‘healthy-looking,’ and ‘totally beautiful.’ Glamour’s November issue, out on Tuesday, will feature a photo shoot with plus-size models Kate Dillon, Crystal Renn, and Lizzie Miller, and in honor of the occasion, Fox News has compiled a slideshow of several plus-size models looking just as fly as ‘regular-size’ models (http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/entertainment/2009/09/11/successful-plu...).
Apparently, after Glamour printed one photo of a plus-size model with a bit of stomach fat showing, readers clamored for more and the editors actually listened. Finally, somebody realized that looking at pictures of size-000 girls doesn’t make most of us feel good about our bodies. Now if only Vogue and Elle would follow suit and give the models in the slideshow a chance to add something besides Celebrity Fit Club to their resumes. But just FYI — Glamour isn’t the first magazine to buck the thin-model trend. BUST has been putting plus-size ladies in its pages for 15 years!
-Eliza
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 13:26
#9
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 13:30
#10
bottom line> the reason (historically) why the models are so thin is so that they take up less of the expensive luxurious fabrics to demonstrate the designers craft. In essence then in could be argued that to maintain the staus Quo of the walking coat rack has everything to do with proffit and nothing to do with style.
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 20:27
#11
Thu, 10/08/2009 - 23:43
#12
Watch Nicole Eggert let two assholes drown for criticizing her body.
http://www.limelife.com/blog-entry/Baywatch-Babe-Nicole-Eggert-Real-Wome...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:45
#13
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:17
#14
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 01:23
#15
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 23:16
#16
Nice! look at this now...
http://www.stylelist.com/blog/2009/10/14/ralph-lauren-distorted-ad-skinn...
NICE look at this airbrushing job!
In a twist of irony, Filippa Hamilton, the model who was airbrushed to the point of emaciation in a recent Ralph Lauren ad, claims she was fired from the fashion company for being too fat!
In an exclusive interview with the New York Daily News, Filippa says she was released from her Ralph Lauren contract in April because she wasn't thin enough. "They fired me because they said I was overweight and couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she tells the paper. Filippa, 23, had been working for Ralph Lauren since she was 15.
"I was shocked to see that super-skinny girl with my face," the 5-foot-10, 120 pound model says about when she saw her body digitally reduced in the now controversial Ralph Lauren Blue Label ad. "It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that," reports the Daily News.
Filippa's lawyer, Geoffrey Menin, told the paper that "the image is a gross distortion of how she really looks and which we fear will be extremely damaging to her."
Polo Ralph Lauren released a statement to the Daily News saying that Filippa is "a beautiful and healthy" woman, but their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."
Filippa also made an appearance on the Today Show this morning (clip below) to speak out about the incident.
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 23:25
#17
Quote:
That's why the NOW Foundation is celebrating its 12th annual Love Your Body Day on Oct. 21. This campaign is a giant shout out to the fashion, beauty, diet and advertising industries: No more fake images! Show us real women, diverse women, strong women, bold women. And to the women and girls who are targeted by messages telling them that the key to success and happiness is manufactured beauty, we say: It's okay to "Be You" -- the true you is beautiful.
Fri, 10/16/2009 - 00:00
#18
http://www.stylelist.com/blog/2009/10/14/ralph-lauren-distorted-ad-skinny-model-fired-for-being-fat/
Are...are these people just completely fucking retarded? What the fuck are they thinking? I mean, it's not only a warped, emaciated image; it's also an incredibly unattractive warped, emaciated image. Who the hell would want to buy anything to make you look like *that*?
__________________
Fri, 10/16/2009 - 13:24
#19
Fri, 10/16/2009 - 14:29
#20
Fri, 10/16/2009 - 16:27
#21
Sat, 10/17/2009 - 19:36
#22
What: Canadian designer Mark Fast has created a stir at London Fashion Week, but the controversy has nothing to do with his clothes. The designer chose to use size 10 to 12 models on his runway this week, prompting two of his staffers to quit the fashion label just days before the show.
What They Say:
“The decision to use fuller girls is something we have been talking about,” said Amanda May, a creative director for Mark Fast. “There’s an idea that only thin and slender women are able to wear Mark’s dresses and he wanted to combat that. We wanted women to know they didn’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress - curvier women can look even better in them.”
What We Say: Good for Mark for sticking to his guns, despite his employees’ walkout. The end result of his Fashion Week show was fantastic, and the models looked gorgeous. So will hiring larger models be a trend that’ll catch on here in the States? There’s no way to tell, but we sure hope so.
Sat, 10/17/2009 - 22:55
#23
Thanks for posting that, Lise! I think those 'plus sized' women are really sexy! They are in no way out of shape and have great sex appeal, something size zero models cannot have. I mean really, I'd like to be quoted as saying 'You can't have sex appeal without body fat'. Because you can't. Boobs and hips are what make women women, and that's sexy. You can't have boobs and hips at any size without some body fat.
And, I want to point out, these 'plus sized' women obviously work out, build muscle, and eat healthily, which is awesome. Healthy bodies are sexually attractive.
Sun, 10/18/2009 - 20:23
#24
<---- FINALLY healthy. No longer obsessed with body image.
I suffered for years because I'm a size 14 now. Used to be a size 5. BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL.
I've had two kids. I know, genetically, I'm not one of those chicks who just melt down to their pre-baby size. I can look at my grandmother and my mom and my aunts and I see tall, long-legged, Double-D+ boobs, and curvy hips. That's what I look like!
Now, I love how I look. I loved seeing that pic in Glamour, because it reinforced what I know about myself. When i first saw it, I was like OMG that's what I look like! (minus the perfectly smooth, air-brushed skin. Come on, you know they got some cellulite on them drumsticks!).
Both of my sister-in-laws are obsessed with skinny. One of them is all of a size 3, yet she actually counted out TEN rotini noodles today at lunch, and one meatball, and half a teaspoon of tomato sauce. Drank a whole Mtn Dew,and then proceeded to complain about how fat she was. (she's not anorexic, she's just obsessed b/c her best friend's wedding is in a YEAR and she's scared she'll gain a pound).
I think it's great seeing curvy women finally getting the attention. Curves rock!
Mon, 10/19/2009 - 14:15
#25
Barbie’s Real-Life Measurements
Legendary shoe designer Christian Louboutin was badmouthing his newest client, Barbie, this past week. According to the French designer, Barbie “has fat ankles,” so he recreated the doll with skinnier legs for the new collection, to come out this year. Ouch—wonder what this shoe god says about our non-one-inch ankles.
Thankfully, French shoe designer Christian Louboutin is on a mission to change all of that. The man responsible for those uber-expensive, red-soled high heels we always see on rich actresses is about to release a set of new and improved Barbie dolls, complete with slimmer ankles.
A Louboutin spokesperson told Women’s Wear Daily, "He found her ankles were too fat."
Louboutin's PR team actually released a statement saying that while the designer loves Barbie's ankles, he thinks her arch needed "a little lift" so she "can rock those high heels."
Backing up the deluded designer’s decree, plastic surgeon Dr. Michelle Copeland appeared on CBS News, where she said, Barbie “really doesn't have a full curve to the calf and it goes straight down to the ankle."
Quelle horreur!
Ever wonder, if Barbie were a real woman, what her measurements would be? We’ll tell you
Barbie’s head would be almost triple the size of a normal-sized head. Her neck would be twice the length of a normal neck and it would only be able to hold either a trachea or an esophagus, leaving her to choose between eating and breathing.
http://www.neversaydiet.com/slideshow/if-barbie-were-real-woman?nlcid=in|10-19-2009|
Awesome. Just.. freakin amazing. Some fashion dude saying Barbie has CANKLES.
Mon, 12/21/2009 - 13:51
#26
For the Skinny on Air Brushing, Labels Recommended
By Juliette Terzieff
WeNews correspondent
Monday, December 21, 2009
Digitally-altered images of super-thin models and actresses contribute to negative body image, low self-esteem and damaging behavior, critics say. A British political party's campaign for a labeling system for altered images is gaining support.
(WOMENSENEWS)--Demi Moore is known for displaying a fortunate frame and good looks in movies like "Striptease" and "Ghost." Now, however, a revealing cover shot of the 47-year-old for the December 2009 issue of W magazine has unleashed a maelstrom of online chatter over concerns the image was altered.
"Anyone can be absolutely stunning and beautiful with a little or a lot of help from Photoshop! The sad part is that so many people still have no clue and actually think that this kind of beauty is possible at any age, never mind 47," reader 'dengtart' commented on a Huffington Post piece about the image. "So, tell all your friends, family and especially young teens that this is SO fake! There is more than enough media pressure on teens . . . they don't need this!"
For those campaigning against the use of digitally-altered images in advertising the Moore controversy is another example of why the practice needs to be changed.
"Such images reflect a chaos in society," said Lynn Grefe, chief executive officer of the Seattle-based National Eating Disorders Association. "We should be seeing encouragement to 'be healthy,' when instead you can't pick up a magazine these days that isn't showing females they need to be a size zero, an unattainable goal that just does not work for most body types."
The controversial W magazine image features the actress scantily clad in a Balmain leotard looking unusually thin and, apparently, with a chunk of her left thigh and hip missing.
W magazine issued a statement claiming it "did not do anything unusual or out of the ordinary on Demi Moore for the photo."
The problem, say women's health advocates, is that the usual massaging of an image includes significant airbrushing, which often includes making models look thinner than they are.
U.K. Backlash Building
A backlash against digitally-altered images of uber-thin women is building in the United Kingdom, where the Liberal Democrat Party launched the "Real Women" campaign in August. In addition to endorsing an end to gender-based pay discrimination and flexible work scheduling for parents, one of the campaign's goals is to end the use of altered images in advertising aimed at people under 16.
Grefe's National Eating Disorders Association has joined the Real Women campaign, as have academics and health advocates from Brazil, Ireland, Argentina, Spain and Australia.
For those over 16, Real Women seeks to create a set of symbols that reflect the amount an image has been retouched--like a calorie counter or hazard disclaimer--and ensure all advertisers use the symbol system. Campaigners are pushing to get the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Agency and the Committee of Advertising Practice to issue new standards; they hope to see industry monitors in other countries follow suit.
"Today's unrealistic idea of what is beautiful means that young girls are under more pressure now than they were even five years ago," Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat member of parliament from East Dunbartonshire who launched the campaign, said in a recent public statement. "The focus on women's appearance has got out of hand. No one really has perfect skin, perfect hair and a perfect figure, but women and young girls increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do."
In France, parliamentarian Valerie Boyer has initiated legislation to label digitally-altered images.
Advertising Partially Responsible
While advertising alone cannot be blamed for eating disorders or extreme behaviors, women's health advocates say it can contribute to low self-esteem and depression and can trigger even more serious health-related problems among the vulnerable.
"Eating disorders don't usually travel alone and are accompanied by other issues, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive behavior and anxiety," said Grefe. "Add in altered advertising images everywhere and it's a recipe for trouble."
The Real Women campaign also has appeal to those inside the "Health at Every Size" movement, which aims to deemphasize dieting and instead help encourage people to adopt healthier habits for the sake of their well-being.
"As a society we buy into 'truth in advertising' thinking and so advertising should be truthful. They shouldn't have the right to alter what is real," said Dr. Linda Bacon, author of the book "Health at Every Size" and a nutrition professor at City College of San Francisco. "The images put forth in advertising are not based on health and are constantly representing one ideal. People take that singular image to represent beauty and the truth is most people don't have enough defenses to withstand the constant barrage without effect."
Numerous studies have tried to measure the effects of advertising, mass media and consumer culture on body image.
Models Influence Teens' Body Shape
In the United States the body image portrayed as ideal in advertising is natural to only 5 percent of women, while 69 percent of adolescents say magazine models influence their ideas on body shape, according to data compiled by Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.
Research published in 2007 by the Canadian Women's Health Network, with headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba, found that 90 percent of Canadian women are dissatisfied with their appearance and 1 out of every 10 girls and women develop disordered eating habits.
Australian researchers Marika Tiggemann and Levina Clark observed 9 to 12-year-old girls in 2006 in that country and found that nearly half wish to be thinner. As a result, they have engaged in a diet or are aware of the concept of dieting.
In the United States, Grefe said more interest from politicians and legislators might stir public concern about the links between negative body image and health impacts, as well as boost funding, research and treatment for associated medical problems.
But government intervention on digitally-altered images, caution health advocates, isn't a panacea.
"Legislation has its limits. Modeling agencies, photographers and magazines can simply turn around and look for skinnier models," said Bacon. "We need to support people in seeing their beauty. People who feel better about themselves do a better job of taking care of themselves."
Juliette Terzieff is a freelance writer currently based in Tampa, Fla. She has worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, CNN International and the London Sunday Times during time spent in the Balkans, the Middle East and South Asia.
For more information:
Real Women
http://www.libdems.org.uk/siteFiles/resources/PDF/Real%20Women1.pdf
Demi Moore's Hip Photoshopped for W Cover? She says no!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/demi-moores-hip-photoshop_n_364...
Demi says,
Here is the original image people my hips were not touched don't let these people bullshit you!" she tweeted Thursday afternoon, along with an "original image" that matches the cover image. She followed up with several tweets talking about her skinniness and how flattering the shoot was.
Tue, 01/19/2010 - 19:32
#27
Okay, we women now have gooood reason to be fat in our ass and thighs areas. From Yahoo News:
Butt and Thigh Fat Make You Healthy
by Momlogic.com, on Tue Jan 12, 2010 5:20pm PST
Getty Images
Could fat thighs make you live longer?
A new study by researchers at the University of Oxford and Churchill Hospital in the United Kingdom suggests this might be so.
People with fat in their thighs and backsides may live longer because the fat traps harmful fatty particles and actively secretes a helpful compound. The study even calls this fat "protective" against diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions associated with obesity.
"Fat around the hips and thighs is good for you but around the tummy is bad," said Dr. Konstantinos Manolopoulos, one of the researchers.
A big bottom is much better than carrying fat around the waist, which tends to release more harmful fatty acids into the body, the research shows.
Understanding all this could lead to better drugs for treating obesity and related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, say researchers.
Hallelujah!
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/news-flash-butt-and-thigh-fat-make...
Unfortunately, it is hard to lose weight only in one area: waist as opposed to thighs/butt, and many women tend to make cortisol as a result of stress, which increases the amount of fat we carry around our middle.
Mon, 01/25/2010 - 14:10
#28
I heard this from a comedian on tv:
Having sex with a skinny woman is like riding a bicycle on a railroad track. You might get where you want to go but your going to feel every bump along the way...
This may be a little off the subject but I think you get the message. I think most men don't find anorexic woman attractive.
Gay men don't find curves aesthetically appealing. (If they did, they probably wouldn't be gay!)
I still think it's weird to consider a sizes 8, 10 and 12 as plus sizes since you can be within your recommended weight range and still be a size 8, 10 or 12.
Jessica