We Have To Shut Up about Plus-Size Models

The hottest topic within fashion-land at the minute is without a doubt, plus-size models. There is, after all, no better way to begin a fraught conversation amongst women than body shapes and diets.

I sincerely doubt this is a dialogue that will die out but just when I begin to get tired of the same old arguments, someone chucks in a new one.

This 7 days I encountered Amy Odell's article "Where Are All the Plus-Size Male Models?" within New York Magazine and Sophie Caldecott's "Andrej Pejic: A wolf in sheep's clothing" on blog Style and then Some, debating the genderless model's effect on our self-esteem. The arguments appear to be snowballing.

My personal opinion has always been that ‘normal' people were never meant to appearance enjoy models, that's the selling point of them. They are beautiful, mythical creatures and of course it would be lovely to be one of them, but people doesn't ask me to. It merely requires that I swoon over them and buy into it. Andrej Pejic is incredibly gorgeous but I don't know any women who would put their hand up to wanting to appearance like a man who looks enjoy a woman.

However, when I speak to my friends (or the size 8 girl within the queue at Fashion Week who said she wanted to meet Kate Moss and be as skinny as her) I realise women do buy in to it as an ideal for themselves. Perhaps there is some responsibility to be hosted by the fashion industry but who exactly should take the blame?

Is it a) the designers b) the press or c) the consumers? Answers on a postcard please.

One of my friends, a former anorexia sufferer, was outraged that I was struggling with a model, a healthy size 12, being too huge and it was doubtful any of the designers' clothing would fit them. At no point did I say she was unattractive and yet that was the assumption she jumped to.

The fact is, I had to explain, it is cheaper for designers to make up sample sizes clothing within a small size and it's easier to fit a smaller girl within to a bigger dress than the other way round.

A male friend who does beginner modelling seemed to be sitting on the fence about the issue, I have to imagine enjoy numerous men. While he agreed that young men are becoming increasingly pressured to look good, he stumbled over the question of where that pressure was coming since. It seems enjoy a minor argument to me as there are far more old, bald and chubby men in the spotlight than women.

Maybe it's just easier to blame someone else for our insecurities. I don't agree that we should just sit back when we think something is wrong within this incredibly powerful industry but perhaps, for now, while we try and figure out where we stand, we should just shut up.

Source: Articlesbase.com