Plus sized models inside Sports Illustrated

[josie_L]

I’m really interested in hearing what you have to say, I’m quite ecstatic about this because I’m considered plus size being that I’m size 10 sometimes size 8 (yes, size 8 is considered plus size).

Here’s Ashley Grant, a plus sized model who posed for an ad in Sports Illustrated talking to CNN (she says curves are here to stay and not a trend):

cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/02/05/orig-plus-size-sports-illustrated-graham-cm.cnn/video/playlists/models-and-fashtion/

So what do you think about having size 8-22 plus size models in adverts and on the fashion runway?

 

[josie_L]

Hmmm, I thought this would attract a crowd of people who were interested in the possible reversal of aesthetic trends, i.e., no more model waifs paraded as an ideal body type to the younger generations of this world.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Size 8? Sure. Size 22? Nope.

I say this as someone who was a size 14-16 at her peak, but worked it off her first year of college and kept it off ever since: Obesity is a major problem and not something that we should be working to normalize. Period.

It is physically uncomfortable to be overweight. Being overweight causes numerous health problems, and every year researchers are discovering more risks associated with excess body weight. It is VERY hard to lose weight, and it’s even harder to keep it off. I am approaching my 10 year mark, and I still have to work to keep myself in check when it comes to food, and I still weigh myself weekly so that I can catch any weight gain before it becomes noticeable or a problem.

I understand that especially in today’s culture, there will always be a subset of people that is overweight, either due to ignorance, economic issues, or just complacency. Of course there should be plus size clothing stores, and of course plus size people should have clothing and seating options made available to them without ridicule or humiliation. But it shouldn’t be glamorized.

*****Nothing in this post should be construed to mean that I support insane, airbrushed, twig-like standards of beauty. Just that the opposite extreme doesn’t need to be put on a pedestal either. If we are going to talk about showing “healthy” bodies or promoting “healthy” self-image, then let’s really focus on HEALTH.

 

[RyanBlack]

there will always be a subset of people that is overweight, either due to ignorance, economic issues, or just complacency.

Among other reasons, some of which have little or nothing to do with ignorance, economic issues, or complacency.

 

[josie_L]

Size 8? Sure. Size 22? Nope.

I say this as someone who was a size 14-16 at her peak, but worked it off her first year of college and kept it off ever since: Obesity is a major problem and not something that we should be working to normalize. Period.

It is physically uncomfortable to be overweight. Being overweight causes numerous health problems, and every year researchers are discovering more risks associated with excess body weight. It is VERY hard to lose weight, and it’s even harder to keep it off. I am approaching my 10 year mark, and I still have to work to keep myself in check when it comes to food, and I still weigh myself weekly so that I can catch any weight gain before it becomes noticeable or a problem.

I understand that especially in today’s culture, there will always be a subset of people that is overweight, either due to ignorance, economic issues, or just complacency. Of course there should be plus size clothing stores, and of course plus size people should have clothing and seating options made available to them without ridicule or humiliation. But it shouldn’t be glamorized.

*****Nothing in this post should be construed to mean that I support insane, airbrushed, twig-like standards of beauty. Just that the opposite extreme doesn’t need to be put on a pedestal either. If we are going to talk about showing “healthy” bodies or promoting “healthy” self-image, then let’s really focus on HEALTH.

Is it healthy to be a size 0 or 2 (which is what is advocated by the fashion industry), i.e., I understand your qualms of being overweight, but overweight can mean anything from 10 to 100 pounds overweight, and what of being underweight, i.e., maybe there can be some middle ground we can stipulate as a model type for women? I don’t think that being a size 12 is worse off than being a size 2, the point is whether one is eating in a healthy manner and living a good lifestyle for the body type they’ve to some extent been born with.

Are you aware of who Ashley Grant is, and do you consider her fat or overweight enough that she would be classified as an unhealthy example to the younger generations?

 

[Tablefor9]

Size 8 PLUS SIZE??? This ought to tell us, right here, that people have lost their collective minds. This is a NORMAL, MEDIUM SIZED woman, and isn’t obese by any stretch…unless you’re part of the proanorexia movement. This kind of thinking is what screws with girls’ heads! I remember being a size 6 and thinking I was FAT, because most of my friends were a little smaller or built on the junior scale.

 

[josie_L]

Among other reasons, some of which have little or nothing to do with ignorance, economic issues, or complacency.

True.

I’m overweight but I’m not fat (size 10 sometimes size 8), however, due to the extra weight I would never be considered an ideal model in the fashion industry no matter how pretty I was. And this is what bothers me most about the current fashion industry, i.e., the impossible standards placed on women (and some men) to be skinny.

 

[josie_L]

Size 8 PLUS SIZE??? This ought to tell us, right here, that people have lost their collective minds. This is a NORMAL, MEDIUM SIZED woman, and isn’t obese by any stretch…unless you’re part of the proanorexia movement. This kind of thinking is what screws with girls’ heads! I remember being a size 6 and thinking I was FAT, because most of my friends were a little smaller or built on the junior scale.

Exactly. I used to be a size 6 too, and at the time I thought I still could stand to lose a few pounds because I thought I still wasn’t aesthetically proportioned enough (skinner thighs and butt).

 

[Sarcelle]

Size 8? Sure. Size 22? Nope.

I say this as someone who was a size 14-16 at her peak, but worked it off her first year of college and kept it off ever since: Obesity is a major problem and not something that we should be working to normalize. Period.

It is physically uncomfortable to be overweight. Being overweight causes numerous health problems, and every year researchers are discovering more risks associated with excess body weight. It is VERY hard to lose weight, and it’s even harder to keep it off. I am approaching my 10 year mark, and I still have to work to keep myself in check when it comes to food, and I still weigh myself weekly so that I can catch any weight gain before it becomes noticeable or a problem.

I understand that especially in today’s culture, there will always be a subset of people that is overweight, either due to ignorance, economic issues, or just complacency. Of course there should be plus size clothing stores, and of course plus size people should have clothing and seating options made available to them without ridicule or humiliation. But it shouldn’t be glamorized.

*****Nothing in this post should be construed to mean that I support insane, airbrushed, twig-like standards of beauty. Just that the opposite extreme doesn’t need to be put on a pedestal either. If we are going to talk about showing “healthy” bodies or promoting “healthy” self-image, then let’s really focus on HEALTH.

I agree. Health is the foundation of beauty. There will always be outliers among healthy people. Some will be skinnier than average and some will be heavier than average. Depends on the build.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

Is it healthy to be a size 0 or 2 (which is what is advocated by the fashion industry), i.e., I understand your qualms of being overweight, but overweight can mean anything from 10 to 100 pounds overweight, and what of being underweight, i.e., maybe there can be some middle ground we can stipulate as a model type for women? I don’t think that being a size 12 is worse off than being a size 2, the point is whether one is eating in a healthy manner and living a good lifestyle for the body type they’ve to some extent been born with.

Are you aware of who Ashley Grant is, and do you consider her fat or overweight enough that she would be classified as an unhealthy example to the younger generations?

I guess you decided that you were offended and stopped reading before you finished my post. I did make it clear that it is equally irresponsible to glamorize underweight models. And when it comes to sizes, a lot depends on height. If you’re 5’2 and a size 12, you’re overweight and probably by a significant amount. If you’re 5’10 and a size 12, you may be much thinner just due to the silly way that clothes are cut. Sizes, much like BMI, are an imperfect indicator of weight and health.

And even within healthy weights, there are a lot of different body types. Some more lean, some curvy, some muscular, some apple shaped, etc. I’m not saying that everyone should look alike.

I don’t think that there should be hard size or BMI limit on models. But I do think that society should really frown on trying to normalize what is usually and unhealthy lifestyle choice. (Yes, some people have meds, health problems, etc that make them overweight, but the vast bulk do not.) You can tell by looking if someone is overweight or not, and I’m really against overweight models, regardless of whether they’re a size 4 or 14, being glamorized in mainstream publications.

 

[mafh]

I understand that especially in today’s culture, there will always be a subset of people that is overweight, either due to ignorance, economic issues, or just complacency. Of course there should be plus size clothing stores, and of course plus size people should have clothing and seating options made available to them without ridicule or humiliation. But it shouldn’t be glamorized.
.

I haven’t posted on this site in years, but I feel I have to respond to this. I wish that I could dress you up in a fat suit for a few weeks so that you could better understand the social stigma that goes along with being a size 22. Seeing large ladies in the media isn’t glamorizing being fat, it is a step towards correcting the massively negative messages larger people get daily about issues totally unrelated to health - the belief that fat folks are ugly, lazy, complacent (as you say), ignorant (as you say), etc. Really, these statements read like they come from a list of fat stereotypes.

Of course it is not healthful to be too fat, but neither is it good for you to be too thin, tanned, or wear stiletto heels, and nobody criticizes magazines for depicting this in the swimsuit edition. The swimsuit edition is not about health, it is about sex. Sexy people come in all shapes and sizes – if they didn’t, then fat folks would never find marriage partners. Including a wider selection of body types in the magazine sends a positive message that beauty doesn’t need to conform to a narrowly defined type. I think this is a helpful statement in a society where women (of all shapes and sizes) tend to be almost pathologically insecure about their appearance.

 

[GaryTaylor]

This is like the Kit Kat commercial, there’s nothing you could say right here.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

I haven’t posted on this site in years, but I feel I have to respond to this. I wish that I could dress you up in a fat suit for a few weeks so that you could better understand the social stigma that goes along with being a size 22. Seeing large ladies in the media isn’t glamorizing being fat, it is a step towards correcting the massively negative messages larger people get daily about issues totally unrelated to health - the belief that fat folks are ugly, lazy, complacent (as you say), ignorant (as you say), etc. Really, these statements read like they come from a list of fat stereotypes.

Of course it is not healthful to be too fat, but neither is it good for you to be too thin, tanned, or wear stiletto heels, and nobody criticizes magazines for depicting this in the swimsuit edition. The swimsuit edition is not about health, it is about sex. Sexy people come in all shapes and sizes – if they didn’t, then fat folks would never find marriage partners. Including a wider selection of body types in the magazine sends a positive message that beauty doesn’t need to conform to a narrowly defined type. I think this is a helpful statement in a society where women (of all shapes and sizes) tend to be almost pathologically insecure about their appearance.

I HAVE worn that fat suit. I understand the stigma all too well. And that’s why I am totally and completely against telling people (women in particular) that it is ok to be fat and it is society that needs to change. That just isn’t the case.

No amount of heavy models in SI is going to make the fat kid any less rejected by their peers. It just isn’t. There is no plus size model quota to dry a fat girl’s tears when her crush laughs at her for asking him to the dance. Seeing women her size in magazines is not going to make that size 22 be able to physically keep with their lighter friends, family members, and love interests.

Putting pretty, airbrushed, large-but-perfectly-proportional women in magazines will not change what men consider attractive. It won’t even change what other women consider attractive when seeking out female friends. It won’t make physical activity easier, and it won’t make anyone’s life longer or healthier. It just gives overweight people something to point to to make themselves feel better.

 

[Sarcelle]

I guess you decided that you were offended and stopped reading before you finished my post. I did make it clear that it is equally irresponsible to glamorize underweight models. And when it comes to sizes, a lot depends on height. If you’re 5’2 and a size 12, you’re overweight and probably by a significant amount. If you’re 5’10 and a size 12, you may be much thinner just due to the silly way that clothes are cut. Sizes, much like BMI, are an imperfect indicator of weight and health.

And even within healthy weights, there are a lot of different body types. Some more lean, some curvy, some muscular, some apple shaped, etc. I’m not saying that everyone should look alike.

I don’t think that there should be hard size or BMI limit on models. But I do think that society should really frown on trying to normalize what is usually and unhealthy lifestyle choice. (Yes, some people have meds, health problems, etc that make them overweight, but the vast bulk do not.) You can tell by looking if someone is overweight or not, and I’m really against overweight models, regardless of whether they’re a size 4 or 14, being glamorized in mainstream publications.

I doubt that fat people are being glamorized in popular media. If anything, they are stigmatized.

With all the hoopla people make on being nonjudgmental, it seems like fat people are still fair game for snap judgments on their moral character. Fatness is like modern society’s mortal sin.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

I doubt that fat people are being glamorized in popular media. If anything, they are stigmatized.

With all the hoopla people make on being nonjudgmental, it seems like fat people are still fair game for snap judgments on their moral character. Fatness is like modern society’s mortal sin.

There was an interesting study done a few years ago that showed that fat women were seen as lazy, loud, nurturing, loving, and good-humored. Thin women were seen as active, hard working, smart, rude, and cold. There were pros and cons to each.

I definitely see fatness as being pushed more and more in the media in recent years, and even if it hasn’t broken through completely yet, there are incessant attempts at making fat people more “visible” or “acceptable” or promoting “beauty at any size” stuff. I totally appreciate that there are people who are trying to make the world more tolerant and accepting of everyone, and I don’t think that fat people should ever be subjected to ridicule, shame, mocking, exclusion, etc. But, it just isn’t helpful to push an unhealthy image onto the public, try to convince people to find that image attractive, and sweep an enormous public health issue under the rug.

 

[josie_L]

I guess you decided that you were offended and stopped reading before you finished my post.

Actually, no I wasn’t offended, in fact, I agreed with much of what you said, but there many things that were unsaid, in my opinion.

I did make it clear that it is equally irresponsible to glamorize underweight models. And when it comes to sizes, a lot depends on height. If you’re 5’2 and a size 12, you’re overweight and probably by a significant amount. If you’re 5’10 and a size 12, you may be much thinner just due to the silly way that clothes are cut. Sizes, much like BMI, are an imperfect indicator of weight and health.

And even within healthy weights, there are a lot of different body types. Some more lean, some curvy, some muscular, some apple shaped, etc. I’m not saying that everyone should look alike.

I don’t think that there should be hard size or BMI limit on models. But I do think that society should really frown on trying to normalize what is usually and unhealthy lifestyle choice. (Yes, some people have meds, health problems, etc that make them overweight, but the vast bulk do not.) You can tell by looking if someone is overweight or not, and I’m really against overweight models, regardless of whether they’re a size 4 or 14, being glamorized in mainstream publications.

Well, you see that’s where we disagree to an extent, I don’t think there’s anything per se wrong with being overweight, although that is dependent upon the degree to which one is overweight. I do see, however, Ashley Graham and other curvier girls (not necessarily fat) who are being noticed by the Fashion industry as a positive in our society, especially in light of what the current industry purports to be an ideal body type. Moreover, a person can be of an ideal weight, but due to the STRESS of maintaining that weight may be more unhealthy or at risk for disease than someone who isn’t necessarily watching everything they eat (stress plays an important role in our overall health).

 

[josie_L]

Putting pretty, airbrushed, large-but-perfectly-proportional women in magazines will not change what men consider attractive. It won’t even change what other women consider attractive when seeking out female friends. It won’t make physical activity easier, and it won’t make anyone’s life longer or healthier. It just gives overweight people something to point to to make themselves feel better.

That’s not true, i.e., we know that beauty standards have changed over the course of a millennia, so I don’t see why that should stop now.

 

[josie_L]

This is like the Kit Kat commercial, there’s nothing you could say right here.

Oh, come on, you’re more courageous than that.

 

[mafh]

I HAVE worn that fat suit. I understand the stigma all too well.

Being a size 12-14 isn’t really wearing a fat suit – that’s about the average size for a woman in the US now. The discrimination doesn’t really start to kick in until you’re at the 90th percentile, which is probably around size 20-22. So, I’m not sure your personal experience is really typical of a truly fat person.

I’m 5’5 and a size 22. I was a size 12-14 in high school. By your standards, even the high school weight is fat, but my dietician thinks it’s unrealistic for me to ever be that small again. She thinks a size 16 would be about right. I come from a family with a long history of being fatties, but oddly enough, most of them are also long-lived. I just have an efficient metabolism optimized for famine, I suppose.

Anyway, the point is that what is healthy and right for me is entirely a matter between myself, my doctor, and my dietician. It is not for you or anyone else to pronounce judgement in my health, no matter what my appearance. To do so is social stigma, nothing more.

 

[GaryTaylor]

Oh, come on, you’re more courageous than that.

I thought the anorexic drug induced size 2 look lost favor?? That might not be healthy at all.