I turned 40 in 2011 and my goal was to rededicate myself to balance. I’m a size 12 and I decided that I wanted to be strong, really strong. Ironically, I was inspired by watching bad American television and seeing so many buff male bodies. Why I was inspired by the muscular physique of men, I have no idea. Freud might know, but I don’t actually care. Over the past nine and a half months, I have built quite a bit of muscle. I haven’t changed my eating and I haven’t lost any weight. I just wanted to be strong. My trainer says I can lift more weight on a romanian dead lift than most men – even perhaps him and he’s buff like my American actor friends. Part of it is my flexibility. It’s not an easy exercise for the inflexible. But, whatever the reason my progress is great and I’m not focused on external results. I feel strong. I can run 10Km. And, I’m only going forward.
And, this is precisely why I’m so fired up by the response to the recent photo shoot instigated by Plus Model Magazine and featuring Katya Zharkova.
The plus sized modelling industry is relatively new – 1990s. Why there has to be a separate industry for models wearing clothing sizes above 10, I don’t know. Is it new because it’s driven by capitalism and designers are greedy for more clients? Is it new because women are lazy, getting fat and want to assert their completely unhealthy bodies? Or, is it new because the average clothing size and model is 23% smaller than she was 20 years ago, when she was only 8% smaller and not all women are actually this small? Have we forgotten that one of the iconic beauties in West was a size 12? Nobody said that Marilyn was plus sized.
According to Wikipedia plus size modeling has received criticism. Some commentators believe that plus-size models may be setting a bad example to women on how they should look. They believe that promoting large models may lead to women believing that having an unhealthy lifestyle is acceptable. I’m wondering why the general public is jumping to the conclusion that someone who is ‘overweight’ is unhealthy when the wide-spread image of women is represented by models who may very well have the BMI of an Anorexic person. It is possible to have two women side by side, one a size 12 and once a size 0 and both are healthy.
It’s 2012. Let’s start judging health on something other than body shape, size and weight.
And now, I’ll stop my rant because it’s time for my Sunday 10K.
Further Reading:
‘Most runway models meet the BMI criteria for anorexia’, claims plus-size magazine in powerful comment on body image in the fashion industry. Mail Online
To see all the photos from this shoot, visit Plus Model Magazine
Photo Credits:
Plus Model Magazine
Thanks Juliet! I agree, the central problem is in the whole idea of an ‘ideal.’ I think I’ve become stronger by staying at it and not beating myself up when I don’t run or go to the gym or whatever. Life is too short to get your panties in a twist if you don’t work out 5 times a week. But, by always coming back to it, I’m slowly making progress. And, no, I haven’t written about it. Probably because I’ve always considered myself athletically challenged. So, who am I to write about it. I’m not sure what I would write anyway. I’ll think about it though…. 🙂 Cheers!
Hi Christie,
What strikes me the most about this subject is that people come across as thinking there is only one way to be, size-wise. It’s like we’re arguing for an ideal that will never be unanimously accepted by all because we are all different and have different perceptions of health. No matter what size one is, a 10 like me or a 0, it’s wrong and promoting unhealthiness. I feel like the standards of health need to be based on other things like you said.
I liked what you said about getting strong. This year I turn 40 and one of my goals is to be stronger. How did you do it? Have you written about it?
Great article!
Juliet
Thanks for reading, Tess!
Here’s hoping the photo spread will do for full bodied women what’s Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHqzlxGGJFo) did to dispel the illusion of loveliness.
Thanks for the insight, Christine, and good luck in the 10K!