The following is a reprint of a story we wrote for the Huffington Post in December, 2009. Do you think the fashion industry, magazines and media are doing a better or worse job depicting healthy and realistic body images?
Bring Back the Belly
We have a question for you. Don’t think. Just answer. 
Name the most gorgeous, most sexy woman of all time?
We’ll bet your answer wasn’t Kate Moss or Twiggy. More likely you imagined Marilyn Monroe (sans reefer). Sophia Loren, hair tied back in a scarf, big black glasses. Or, maybe even Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, the glorious Joan, buxom and wide hipped in her pinch waist dress. Ever thought about what dress size these gorgeous women fit into? We’re pretty sure we’re not talking size 0, size 2, even size 4.
Last September model Lizzie Miller made a splash when she appeared in Glamour sporting–gasp!–some belly fat. The celebration that followed (or the extra media attention?) seems to have compelled Glamour to do a feature on more normal-bodied women.
So in November, Glamour featured a bevy of curvy, gorgeous women–again, in an article about body image; not simply as an unacknowledged part of a fashion or beauty spread. And the current issue includes a handful of gushing reader letters, complimenting the forward-thinkingness of the magazine. We’re disappointed that these women didn’t just appear, wordlessly, as part of a fashion photo shoot.
We’ve been wondering why is it that the fashion and magazine industry seems obsessed with making women’s bodies appear skinny to the point of absurdity. Case in point? The Ralph Lauren ad featuring a model whose head is wider than her airbrushed waist. Kind of creepy, no?
Unrealistic presentation of body image is not limited to the States. French Parliamentarian Valerie Boyer wants to make tricky graphic altering illegal: she proposes legislation mandating that photoshopped pics contain a disclosure: “Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person.” Violators could be fined thousands and thousands of dollars!
Look at Michelle Obama. She’s gorgeous. Not since Jackie Kennedy have we had such a beacon of fashion to aspire to. An entire section of the Huffington Post is devoted to her style. French Elle just voted her “best-dressed: politique chic” (beating out the French First Lady). Yet fashion designers are not making sample sizes for shoots in Mrs. Obama’s size, are they?
Girls growing up today have enough pressure without these unrealistic and unhealthy images of scarecrows. Us gals at Bitches on a Budget have had enough.
We say bring back the belly. Quick.
2 comments
EchoParkLady says:
Mar 3, 2011
I was alway’s heavy as a kid. my mom had me on diets from age 7. I’ve never worn a bikini, my Highest weight was 265. I’ve lost 65 pounds. Still fell 265. Don’t like the way men stare at me, like a piece of meat. I’m still heavy at 200 LBS. I’m big boned and can were a size 16-14 sometime after wearing size 24 for years. Embarrashed my arms swing back and forth like bells, so I joke about my bells. I see a great reson to Accessorize.
Mars says:
Mar 3, 2011
Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, not just voluptuous or skinny. You know, I can’t stand these one sided arguments. “you’re only beautiful if you have a full figure! skinny women are gross!” “you’re only beautiful if you’re skinny, thicker women are gross!” Why don’t we stop equating beauty to just the physical appearance of a woman. Women are not just hips, ass, and breasts. What about women with no hips and no butt, no “figure” to speak of? Are they less feminine? Less attractive? What if it is in her genetics to have narrow hips? It’s too bad the world doesn’t THINK or work in a way that just quits objectifying a woman’s body and quit making it a major topic of discussion.