Plus Size Model and Swimsuit Model- Who is more beautiful?

     I did a study to prove society's standards of beauty are twisted. I showed 10 different people a picture of a thin model and one of a plus size model and asked which one they thought was more beautiful. Every single one of them said the thinner one was more attractive. Every time I asked why, they responded that the swimsuit model was prettier because she was slender. Since when does being skinny automatically make you prettier?
     Media has altered our perception of beauty and will continue to do so.  The trend towards acceptance of one's body as it is, and improving it through natural methods like exercise and proper nutrition needs to be the focus of more media attention. Some strides have been taken in that direction with programs like Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and educational programs that target young girls early and teach them about positive body image. More effort must be made to encourage people to see the whole person. The old cliche," You can't judge a book by its cover." applies to people, too. If we allow the media to continue manipulating our perception of beauty we miss all the real beauty in people.

Kirstie Alley- Hot to Not

     One of the most talked about celebrity weight gainers is Kirstie Alley. The former babe from "Look Who's Talking" and the TV show Cheers has become one of the most talked about celebrities and not because of her acting. She's known for her drastic weight fluctuations. She became the spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, a weight loss program, for three years. During her stint with Jenny Craig, she lost 75 pounds and trimmed down to 145 pounds. After she left the program in 2007, she stopped working out and went back to her old diet consisting of Chinese takeout and pasta drenched in butter. The former star gained all the weight back that she had worked so hard to lose. She admitted to People magazine that she is self conscious and when she's over weight she will not go out. Whenever Kirstie was on the cover of a magazine, the article inside addressed her weight. The media ridiculed the celebrity for letting herself go. The paparazzi would call her "fat ass" just to get a reaction picture. She is currently a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars". She had told  reporters she was  planning to lose weight before the show. But do people actually believe her? Coming from a woman whose had two major weight gains, the thought of losing more weight is seen as a joke and is questioned by many.
     The media focused so much on her body image that society forgot about their favorite character from Cheers. Does this affect how women who are Kirstie's size feel about themselves? My guess is yes! No one wants to be ridiculed and made the "butt" of jokes because of their weight. 
    
Leonard, E. (2009, May 8). Kirstie alley: 'yes, i gained 83 pounds'. People, Retrieved from http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20276768,00.html

Plus Size Modeling and Embracing Curves

 

     Although some people battle with their weight to stay thin, some people embrace the body they have and don't care what society says. Plus size modeling is making a breakthrough. Everything from plus size agencies to magazines, like PLUS Model Magazine have emerged. There's even a Full Figure Fashion Week that accepts applications from plus size models. There is a slow transformation taking place in society embracing curves and encouraging  women to love the way they are, but will this just be a fad that is soon washed away and never heard of again?
     V Magazine decided to dedicate a whole issue to plus size models. One model even posed with nothing but heels and lipstick on. Fashion photographer, Solve Sundsbo, said, " I loved the opportunity to show that you can be beautiful and sexy outside the narrow interpretations that normally define us." His photographs consist of girls flaunting their full thighs, stomach rolls and love handles without a single touch up or airbrush. Are other magazines going to follow the lead of V Magazine and start using plus size models? Either way it's  slow progress toward accepting more varied body shapes.
      Who doesn't watch America's Next Top Model or at least hear of it? Well, for seasons and seasons Tyra Banks choose stick thin girls as the winners of the contract and fame. It wasn't until cycle 10 of America's Next Top Model that something out of the ordinary happened. Whitney Thompson, a plus size model, won the contract and the title of America's Next Top Model. It was shocking to America that Banks picked a plus size model, but Banks too had suffered with body image and understood society's distorted perception of beauty. The press ridiculed her when she gained 30 pounds and was spotted on the beach in a one piece bathing suit. She quickly came to defense on The Tyra Banks Show saying, "To all of you who have something nasty to say to me or to women built like me, I have one thing to say to you: Kiss my fat a**!" Tyra Banks is so committed to making a change and introducing the acceptance of body diversity that she is starting a new model competition focusing on plus size teens. Girls between the ages of 13 and 19 who are between dress sizes 12 and 20 and height of 5'9 and 6'1 are invited to enter.
     Tyra along with others are moving towards a new definition of beauty. Will it work? Will society accept plus size models? I think accepting plus size models are great, but I don't think it will have a lasting impact on  society's current standards. I think plus size modeling will crumble within a few years and go back to how it used to be. Plus size girls could only dream of becoming models. We live in a world that is judgmental and cruel, and many are conditioned to an unreal vision of what beauty truly is.



Barenaked ladies: america's next top model's plus- size winner displays her cruves for campaign to beat eating disorders. (2010, August 24). Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1305494/Americas-Next-Top-Model-plus-size-winner-flaunts-curves-naked-ad-campaign.html

Abraham , T. (2010, January 5). Curves ahead! the plus-size models that prove fashion is finally ready to embrace larger women. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1240720/Curves-ahead-The-plus-size-models-prove-fashion-finally-ready-embrace-larger-women.html

Celebrities and Eating Disorders

Posh Spice

     Many celebrities battle with their weight to fit the social standards of beauty. Celebrities are under more pressure because they are constantly being watched. Paparazzi target celebs and often photograph them in unflattering situations. Celebrities are made  fun of when they gain weight. When Britney Spears gained some weight, she was smack on the front cover of magazines with her belly sticking out. Celebrities will do anything to look good for their fans, even if it means resorting to bad eating habits.
     There are many celebrities who have developed  eating disorders and have gone to rehab seeking help. Paula Abdul battled bulimia and checked herself into a clinic in 1994. She, like many other dancers, had to battle with their body to stay thin. Victoria Beckham, known as Posh Spice, also struggled with an eating disorder. She admitted to being very obsessed with her weight. She was under a lot of pressure from her managers to lose weight and stay thin for the her public image. Even Princess Diana struggled with an eating disorder. Pop singer Lady Gaga struggled with bulimia at the beginning of her career and shared her story  with the world in her Vanity Fair interview. All these celebrities have one thing in common.  They all had self-esteem issues brought on by the importance of maintaining a "certain" image and resorted to unhealthy eating habits to maintain their appearance.
    If all these celebrities are dealing with eating disorders, what does this tell us about our society?  Celebrities are crumbling under the pressure to meet America's standard of beauty. These same people are being held up to American women as ideals of beauty. Are celebrities really good role models for young girls? It's shocking that so many celebrities have suffered from eating disorders, and those celebrities are the people that women look up to for a model of what their own bodies should resemble. Our perception of beauty is so distorted, that we don't even know what beauty really is.

Definitions of Beauty

 

     The definition of  beauty has changed over the past decades. Beauty in the 20th century, when referring to human physical beauty, are nearly always constructed in terms of outward appearance and sexual attractiveness (Wood). No one seems to refer to inner beauty anymore. When someone is referring to someone as beautiful they are usually referring to the person's physical appearance not their inner self. In Beauty In History, Arthus Marwick defines  human physical beauty in more direct terms: " The beautiful are those who are immediately exciting to almost all of the opposite sex." In past decades cosmetics would be frowned upon and often related to prostitution, but now cosmetics are used by almost every girl and woman to enhance their beauty. The cosmetic industry, along with the diet industry, began to grow because of the new definition of beauty. From puberty onwards, girls use cosmetics to make themselves look older and to attract older boys (Wood). Advertising helps reinforce people's attitudes towards women and beauty. Ads of young women looking flawless with the help of makeup are in every magazine. Celebrities and models are used to advertise products because the positive association with the celebrity or model will transfer to the product. This makes women and young girls want to buy the products because they want to look just as beautiful as the person in the ad. The escalating growth of the fashion, cosmetics, and cosmetic surgery industries is a testament to Western society's obsession with being beautiful (Wood). 


Wood, L. . (n.d.). Perceptions of female beauty . Retrieved from http://barneygrant.tripod.com/p-erceptions.htm

Media and the Rise of Plastic Surgery

 

     According to the graph above the popularity of cosmetic surgery among ordinary people has continued to increase during the past ten years. Thousands of people around the world undergo plastic surgery every year. The most popular operations include breast reduction and augmentation, liposuction, wrinkle removal, chin reduction, cheekbone implants and lip augmentation. In Asian countries, women have their eyes reshaped to resemble a more western look. There are even women who chose to have their feet “mangled” so their toes will fit in the fashionable shoes. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery website states, “The media has played a major role in the prominence of cosmetic surgery. Stories of celebrities having treatments and the multitude of advertisements have made the idea of having a cosmetic procedure more common place”. David Wilkes writes,“ The trend, inspired by Sarah Jessica Parker tottering across television screens as Manolo Blahnik-loving Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, has led to more and more ladies in Los Angeles having foot surgery – often purely for appearance’s sake.” Where will this end? When will women accept the body they have and work to make it healthy and fit rather than undergoing painful procedures and spending thousands of dollars to become someone else?


Facial plastic surgery today. (2008). 22(1), Retrieved from http://www.aafprs.org/patient/fps_today/vol22/04/pg1.html 

The Boom of the Diet Industry

     According to Business Exchange, Americans spend an estimated $40 million a year on weight loss programs and products. People are taking any measure to loose weight even if it comes in pill form. Diets have become more and more popular as Americans struggle to achieve the "perfect" weight. Approximately 7 percent of American adults use over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss supplements, with the highest percent of users being young women, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. 
     It all began when a new wave of image consciousness hit America. In the 1950s, doctors began prescribing diet pills containing amphetamines to patients who wanted to lose weight (Provenzano, 2010). Substance abuse led doctors to discontinue prescriptions 10 years later. Ayds became popular during the 1970s and 1980s but soon disappeared. Losing weight and being fit became the new fad. People started becoming obsessed with weight loss and diet companies began to boom. Weight loss supplements ranged from "magic bullets" to subtle weight- loss aids.
     After 5 decades, the weight loss industry continues to grow rapidly (Provenzano, 2010). Supplements can be purchased online or in supermarkets. They are everywhere! You can even get supplements without a prescription. The diet industry made it easy and cheap to get their products. There is also a rise in herbal products, like Herbalife, that contain natural fat burners. Energy boosters and appetite suppressants have also made their own mark in the weight loss frenzy. Energy boosters, like 5 Hour Energy for example, help people gain energy to go work out and not be lazy. In actuality, they are usually just a high dose of caffeine that over stimulates the person drinking them.    
     I know a lot of people personally that have tried many different diets from Atkins to Slim Fast to Medifast. They may not all have the same effects or results as people want, but they all have the same general purpose. Get thin as fast and as easily as possible. People are getting lazier and lazier and depend on diet supplements and unhealthy diet fads to lose weight instead doing it in a more natural way. Many don't stop to think about how long it took to gain the weight and what behaviors caused it. We live in a society where people dream of being skinny and will do almost anything to get just that even if it's harmful to them.





Provenzano, J. (2010, June 11). The growth of the weight loss manufacturing industry. Retrieved from http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/2010/06/the-growth-of-the-weight-loss-manufacturing-industry.aspx

Models Then and Now

Jane Russell

Elizabeth Taylor

 

Marilyn Monroe

     The ideal image of a beautiful woman has changed a great deal since the sixties. These starlets were curvaceous and would not be considered acceptable candidates in the advertising industry by today’s standards. Their beauty was more natural than that portrayed in fashion advertising today. Today modeling is all about being thin and tall.

Anorexia, Media, and It's Affect on Women

     Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. It's usually associated with distorted body image. People who are anorexic usually deny themselves food or only allow themselves small portions of food when they are hungry. They monitor their weight constantly and never feel satisfied with the scale. They consider themselves fat and just want to loose more and more weight. According to South Carolina Department of Mental Health, it is estimated that 8 million Americans have an eating disorder – seven million women and one million men. Which means 1 of every 200 women suffers from anorexia or other eating disorder. People don't realize that anorexia is a disorder that is killing people.

     According to Wikipedia, the average caloric intake of a person with anorexia nervosa is 600-800 calories per day,but the FDA recommends that women eat between 1500 to 2000 calories a day, depending on activity, height, weight and the health of the woman. Anorexic women are malnourished and are often weak. People with anorexia also take diet pills and laxatives to maintain their weight. Anorexics may even go through depression because they are not happy with their weight. 

      Does media share the blame for society's artificial standard of beauty? We know the cause of anorexia can be biological, but is there a link with media too? Sociocultural studies have highlighted the role of cultural factors, such as the promotion of thinness as the ideal female form in Western industrialized nations, particularly through the media. Girls are surrounded by such media on a daily basis. Celebrities and models are everywhere from the cover of magazines to billboards to commercials. Girls can't help but compare themselves to the thin models and celebrities they see. I mean, they are the ones on the cover of the magazine right? They must be considered beautiful to be placed on the cover for millions of people to see. A report by the Media Awareness Network states that "over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in 20 are above average in size. Heavier actresses tend to receive negative comments from male characters about their bodies ("How about wearing a sack?"), and 80% of these negative comments are followed by canned audience laughter." Young girls and women are pressured to keep up with societies perception of beauty, or they feel they will be laughed at just like the heavier actresses are on their favorite TV shows. Girls are so consumed with the idea of being "perfect" that weight loss and being skinny becomes an obsession.

Dove Evolution- The Campaign for Real Beauty

     Dove decided to make a difference with their Campaign for Real Beauty. Their goal was to let girls and women know that they are beautiful and to not allow the media to impact their perception of a positive self image. Dove wanted to raise self-esteem and awareness of what beauty really is. The Dove Evolution ad showed what advertisers do with photo shop to an average girl to make her "beautiful" to societies norms. They lift her eye brows, elongate her neck, and change pretty much everything on her face. The transformation is drastic. People are unaware when looking at this advertisement that she is not a real person, and her looks are computer generated.
      Dove wanted to transform the idea of beauty in young girls' and women's minds. On their website, they have tips on improving self-esteem and self confidence. You can even get your own self esteem certificate by taking a quiz. They also give mothers and mentors advice through workshops, guides, and discussion boards.  This allows mothers to share their views on the topic of self-esteem. Dove wants mothers and daughters (girls) to help participate in reversing the downfall of self- esteem. They highlight key statistics to make everyone aware that this is a huge epidemic that needs to be stopped:

• Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school, and relationships with friends and family members. 

• 75% of girls with low self- esteem reported engaging in negative activities, such as disordered eating, cutting, bullying, smoking, or drinking when feeling badly about themselves.

• 57% of all girls have a mother who criticizes her own looks. 

• More than one-third of girls with low esteem believe that they are not a good enough daughter

      I think Dove's campaign is a great way to make mothers and children aware of societies perception of beauty. Today, media is filled with skinny, tall women and not many average sized women. You rarely see plus size women on the covers of magazines unless the story is about how much weight they've lost. Hopefully, this campaign will help lead the transition to higher self- esteem in girls and change societies views on what is "beautiful".

Media and Body Image

"We don't need Afghan-style burquas to disappear as women. We disappear in reverse- by revamping and revealing out bodies to meet externally imposed visions of female beauty."
- Robin Gerber, author and motivational speaker 


     Nowadays, women's bodies are selling everything from clothes to cars and beer. Women's bodies are seen as sex objects, and women's magazines are even telling women if they lose 20 pounds, they will have a better sex life, better marriage, more loving children, and a more rewarding career ("Beauty and body,"). Body image is becoming a big part of women's lives, and women are trying more and more to change their bodies to fit social standards.
     Women are becoming more and more insecure. The more insecure they become, the more likely they are to buy new clothes, beauty products, and diet aids to try to change their appearance. The diet industry is booming because the lack of self esteem women have. It's makes 40 to 100 billion a year by just selling temporary weight loss supplements. Research also indicates an increase of depression, loss of self-esteem, and unhealthy eating habits are effects of exposure to images of women who are thin, young, and air brushed ("Beauty and body,"). Advertisements are airbrushing models to make them look "prefect" but little do they know that this is messing with society's perception of beauty. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college- aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control ("Beauty and body," ). This body image epidemic is also effecting young girls. Girls younger and younger are becoming more aware of body image. Teen magazine reported that 35% of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50% to 70% of normal weight girls believe they are overweight ("Beauty and body," ). Every girl had a Barbie when they were younger. Little do young girls know that Barbie's proportions are so unreal that she would not survive due chronic diarrhea and malnutrition. Being surrounded by barbie dolls doesn't help the increase of low self-esteem of young children. 
    Society is pushing women to be skinny. Researchers report that women's magazines have ten and one- half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men's magazines do, and over three- quarters of the covers of women's magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman's bodily appearance ("Beauty and body,"). Diets, exercise, or cosmetic surgery are usually mentioned on the cover pages of magazines. "How to loose 10 pounds before spring break" and "How to get rid of acne in 3 simple steps grace the magazine covers that I interact with on a daily basis, whether it be standing in line at a check out or actually purchasing a magazine. In advertising, thin is "in" and thin is everywhere! Models weigh 23% less than average women today ("Beauty and body," ) . Being thin sells products. Advertisements for clothes, alcohol, and beauty products usually have a young, tall, thin model showing off the brands product. We live in a world where sex sells and being thin and tall is sexy. If you are overweight you are made fun of and not beautiful with the media's idea of beauty.
     Today, media is bombarding society with messages of being thin and tells average women that they need physical adjustment to be beautiful. Jean Kilbourne argues that the overwhelming presence of media images of painfully thin women means that real women's bodies have become invisible in the mass media. Kilbourne concludes that many women internalize these stereotypes, and judge themselves by the beauty industry's standards ("Beauty and body," ) . Today women compare themselves with each other and compete for male attention. This body image epidemic has become increasingly worse and will continue to do so with the way advertising portrays women.


Beauty and body image in the media. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/women_and_girls/women_beauty.cfm

High Fashion and Stick Thin Models

     

     Every girl dreams about being a high fashion model. In the world of high fashion couture, being stick thin is a common occurrence. Every girl poses and struts down the runway with not an ounce of fat on their body. Advertisements, like this Dolce & Gabbana one, are found in every young girl’s favorite magazine. All the girls look the same, tall and skinny. What about the average looking girl? Where is she? Well she’s definitely not modeling for Dolce & Gabbana’s ad or walking for the runway for Chanel in their spring fashion show.

      I remember growing up always wanting to be a model, but my 5 foot stature and average weight meant I would never be allowed to model for any high fashion brand. According to the Association of Model Agents,  female models should be around 34"-24"-34"  and 5 ft 9 inches with a slender body shape. So is this what people think is beautiful? Is being thin and tall the norm? If so, then I’m the complete opposite along with many other young girls. Is our society leading us to believe that only these girls are beautiful?