Is Society Finally Accepting “Normal”-Size Women?
Over the last decade, every thing we’ve seen in the media - on TV, the news, reality shows, advertising, magazine covers, etc. - has depicted the extremely thin woman as being the norm.
Fortunately, it is becoming more evident in the last few months that society in general may be starting to revolt and declare that the waif with the voluptuous bosom is NOT the real American woman.
A couple of recent advertising campaigns by Playtex and SlimFast are cases in point. Playtex has young, naturally full-figured models promoting a new style of bra with wider backs and straps. The new SlimFast commercial features young women with natural curving hips and tummies. Amazing, no ribs or sunken abdomens!
A new program finally captures the REAL WOMAN. How to Look Good Naked is hosted by Carson Kressley. This show features women with real figures - curves, fuller bottoms, wider hips and tummy roles. The show continuously points out that many women who obsess about being so “out of shape” can change their self-perception by simply changing their clothing style and finding the proper sizes for their body shape. One tip is not to wear undergarments that are too small, which pushes those few extra pounds into areas they do not belong. For example, squeeze a water balloon and see what happens to the water.
So much material in the media focus on “love your inner self,” yet the newsstands are still loaded down with magazine covers of tiny, voluptuous, AIR-BRUSHED women.
Society needs to accept the fact that not every woman inherited the GENES to wear size-4 JEANS! A 5′6″ woman weighing 135 lbs. should not be classified as morbidly obese. She is a normal-size woman!
Granted, America is in the middle of an epidemic of serious physical unfitness, and it is not just the over-weight people who are physically unfit. But that is a theme for another article.
Hopefully the media will stay with the program and continue to take the focus off unnaturally skinny models and actresses and put it on REAL WOMAN!
Hey, Pam. I love Carson, too! I live in the “land of the uber lovely” where stores don’t carry size 12 and some women who want to shop in those stores become bulemic and anorexic to be a size zero. That’s zero in my book.
I Tivo Carson because when I need a quick fix of love, he’s the one. Kinda Mr. Rogers for over 30s.
One problem is that we, who have been reconstructed, don’t follow the same rules of buying a bra that they do on that show. That’s kinda frustrating. So when they talk about “foundation” I think about the foundation we need in our thinking to keep the self-esteem that Carson sells so well.
Thanks for the great article.
Comment by Sybil — January 19, 2008 @ 1:37 pm
Here’s a very interesting theory: Today’s extreme beauty standards have their roots in the fashion industry, when it was dominated by gay men living out their fantasies of what they think are perfect women through their models. I don’t necessarily believe this, but Carson would seem to be the very opposite. And personally, I’ve often found that the men who really liked women (inside and out) are gay men, who commiserate with you, are interested in so many of the things you’re interested in, and who just love to hang around you, for totally different reasons straight men generally like to hang around women for. So, what better guide could America have than Carson in showing our society how to and what to love in women?
Comment by Gloria — January 19, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
I couldn’t agree more! The media must start portraying women with natural curves as sexy, as attractive. We need to go back in time in the sense that women with big greats, big hips, and natural tummies are the sexiest, back in the ‘Marilyn Monroe is the sexiest woman alive and is a size 16′ time.
Comment by Holly — January 20, 2008 @ 1:12 am
Hi Holly,
I could not agree more!!
Thanks for the comment.
Pam
Comment by Pam — January 20, 2008 @ 6:12 pm
I liked the 1st episode of this, and kind of tivo’d through the 3nd. The 3rd was titled “plastic surgery” - so I skipped it. I just didn’t want to get upset if it was portraying implants in a positive light, etc. Did anyone catch this surgery episode?
Comment by gretchen — January 22, 2008 @ 1:06 pm