Keep it Real….
I wanted to follow up on the post I did about fashion retailers using models who are representative of all body types. Some of the comments I received were very positive and supportive of this notion…others were somewhat apathetic to the situation. Basically saying…the fashion industry is the way it is and there’s really nothing that can be done to change this.
Some of these comments included:
“I’ve worked in fashion for 15 years and models have always been thin. Everyone is making such a big deal about it right now because the fact is, the population is getting fatter. We go around screaming “she is too thin!” but no one says “you are too fat” if you are overweight or obese. The industry hasn’t changed that much, but we are using it as a scapegoat to distract us from the fact that obesity is a HUGE problem (pardon the pun.)
When you were 17 (I am presuming you are 30+?) were you unhappy about a part of your body? Who isn’t? My friend works in eating disorders and says there isn’t actually a huge rise in anorexia/bulimia, etc… We are just making a big deal out of it.”“When you sell anything you are selling to your target audience for sure, but you are also showing the items in the best possible light. If clothes on plus sized models sold better than clothes on skinnier models, you better believe that every single retailer in the world would be doing it. They all market in the same way because it brings in the most sales and at the end of the day that is what business is about.”
First off, regardless of whether or not there has been an increase in eating disorders, I think it is a GOOD thing that we are “making a big deal out of it.” Whether it is starving yourself or eating too much and unhealthily — it is important to realize that we have a generation of kids that have a really, really messed up relationship with food and, subsequently, their bodies. As a mother, I think this is a BIG DEAL (read my post about my five year old’s truly f*#%ed up concept of what calories are).
Secondly, yes, you do sell to your target market. But, there is a movement within that target market for change. I was so encouraged to see the video blog below by a young girl speaking out about the way she and her peers are marketed to. I don’t think that we give adolescents enough credit. They do think very critically about things and are pushing back. Shrugging and saying, “oh well, that’s the way it’s always been,” is getting kind of old…and ignorant.
#KeepitReal
I think it’s great we are having conversations about this issue in any form. It’s important that the message we give our kids is that maintaining good health is the most important thing. We are a vain and materialistic society in general, not just in regards to weight. Any message that counteracts that is a good thing.
On a more practical level, I know I am in the boat of being sized out of many stores – but in the smaller end of the spectrum. I realize most women are a size 12/14 and so this issue does not affect the majority, but for the petite among us (in weight and height) I know that 10 years ago I was a size 4 in some of these stores and now the 0 is too big (and I am the exact same size I had been). Most of these retailers are of the cheaper variety (e.g. Old Navy) so I am somewhat resigned to paying more for a store like Artizia to buy clothes.
That being said I would also like to see a range of models out there. Seeing a garmet on a model really gives no insight into how it will fit on anyone but someone with model proportions. So bascially useless to 99.9% of us. One way around that I’ve found is to peruse personal blogs of women trying on clothes. For example, I love J. Crew and Anthropologie and there are a plethora of blogs out there where “normal” women dress up in the clothes.
Should clarify that “seeing a garmet on a TYPICAL model really gives no insight”. Unless you happen to be 5’10 and 34-24-34. Then you are in luck!
Melissa, I think you misunderstood the main point of my comment (which was the first one quoted above.) I do think we make too much of a big deal of this, but my main point, when I commented on your original blog post, was that Aritzia is not the brand to be fighting this battle with. Their target market is young, skinny girls. If you want to ask a brand to start using more normal-sized women, approach one that doesn’t target the skinny Asian consumer. Even if Aritzia did use larger models, would they look good? Their collection consists of clothing that doesn’t suit larger body types. And if that is their mandate, then let them be. There are tons of brands who do make clothes that suit bodies of women over size 6 (I know, I am an 8) and those are the ones you should be asking to use larger women.
And with regards to this generation of young people who have a screwed up concept of body types, etc… I agree there are issues, but making Aritzia use a size 10 model is not the solution. You can’t only blame the fashion industry for the problems, we are being used as a scapegoat. A healthy body image starts at home, in school, and in social situations. Not on the pages of a magazine. And if you want to attack someone, attack the entertainment industry. Models have always been thin. But if you compare the actresses from 90210 original to the new one, it makes the original cast look obese. Hollywood is a much bigger culprit than the fashion industry.
Lastly, I’d like to ask you and your readers, how often do you support a brand that does use “normal” women as models? Do you avoid the ones that don’t? Do you tell them why you aren’t shopping there? Fashion is a market driven industry, and we will do whatever the customer wants to make money (its also a business.)
Alexandra…have you watched Miss Representation? I recommend that you do.
I’m not picking on Aritzia…their casting call for models was just a catalyst for a broader conversation. Nobody is only blaming just the fashion industry…The reality is that fashion and celebrity have all become rolled into one big pile of main stream media. Media that is consumed by young people at a rate of 10 hours and 45 minutes per day.
So, you say “a healthy body image starts at home, in school, and in social situations. Not on the pages of a magazine.” True. But, when each of these places is permeated (whether we like it or not) by a culture that promotes an unrealistic version of what a body should look like, it becomes harder for young people to know what is and is not authentic. As a mother, I believe my job (of raising confident, empathetic and moral human beings) is made so much more difficult when I have to scream to have my voice is heard through all the crap that is out there. Yes, I can ban tv in my house…not allow my daughter to look at fashion magazines, play with barbies etc. etc. But at the end of the day, she will become a consumer of the media and the messages presented to her in it.
Oops, type above, last sentence of the first paragraph “and those are the ones using larger women.” should read “and those are the ones you should be asking to use larger women.” Feel free to edit this and delete this follow up comment, if you don’t mind.
While I agree that it is important for a child’s home environment to be the first place to learn that confidence and strength of mind, heart and soul are more important that fitting into a photoshopped model’s ideal, the media is still stronger because it is a beast that knows how to get to the mind of anyone. BILLIONS of marketing research dollars are spent on getting into the heads of every single consumer out there.
If you consider how much time you spend at work vs at home, and how much work is on your mind all the time, consider how much time a kid spends with friends, watching television, movies, looking at magazines…home life is the start, but it is by no means the ending. At my largest of nearly 200lb and a teenager, my mother always said I looked great, bless her heart.
But at the same time, I felt awful. I couldn’t fit into clothes in any stores, I once created a scene at a store where the girl suggested I look at the back of the rack because that’s where my sizes probably would be! The point is, it doesn’t matter how hard you try at home, albeit important, the media wins out because that’s what’s taking up our psyche for the majority of our day to day and we can’t help but get sucked in sometimes – now think of someone that is much more impressionable and young who just wants to fit in! Plus the media and its demographic are then what stores target their buying towards. Ergo, itsy bitsy clothing items that make us feel like $hit..and I’m a runner and fit now! That is why we have to have these discussions and be weary of what we and children are being fed!
I saw this today and thought it is a perfect addition to this discussion..albeit sad because of how true it is. We’re just too accustomed to the status quo.
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/thescene/im-fat-vancouver-get-over-it
I saw this today and had to post it here as soon as I could as it’s a perfect addition. Sad, but true, honest and quite candid!
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/blogs/thescene/im-fat-vancouver-get-over-it
I commented about this Online and am very glad you posted this. I am disgusted by unhealthy skinny models and have worked with with some of these unbalanced paranoid girls before. The fact is that some of us are healthy, not too fat or skinny, and we want to see people like that. If Advertisers think that men are turned on by some skinny model smoker freak, they are tragically wrong. The “girl next door” is always much more of a turn on.
Steve…you will like the attached blog post written by a young boy blogger who says the media images affect both genders perceptions of reality. Smart kid.
http://www.sparksummit.com/2012/06/29/unrealistic-media-images-get-into-boys-heads-too/
Good link. That was very impressive to hear from a young boy. I cringe when I see ten year old girls dressing like sluts but not even knowing why they’re doing it. I have a Grand Niece in Grade 2, and know I will have to talk to her about simply trying to be a girl for as long as she can. Related to this: I’ve always been fit, and nowadays see a lot of young teenage boys in the weight room trying to bulk up their muscles because they think that makes them a man. No teenage boy should be weight lifting until they have stopped growing or they can do irreparable damage to their bodies. I criticize coaches who encourage this behaviour just to have a winning team. I am so glad I played amateur football when boys could be normal boys.
Good link. That was very impressive to hear from a young boy. I cringe when I see ten year old girls dressing like sluts but not even knowing why they’re doing it. I have a Grand Niece in Grade 2, and know I will have to talk to her about simply trying to be a girl for as long as she can. Related to this: I’ve always been fit, and nowadays see a lot of young teenage boys in the weight room trying to bulk up their muscles because they think that makes them a man. No teenage boy should be weight lifting until they have stopped growing or they can do irreparable damage to their bodies. I criticize coaches who encourage this behaviour just to have a winning team. I am so glad I played amateur football when boys could be normal boys.
I am actually doing a paper on this right now and your commenter is correct that the thinness of models in ads do not lead to eating disorders or dismorphic disorder. However in young girls grade 4 to 8 they have an incredible huge part in whether they will struggle with body issues and if not dealt with critically then it can lead to very serious psychological problems. Young women over the age of 17 have developed the ability to think critically about these ads and ignore the messages sent.
However the greater problem here is the message that is being sent, that women with a BMI that falls into the dangerously underweight are normal and should be an ideal (albight an ideal most women will never reach). I (as a plus size women) do not believe that all ads need to have picture of people like “me”.
I have a BMI that considers me obese and regardless of the fact that a very large portion of our population falls in this category we should not glorify it, I don’t care if you are really overweight and you try to eat healthy and you exercise a bit every day…you body is under stress and we shouldn’t glorify that either!
Models should be just that a MODEL of what we should be looking like, someone whos BMI falls in the Healthy range, who has cheeks, not sunken cheek bones or fat rolls!
A healthy range for someone who is between 5’7″ and 5’10″ (the average model height) should be around 130 to 160 pounds (respectively) give or take 5 pounds on either side.
According to this stat the average American model is 5’11″ tall and weighs 117 pounds. in reality to be healthy she should weight 145 to 179!
Okay rant over!!
Sorry I also meant to say that this whole thing is really just supposed to be a conversation starter between you and your children!
Awesome blog and great video / discussion… We need to start focusing on how we feel and how healthy we are… not how we LOOK!