Did you miss these controversial images from last week? Many readers contacted us after we published them in the Week In Pics post asking for some added context. So here it is:
In its January issue, when many mags are publishing crash diets and bikini body stories, PLUS Model Magazine in the US published the following images of plus-size model Katya Zharkova to illustrate the absurdity of ‘plus’ models being considered a very small sub-genre of the model industry.
Click through to get the full message – it’s a strong and startling one:
Alongside the naked images (which, it must be said, have clearly been photoshopped to even skin tones etc), PLUS Model Magazine published the following commentary under the headline: “Plus-sized bodies, what is wrong with them anyway?’
- Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 23% less.
- Ten years ago plus-size models averaged between size 12 and 18. Today the need for size diversity within the plus-size modeling industry continues to be questioned. The majority of plus-size models on agency boards are between a size 6 and 14, while the customers continue to express their dissatisfaction.
If we continue to ignore and rely on others to decide what we want to see, change will never happen. We have to be vocal and proactive, patient and realistic.
Tips on how we can help create change:
- Support the companies who market to you.
- Use social networking sites and email to let brands and designers know how you feel about clothing, options and the use of straight sized models (thin models) to market to you.
The answer to the question is this, there is nothing wrong with our bodies. We are bombarded with weight-loss ads every single day, multiple times a day because it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that preys on the fear of being fat. Not everyone is meant to be skinny, our bodies are beautiful and we are not talking about health here because not every skinny person is healthy.
What do you think when you see those images?
Top Comments
It's become fashionable to attack the overweight with accusations of "poor lifestyle, lack of judgement, slovenly habits, laziness," and so on - but what many of these "skinny experts" (the Tut Tut brigade) don't understand is that many people with weight issues have become that way through illness, pain, medication and the ability to move effectively enough to burn off the modest amounts of food they're consuming......cheered on by cruel shows like "The Biggest Loser", it's become okay to give yourself permission to criticise people who are already doing it tough........so tell me, - what do people who are imprisoned in their own skin supposed to do when hearing these devastating comments ?...Where do they go to shop and how do they find out where to go?........I'm so sick of sanctimonious morons complaining about "healthy images" in their precious mags & TV shows....Good health is more than a fashionable body-shape - it's having a pain-free, guilt-free and positive life,.....one day at a time.
Loving the concept - but why is the standard shaped woman depicted as "Plus" size? Why can't they be just called "models" and the others "thin" size? And then the magazines can be "Thin Cleo", "Thin Cosmo"? Makes sense doesn't it?
Good question!!
Putting a size based label on any models alienates certain people 'thin' models and 'plus sized' models deserve to be depicted and labelled equally.