Is Big Beautiful?
April 18th 2009 23:49
It seems the eternal debate when it comes to fashion is whether or not big is in fact beautiful. We are told that Botticelli had it right and that curvaceous women are hot. I’m not disputing that . What I am disputing is that size 14 is the Australian norm. Just because more and more people are becoming overweight does not make this normal, nor does it make it acceptable. There is a difference between voluptuous and fat. The human frame is not meant to carry excess body fat, and just because that’s reflected in fashion doesn’t make it a discriminatory industry.
I can imagine how many people will be offended by my saying this…actually probably not that many considering its only here on my little fashion blog…but the point is, if the majority of the population turned to murder would that make it okay and ‘normal’? No! And the same applies for being overweight. Just because fashion is one industry that has continually promoted a small frame does not make it a bad thing, and it does not mean that giving up exercise and self-control because size 16 is average is okay.
As a naturally thin person, I find it offensive that the majority of people think I either have an eating disorder or need to be force fed to conform to the ‘average’ body shape, which in this country actually translates to being overweight. Do you know that the average Australian woman is under 5’5” but is a size 14? Even if these dimensions are the average, that doesn’t make the size okay – it makes the size overweight. It’s funny that just because more people are getting fat, we seem to be adjusting our perceptions of what constitutes an okay body weight. Being overweight is a health issue, there is little anyone can say to dispute that – but seriously, it’s also a fashion issue.
Fashion is about pride and self expression manifested in your exterior self, and that means taking care of yourself and putting the best version of you on show. It’s fine to blame fast food outlets for our increasing chubbiness, or the amount of time spent at work can be cited as the cause of those excess inches, but really its just letting yourself go.
I recently read a very interesting article on exactly this subject, where the author cited France as an example of a nation of thin women. Yes, vanity had a lot to do with it she admitted, but culturally the French value style and aesthetics over sloth and gluttony. In saying that, does it means that our nation of increasing waistlines actually values laziness and overindulging over our personal presentation? Sadly it would seem the answer is yes.
There is no denying that fashion is about the exterior. And yes there are different body shapes and sizes, but a fat body is not a normal body, nor should it be embraced as such. To do so is to embrace not only a lack of self-pride, but also all the medical complications and ill-health that accompanies it.
I can imagine how many people will be offended by my saying this…actually probably not that many considering its only here on my little fashion blog…but the point is, if the majority of the population turned to murder would that make it okay and ‘normal’? No! And the same applies for being overweight. Just because fashion is one industry that has continually promoted a small frame does not make it a bad thing, and it does not mean that giving up exercise and self-control because size 16 is average is okay.
As a naturally thin person, I find it offensive that the majority of people think I either have an eating disorder or need to be force fed to conform to the ‘average’ body shape, which in this country actually translates to being overweight. Do you know that the average Australian woman is under 5’5” but is a size 14? Even if these dimensions are the average, that doesn’t make the size okay – it makes the size overweight. It’s funny that just because more people are getting fat, we seem to be adjusting our perceptions of what constitutes an okay body weight. Being overweight is a health issue, there is little anyone can say to dispute that – but seriously, it’s also a fashion issue.
Fashion is about pride and self expression manifested in your exterior self, and that means taking care of yourself and putting the best version of you on show. It’s fine to blame fast food outlets for our increasing chubbiness, or the amount of time spent at work can be cited as the cause of those excess inches, but really its just letting yourself go.
I recently read a very interesting article on exactly this subject, where the author cited France as an example of a nation of thin women. Yes, vanity had a lot to do with it she admitted, but culturally the French value style and aesthetics over sloth and gluttony. In saying that, does it means that our nation of increasing waistlines actually values laziness and overindulging over our personal presentation? Sadly it would seem the answer is yes.
There is no denying that fashion is about the exterior. And yes there are different body shapes and sizes, but a fat body is not a normal body, nor should it be embraced as such. To do so is to embrace not only a lack of self-pride, but also all the medical complications and ill-health that accompanies it.
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Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
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Comment by Julie Vaux
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If you do you are not "naturally skinny"!
It is normal to have some body fat.
Some people are chubby cos they have medical problems that slow down their metabolism or limit their gym time.
You try jogging during a sciatic attack when your hip is generating stabbing pains every time you move!
No one is asking the fashion industry to have obese models just to be more realistic.
If designers want to SELL their ready to wear collections they have to cut them so they fit a variety of body sizes and shapes.
If they only want to sell their clothes to rich skinny teenagers or people who think they should look like teenagers then be more honest about it and stop claiming any one over size 6 is overweight regardless of what their actual height wieght or body shape is!
Why should we diet more than we already do when the ideal model appears to have no boobs and be almost pigeon chested and be a six foot tall 14 year old pedophiles fantasy pinup?
P.s. I do not eat junk food but I do need a high protein low gi diet to maintain my blood sugar balance.
I would rather be a zaftig full figured middle woman with an imperfect waist but functioning brain cells than a malnourished skinny teen who staggers around the shopping centre looking so thin you wonder how they can carry their boutique bags.
If the fashion industry wants to sell more clothing use models with a greater variety of body shapes and think about how to transfer that haut couture design into ready to wear that fits more people!
Perhaps they should think of designs that will appeal to all those sacked Pacific Brands textile workers?
Figure out a way to bring style to every one instead of just the rich yuppie elite with plenty of money!
Slenderness is not the only form of beauty!
Comment by Journeywoman
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Aside from the obvious factors like an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, an abundance of fast food outlets, greater levels of trans fats in foods and so on, I think the whole "Love your body" ideology of the 1990s has a lot to answer for. It implied that you should love your body regardless of how unhealthy and unsightly it is, which once again, caused more harm than good. It was meant to curtail eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, but it failed: these eating disorders are still on the rise, and so is obesity (which seems to be just another eating disorder but with opposite symptoms).
I think CLOSE THE FRIDGE DOOR AND GET SOME FRIGGIN EXERCISE would be a far more appropriate ideology, but who am I to judge? I'm slim and healthy and always have been.
Congrats Jez for telling it like it is. Can't wait for the backlash
Comment by Mistersmith
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I'm just following David around Orble because I can't be bothered looking for posts myself ...
I am agreeing that to accept overweight as normal is really really stupid and I have seen some really nasty comments, in the media, about slender/skinny women. Obviously P.C. doesn't apply here.
- What immediately springs to mind is Kate Langbroek on that morning radio show- just because she is big and heavy. (I put it down to marriage problems).
When I were a lad almost all kids were naturally skinny. Fat kids were a small minority. Too much junk food!
Comment by the world of gaye
batty
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I am often amazed when someone like Calista Flockheart is portrayed as anorexic in magazines when it is obvious to me she has always been tiny. But i also don't really believe size 14 is fat. From the other side of the weight debate, I have always been size 14, never any smaller and never any bigger, it's just what I m. I do make an effort to look good but I don't get around in skimpy outfits or tight clothes because it is never going to look good on me. I look at petite women sometimes and think how lovely they are but I know that at 5ft nine I will never be petite, so I learned a long time ago that being me is just fine.
Comment by moonglow
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We need to do more to help these people. I've always wondered, though, why they don't get the gastric bypass done before it is too late? Gastric bypass is a miracle. It has helped so many people.
Good for you for loving your body! But, also thank God that you don't face the very real medical and psychological issues obese people face. It's not as easy as closing the fridge and going for a run.
Comment by the world of gaye
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