"Curves are back!"..."Men prefer having something to hold onto."..."Real women have curves"
For tonight's Monday's Musing I want to discuss the concept of using real women as models in magazines. In particular I will be discussing Look magazine, who in conjunction with the tv programme Lorraine, are about to announce the winner of their search for a curvy supermodel to feature regularly in the mag. This innovative change was borne from public opinion, and the increasing rise in popularity of voluptuous celebrities such as Christina Hendrick and Kim Kardashian, that have meant women's glossies have come under growing pressure to feature "real women" into their fashion spread, that was once the domain of 6:6 models (Six foot and size six).
Hooray, I hear you curvaceous ladies cry, as finally those on the more voluptuous side will be able to get a visual example of how might a fashion piece look on bodies. How often do you love a piece but believe it’s a look only slim people can carry off- hello skinny jeans! Being a curvy lady myself, I have first hand experience of feeling alienated from fashion after comparing myself to an androgynous figurine featured in fashion spreads. The competition ran by Look promised to shatter the illusion that to sell fashion, the models have to be slim and exceptionally pretty.
And yet, after looking at the finalist featured in their latest issue I am left feeling deflated, conned and patronised. From the eight finalists chosen for the look comp, the vast majority are size 12s, with the largest model being a size 14-16.Countless surveys have shown that the average size of women in the UK to be a size 16. So why do we have a magazine having a competition to find curvy models only to show finalists that are up to two sizes below national average then attempt to tell us this is ground breaking? I think this could dangerously obscure and entrench women’s negative opinions of their bodies when they are led to believe that a perfectly normal size 12 is to be viewed as abnormal.
My main gripe that I have with the Look competition however, is how lacklustre its photo-shoot was. Its obvious from the set the that a minimal amount was spent on the shoot. The theme was '70's safari' and this oddly involves the 8 finalist positioned either sitting on or standing beside a vintage travel trunk. All the girls are dressed in predictable muted tones of black, beige, tan and a touch of burgundy to really go wild. None of the clothes showcased clings to the body, rather they are all loose. In particular model Gemma's size 12 figure is swamped by a baggy black jumpsuit with a high neckline to follow suit. Two of the youngest models (Saskia, 18 and Ashley, 20) are sporting Gok Wan's favourite for the curvy ladies: a wrap around dress. Look always preaches that when young you should be experimental with your look, so why are these models dressed mumsy. And 6 of the finalists are all wearing, horrors of all horrors, chunky tan belts that were last thought as fashionable back in 2004.
Seriously, what's going on here? Did the people at Look think "hmm... okay, lets appease the fatties and give them the chance to feature in the mag, but when they do so we'll put them in the most god-forsaken outfits and spend the least amount of money possible. That way the public will soon bore of realistic modelling in fashion and the norm will resume." Look could have achieved so much with this shoot! They had the chance to show that larger sized models can showcase fashion forward pieces and look amazing in them. Instead they choose a boring fashion fad and dressed the young girls in clothes way beyond their years that gave a subliminal message out to the larger reader: "cover up, wear baggy and dark clothes, and don't stand out from the crowd."
I know a lot of curvy ladies are resentful of this suggestion and are vocal, particularly in internet forums, to inform others that real women have curves, and that men prefer having something to hang onto. But i don't think this is an approach we should be going down. Just because society insinuates that being slim equates to beauty does not mean we should fight back by trying to persuade others to think big is beautiful. Rather, we should be encouraging the thought that individuality is beautiful. "Real women" come in all shapes and sizes, some are built like a tank and can lift more weights than your fella, others are soft and cuddly and have bras that others could use as a hammock. This variation should be celebrated and featured in the media, but done so full heartedly or not at all. Because us women do not suffer fools gladly!
So what are your thought on the use of curvy models in magazines?
Also, are you, or are you not impressed with my photoshopping skills? ;-)
