Pick up a Vogue or Glamour and you’ll see toothpick legs and bony elbows jutting out from beneath designer clothes. Hello? Is anyone paying attention? Women have curves; even Barbie has curves, impossibly proportioned, but the doll has curves!
"To be perfectly honest, this issue has always bothered me and this may come as a shock but, I hate to go shopping. You see, I am not a thin woman. You’ll never see me in daisy dukes or kerchief tops. Not only do I think the styles look ridiculous, there is no way I would ever fit into them. I don’t read Vogue or Glamour. I don’t watch American’s Next Top Model and I don’t watch fashion shows on television. Why? They aren’t realistic and they are irritating. The only women who will ever wear those clothes are the ones showing them off on the catwalk. The fashions that make it to the stores are geared for the smaller women and discriminate against those of us who don’t look like Twiggy or Kiera Knightly. If there is one thing I have noticed is that I pay more for a shirt than someone two sizes smaller. I also have less to choose from. Apparently there is some unwritten rule in the fashion industry that states plus size women want obnoxious patterns, horizontal stripes and polyester. I never find anything I really like when I go shopping. I find stuff I’ll tolerate but nothing I really like… not in my size at any rate.
The question becomes whether or not using these models in advertising is ethical. What image does it portray? How does it affect the target audience? Is it socially responsible for advertising to present the idea that thin is beautiful even to the point where a woman’s health is at risk? Many say the super thin fashion models are affecting the way women and teens view themselves. They say these women and/or teens are emulating what they see in fashion magazines. In truth, it is not just your ordinary woman that attempts to look like these supermodels but celebrities as well. Too much emphasis is placed on weight I think."
