Fashion and the size-o fantasy bubble

[LalaCity]

I posted this over on the clothing and fashion board, but I couldn't resist sharing it here. We all know that there is basically only one acceptable body type ever featured in mainstream fashion magazines, but if you don't read them regularly, you might not realize just what absurd lengths they go to in their inability to admit that there is anything other than a size 0 walking around out there -- especially when they run stories on how to find flattering clothes for every figure. Below is an example from a fashion mag feature on how to properly attire a diverse array of body types:

[Tooz]

What magazine is that? Good grief, I guffawed when I saw the "Apple" section. LOOK AT THOSE GIANT GUTS! They need to lose some weight, AM I RIGHT? Haha, sorry. Anyway, that is ridiculous-- even Glamour is better about it than that. Or, they were when I still got the magazine, anyway.

[Adamantoise]

They all look far too similar to warrant a comparision-absolutely rediculous.

[LalaCity]

I don't know which magazine -- it was from someone's blog post wherein she'd taken the article and pics from a magazine. I'll have to go back and see if I can find it. :doh:

[Ruffie]

Um yeah. Think that is the same chick modelling all the jeans for the various figure types. *sigh* I just don't get why they cannot show diversity in the magazines about size, ethnicity and age. Hell if they are after the consumer that is what we are. Different ages, shapes, sizes and races. Sadly we are all supposed to be like sheep and flock to the store to buy the latest and greatist, and nibble only on grass to have the desired shape. *shakes head*
Ruth

[steely]

Their whole apple shape is the size of one of my thighs.I am actually laughing out loud,lol.:p

[Cors]

I thought they used the same model in every picture since I can barely tell the difference. Some magazines do that when they feature clothes for different body types - cheaper to get one slim hourglass girl to pose for everything since it all fits her.

Cosmo UK does something like that too and they do use average sized women (UK14-18 and the occasional 22). I do wish they would feature much bigger girls, but I am not sure if many BBWs and SSBBWs actually buy magazines like that.

[steely]

I don't buy fashion magazines.I really just have no interest because nothing in them is really geared towards me.

[Cors]

Which is why it makes even less sense for high fashion magazines like Vogue to go out of their way to include much bigger women, if you think about it.

I still think that women's lifestyle magazines like Cosmo, Women's Weekly and Her World should be more inclusive.

[B68]

Now that is a scary ad... Brrr! And it's a good thing there's no sound involved. You would hear a loud rumble in their poor stomachs!

If they are different models...? I don't see any difference either...

Seriously, skinny-ideal is commercial for an industry that started this fashion. Diets, anti cellulite cream, figure correction, tabloids, tv-series etc. I just remembered this: i recently read somewhere that before Vogue said it was 'not done' in the '50s, cellulite was a word that only docters knew. And THEY didn't see anything wrong with it.

And it's a world where the big bosses and designers are gay males in most cases. A small world without much/any connection with reality. But with an influence that makes me wanna go out and... nooo... i won't say this here. You'll know it was me afterwards...;)

The rest is filled up by people who don't care in another way and see the vulnarebility of the majority of women as easy business. The same goes for parents (think of the rediculous prices charged for everything you have to buy for your kids) and people who care about status (cars, interiors, skinny blond girls half their age). They are sheeps for the slaughter.

Mac Donalds could have caused the opposite if they had made an ad in which a BBW was shown enjoying a large meal. General motors would have followed with an ad of a car with larger doors and more interiorspace. There would still be cars with frontbenches and gearchange at the steeringwheel. Glossy BBW magazines would sell large because the advertisers would invest serious cash.

Correct me if i'm missing the point by miles...

[incync]

Oh my gosh, I was just waiting to see what they would show if they had a "plus" size category. How can you have an article about finding the perfect jeans for EVERY shape when they obviously don't have every shape?

[LalaCity]

i recently read somewhere that before Vogue said it was 'not done' in the '50s, cellulite was a word that only docters knew. And THEY didn't see anything wrong with it.





I don't even think cellulite is a real medical term. It's just a word made up to describe the appearance of normal body fat by some guy who wanted to sell tubes of useless cream.

[Melian]

I don't even think cellulite is a real medical term. It's just a word made up to describe the appearance of normal body fat by some guy who wanted to sell tubes of useless cream.

Cellulite is actually a medical term - it occurs in men and women, and while it is more common in heavier people, it can occur in thin people too. Basically, the difference between cellulite and normal fat is that the connective tissue matrix surrounding the fat cells is torn and disrupted in cellulite.

Anyway...re: the women (woman?) in that ad - I don't know why they even bothered. I can't discern a single shape from what they are showing :confused:

[Sicilia_Curves]

LOL such nonsense! It looks like the exact same bitch in each picture!

[gildalive]

And it's a world where the big bosses and designers are gay males in most cases. A small world without much/any connection with reality. But with an influence that makes me wanna go out and... nooo... i won't say this here. You'll know it was me afterwards...;)


I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying here. Could you explain more? I'm afraid I'm taking it the wrong way.

[LalaCity]

Cellulite is actually a medical term - it occurs in men and women, and while it is more common in heavier people, it can occur in thin people too. Basically, the difference between cellulite and normal fat is that the connective tissue matrix surrounding the fat cells is torn and disrupted in cellulite.

Anyway...re: the women (woman?) in that ad - I don't know why they even bothered. I can't discern a single shape from what they are showing :confused:

Hmm...I must to disagree...I pulled this quote from the web (from a site called netdoctor.co.uk):


From a medical point of view, cellulite is nothing to worry about. The term cellulite is not listed in medical dictionaries or health advice services such as NHS Direct.

Many doctors reject the word cellulite, regarding it as a marketing concoction. As Cheltenham GP Ian McPherson puts it, 'I've never heard anybody with any medical bent talk about cellulite. It's a complete fabrication by…I don't know if it's staff at women's magazines or fashion people.'

And to my knowledge, cellulite is no different from regular fat, it is just closer to the surface of the skin.

Ah well, the controversy rages on.

[AtlasD]

Why did you have to show those pictures from "that fashion mag"? Now I am going to be sick for a week. Are you sure those examples did not come from a New England Journal of Medicine article on anorexia?

[B68]

I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying here. Could you explain more? I'm afraid I'm taking it the wrong way.

Yep, i know, in my head it all makes sense...;)

I'm not sure what you think i'm saying. But let me try to refrase. I meant there's a relatively large number of gay men in a relatively small group that was/is the fashionworld and they suddenly dictated what a woman should look like.

I do not dislike gays. Don't get that wrong. I just don't think ANYONE should dictate anything like that. You can design clothes, cars or whatever, but you don't use an anorexic model either because you can draw a car easier around her...

A matter of fact, in the same years this fashion started, a (FA) cardesigner came up with the Citroen DS. Not very famous in the USA, but in Europe even most youngsters know the shape of the thing. This car suits a BBW perfectly:)

O, and if it was just about the joke i made... forget about it. You had to be in my head to see the fun... And even then i wonder how many of you would see any fun in a dark, empty space with the cold wind of my laughter going trough...:rolleyes:

[MissToodles]

Yep, i know, in my head it all makes sense...;)

I'm not sure what you think i'm saying. But let me try to refrase. I meant there's a relatively large number of gay men in a relatively small group that was/is the fashionworld and they suddenly dictated what a woman should look like.

I do not dislike gays. Don't get that wrong. I just don't think ANYONE should dictate anything like that. You can design clothes, cars or whatever, but you don't use an anorexic model either because you can draw a car easier around her...

A matter of fact, in the same years this fashion started, a (FA) cardesigner came up with the Citroen DS. Not very famous in the USA, but in Europe even most youngsters know the shape of the thing. This car suits a BBW perfectly:)

O, and if it was just about the joke i made... forget about it. You had to be in my head to see the fun... And even then i wonder how many of you would see any fun in a dark, empty space with the cold wind of my laughter going trough...:rolleyes:

Yes, but there's always been gay male designers, even when fleshier women were idealized. This always seems to reek of gay bashing. Prim, proper, corseted, girdled, don't see how things were better in the 'good ol' days'. Still constrictive, still trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Maybe the paradigm shift has to do with the rise in the fight for gender parity ? During 1st wave/2nd wave feminism, much thinner bodies were placed upon a pedestal. How can anyone blame GAY MEN alone for the rash of uber-waifs?. Maybe we all need to look beyond designers, right?

[Cors]

Why did you have to show those pictures from "that fashion mag"? Now I am going to be sick for a week. Are you sure those examples did not come from a New England Journal of Medicine article on anorexia?

Nice of you to joke about anorexia.

Important thread. (http://dimensionsmagazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14664)

[pinkylou]

I dont buy fashion mags, theres nothing in them for me, and I do my own lil thing anyhoo ;)

[B68]

Yes, but there's always been gay male designers, even when fleshier women were idealized. This always seems to reek of gay bashing. Prim, proper, corseted, girdled, don't see how things were better in the 'good ol' days'. Still constrictive, still trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
Maybe the paradigm shift has to do with the rise in the fight for gender parity ? During 1st wave/2nd wave feminism, much thinner bodies were placed upon a pedestal. How can anyone blame GAY MEN alone for the rash of uber-waifs?. Maybe we all need to look beyond designers, right?

I don't blame gay men. The way i look at this piece of history is from the pro BBW point of view. NOT as a gay basher.

The problem is i contributed with a very short version of the whole issue. It's like saying Hitler started WW2. Technically i'm right, but should i've mentioned the whole world was in a very unstable situation? That depends on when or where you are in a conversation.

But i agree, i shouldn't have jumped in with only half of the story, assuming everyone knows what my complete view is.

[Melian]

Hmm...I must to disagree...I pulled this quote from the web (from a site called netdoctor.co.uk):


From a medical point of view, cellulite is nothing to worry about. The term cellulite is not listed in medical dictionaries or health advice services such as NHS Direct.

Many doctors reject the word cellulite, regarding it as a marketing concoction. As Cheltenham GP Ian McPherson puts it, 'I've never heard anybody with any medical bent talk about cellulite. It's a complete fabrication by…I don't know if it's staff at women's magazines or fashion people.'

And to my knowledge, cellulite is no different from regular fat, it is just closer to the surface of the skin.

Ah well, the controversy rages on.


Oh, I didn't know there was a controversy! Hehe. All I can say is: it was discussed in pre-med anatomy class as if it was fact (not that it is dangerous, or even does anything to a person...just that it exists). This was Canada though, and your quotation was from a British site. :)

[LalaCity]

Oh, I didn't know there was a controversy!

My cellulite has progressed well beyond the "controversy" stage. It's entered into a full-blown war over my thighs.

[B68]

My cellulite has progressed well beyond the "controversy" stage. It's entered into a full-blown war over my thighs.

Wow! To many FA's that sounds like fun:)