Saturday, March 14, 2009 @ 10:11 PM
Media Stereotypes.
Media is so subjective. How often do we see advertisements for slimming?

A lot, really.

Studies show that twenty years ago, models were 8% thinner than average women. Now, models are 23% thinner than average women. So, picture this. Me, standing at 158 cm and weighing 52kg and a model who's probably 175cm or more weighing the same as me.

And okay, I admit that I'm not stick-thin but this piece of news just makes me shiver. However, I also know that they are people who were born like that. Maybe good genes or an incredible discipline in dieting. But now, even models are pressured to be thinner. If models are pressured to be thin, then what about us who aren't 175cm tall and weigh more than 50kg?

But surely, there are consequences.

There was this hype over Ali Michael, an 18-year old model who was 5'9ft (175cm) tall and weighs 130 pounds (59kg). She was pressured to slim down to 102 pounds (48kg!). She did, and then she started to suffer from weight loss. Her hair started to fall out and she hasn't had her period for about one year. So after that, she started to eat more, with the help of her nutritionist and doctor's advise. However, for a Paris fashion show, she was chosen to go out only once and was criticized by designers that her legs looked "too fat" when she only gained 2kg!

It's hard to imagine a Vogue cover girl being told that she's too fat to model. But that only proves that society's views on what a woman should look like is very subjective. Why can't someone with an average weight and average height appear on fashion magazines? Because we all believe that skinnier girls sell more. We're so used to seeing thin women advertise everything from cars, to magazines, to clothes that our whole perception of beauty is this: tall and skinny with a nice face.

So, I encourage you to embrace who you are and to stop being obsessed about meeting society's "standard of beauty". No matter what our dress sizes, skin colour, height or weight are, we're all still human. Just because we're a size ten or size zero doesn't make us any less or more of who we truly are.

- Nadine