Cynthia Cheng Mintz
We read about it constantly on websites, blogs and message boards such as the Huffington Post, Jezebel and For Those About to Shop about the need to diversify fashion, both in size and in looks. Every time there’s a post about a plus size model, it’s riddled with comments that are the same each and every time. For example, there are always those who say “well, size 14 isn’t big” or comments from people who’re on the small side (say, under size 8), yet say they’re “fat.” Then there’s the infamous “Marilyn was a size 14” which is, once again, made each and every time something’s posted.
The author (left) feels that people seem to be uneducated about body diversity and focus primarily on plus size issues and models like Crystal Renn (right)
Sizing is a number. The same dress size may be “big” on one person and “small” on another. They say that size 14 is the beginning of “plus sizes” yet readers are always mentioning that the models “don’t look fat” at size 14. Well of course they don’t. The models who wear size 14 are taller than the average woman (a good five or six inches!), so therefore, they’d naturally look thinner wearing a larger size. I think people always miss that or even dismiss it. In order for a 5’11” woman to actually “look” plus, she probably has to be at least size 20 (that’s why most actresses look “wider” than models – even though they’re wearing size 0 or 2, they’re usually in the 5’3″-5’5″ range, and therefore shorter) And even then, if she’s well proportioned – in other words her waist is a good 8-12 inches smaller than her hips, she’d look “thinner” than many women, even if she’s bigger than the typical model one sees on the runway. At the same time, it’s quite possible for someone who wears a smaller size to be “fat.” If you’re very short (we’re talking about under five feet) and fine boned, size 10 may very well be “fat” – especially if you have a large percentage of body fat. There IS such a thing as “skinny fat,” so I wouldn’t be so quick to judge someone as having an eating disorder.
What drives me crazy are the constant comments about Marilyn Monroe’s size. It’s died down a bit over the past couple of years, but it’s still seen. I recall taking a media class back in high school and having a teacher shoot me down because I mentioned that size 14 in the 1950s wasn’t the same as a size 14 in 1996 (the year I was taking the course) and again in at a university level introductory women’s studies class (circa 1998-1999) by the professor, teaching assistants AND peers. One girl even yelled (yes, YELLED) at me during a tutorial for saying that Marilyn Monroe had a 23″ waist – she kept on saying that Marilyn was a “big girl.” I guess she hadn’t seen any of Marilyn’s movies. The only way we can say that Marilyn was “fat” is if you factor in her tummy flab. People just didn’t tone themselves much back in the day, especially women – it just wasn’t “lady-like” to be muscular. Watch a beach movie and none of the men or women in the 1950s were nearly as ripped as celebrities today. Some even had a bit of flab – reserved only for guys like Jack Black in 2011.
Yes, like most people, I’d definitely like to see more diversity when it comes to size (which should include height), but at the same time, people need to be more educated about size issues itself. Most conversations seem to be so one-sided, with most more “mainstream” blogs, message boards and the like saying the same thing over and over. There’s very little room for a different opinion, and the few times these ideas are acknowledge (almost always by someone making a comment and not by the original poster), it is more of a lip service – acknowledgement just for the moment, but soon forgotten. If we are to truly embrace different sizes, we need to be more open-minded and hear what others have to say. We don’t need to tell people that they are or are not “fat” or “skinny” based on the size they wear.
This is Part I of a series on body image and body diversity. We are currently looking for feedback on your thoughts about specialty sizes (all perspectives welcome). Please let us know via e-mail.
