Supermodels

[chefmel]

The modeling industry claims that it’s changing so that it is moving away from models who look so skinny that the wire hangers that hold their clothing are bigger than they are. They say that they’re starting to lean toward women who are more fit and athletic looking, instead of emaciated.

Has anyone else seen a difference in the modeling industry? I haven’t noticed it so far, but I’m curious to know, because I’m hoping that this trend will extend into actors, too, so that girls and boys will have more realistic visions of how healthy people should look.

[bruceH]

I don't really know about the modeling industry, but as a guy, I would far rather look at a woman who isn't just a skeleton with skin stretched over top. I don't know why they think they should design clothes around a body that no woman actually has. Why would a woman even want to look like that. They're like starving bodies that haven't developed yet. I don't see how that's any healthier than being obese.

[Beth]

I don't really know about the modeling industry, but as a guy, I would far rather look at a woman who isn't just a skeleton with skin stretched over top. I don't know why they think they should design clothes around a body that no woman actually has. Why would a woman even want to look like that. They're like starving bodies that haven't developed yet. I don't see how that's any healthier than being obese.

That's actually really great to hear. So many of us are raised with magazines and tv telling us that if you're not a size 2, then you're just not trying hard enough to be thin. I am nowhere near that size and never have been, and even as an adult, I can still feel it in the back of my mind, making me feel guilty for the way that I look. Consciously and logically, I know that it's ridiculous, but it has been so deeply ingrained in me for so long that it's always hovering there. It's always great to hear that this is not actually what other people want to see in a person.

[anne]

What I don't get is that no matter who you talk to, if you bring up the way that supermodels look, that is, their weight, everybody seems to agree that they don't look good. They're not healthy looking and they're not even attractive.

So if that's the case, why do they keep getting hired? If I haven't met a single person who likes that look, where are all of these deciding people coming from who say that this is the look that should be used to best model clothing and other products?

[suzie]

There has to be someone out there who likes the look or it wouldn't have stayed this successful for so long. That said, please don't count me among them! I personally don't get it. I don't even find that clothing looks good at those tiny little frames. The women aren't even feminine!