Are women still expected to be unrealistically thin to be beautiful? On the other hand, do we make naturally slender women feel guilty for their fat-free physiques? Despite recognition women come in all sizes and shapes, weight wars wage on.
Recently curvaceous Kim Kardashian stuck up for Jessica Simpson after an NFL commercial mocking Simpson's weight. The NFL Fox Sunday cartoon featured Dallas Cowboys characters chuckling about Simpson's shape. Burger King and Fox sponsored the cartoon on October 11 the apologized for it on Wednesday.
The skit shows the Dallas head coach asking Simpson's ex-boyfriend quarterback Tony Romo, “Is Jessica around, we sure could use a defensive tackle.” Jason Witten, Romo pal, adds, “Unlike Tony, at least Jessica comes up big when it counts.”
Kim Kardashian commented to PopEater, “I'm glad they apologized. Fox shouldn't be making fun of Jessica Simpson who has such an amazing body. She's clearly not overweight and laughing about that gives young girls the wrong message.” Kardashian is familiar with sports media scrutiny as the girlfriend of New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.
While Kim Kardashian defends the rights of full-figured women, Karl Lagerfield defends slim models. After losing 92 pounds in 13 months himself, Lagerfield penned, “The Karl Lagerfield Diet” all about it. Karl spoke to Focus, a German magazine, about best-selling German magazine Brigitte deciding to use “ordinary, realistic” women rather than professional models.
Lagerfield feels Brigitte's plan is absurd, stating women who complain about skinny models, “These are fat mummies sitting with their bags of crisps in front of the television, saying that thin models are ugly.” He goes on to say the fashion industry is supporting “dream and illusions, and no one wants to see round women.”
Lagerfield also spoke to Guardian to dispel myths that most models have eating disorders, saying, “It is
just as much a cliché as saying that all models take drugs and get drunk at sex orgies. Ninety percent of them are quite normal, properly proportioned girls with less fat and more muscles, who also eat pizzas and burgers.”
The editor of Brigitte, Andreas Lebert, disagrees. He told the Guardian on October 5, the magazine was done fattening up thin models through Photoshop and would work with real women only as of January 2. Lebert said, “Today's models weigh around 23% less than normal women. The whole model industry is anorexic. We will show women who have their own identity, the 18-year-old A-level student, the company chairwomen, the musician, the footballer.”
Women come in all shapes and sizes. As a female consumer, I've been young, thin, heavy, pregnant and older and want to see a little of everything. The runways should accurately reflect the streets. An array of different, beautiful women make anything more alluring.
Just as models are skinny today, in decades gone by it was popular to be curvy. Beauty should never be defined by a single type of woman with so many diverse, delightful feminine faces and bodies. We all want someone to relate to, not a fantasy. As Queen Latifah reminded us, optimum health should be the focus rather than meeting media standards.
As more female consumer veer away from traditional marketing techniques, it seems like a good time for the fashion industry to get real. Let's revere women thin, fat, old, young and every color of the rainbow for their personal, unique brand of beauty. We're sure to see a healthy boost of self-esteem among women.
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