The modelling industry and judgement
The modelling industry is an entirely different world to ours. There’s model world, then there’s the actual world. In the actual world, an Australian size 12 is pretty average. A medium. In the modelling world? It’s where plus size starts.
No wonder so many young girls have a complex.
No wonder why so many women in general have a complex.
No wonder why so many women obsess about their weight, their height, and their faces.
If we keep comparing ourselves to and holding ourselves up to unrealistic, idealistic images, we’re never going to be happy with ourselves.
Most of the population don’t look like models do. And not just the very small models on international catwalks, but the plus sized models as well. For plus sized ‘professional’ catwalk modelling, I’m hard pressed to find anyone over a plus sized 18/20 (Australian). There are definitely some – Velvet D’amour is one example I can think of, but there really aren’t that many. And these plus sized models? Are still gorgeous, still tall and predominately, still have taut and toned bodies. They’re just bigger overall.
Because it’s modelling world, we’re probably not going to see many instances of unphotoshopped fat rolls or double chins. So we’ll look at these editorials and think to ourselves, “Why doesn’t my body look like that?” We don’t just do it with the slimmer model’s editorials, we do it with the larger models editorials as well (few and far between that they are).
We need to stop. It’s not healthy. It’s not conducive to developing a better self image. It doesn’t help anyone. There are always going to be people who are prettier, thinner, taller, sexier, more successful and with a better ability to walk in heels and wear lipstick without smudging it. It’s the way of the world. We need to accept what we cannot change and focus on our positives – and perhaps those positives don’t always need to include the look of our bodies, but what our bodies are capable of, and what we can do with our bodies. What we can achieve with our brains and our skills.
Women are so often taught that they are only worth as much as their looks or their bodies. That they can’t be both pretty and smart, that they can’t like clothing without being painted as frivolous. To that, I say … well, I can’t really type what I’d say.
Women should be whatever and whoever they want to be. Without fear of judgement or ridicule. Whether that be a model, an astronaut, a shop assistant or a CEO. We shouldn’t have to state this in 2010, but, sadly, even now, there’s still a long way to go in the road to equality.
OK,
Please indulge me while I have a rant of my own. Modelling is it’s own world, as is IT, as is plumbing, as is deep sea diving. All these things have their own norms. Some I agree with, some I don’t – some are healthy, some not.
If you don’t like the modelling world, don’t pay it any attention – get your fashion inspiration off the street – much more fun, much more practical.
Please, PLEASE stop writing about how we as women are all being wronged by the fashion industry.
Or the media.
Or the patriarchy.
I subscribe to this blog and a bunch of other feminist writing. But I am finding your blog increasingly hard to read.
I am a feminist. But if I was learning about feminism from your blog, I’d learn that it’s all about complaining about what the world does to us.
I’d really like to see more feminist writing, but I’d love to see stuff that leaves your victimhood at the front door.
While I understand that paying attention to the modelling world can give it power over me, I don’t think I can ignore it completely. It’s a world I’m in. It’s a world I mostly like, even though I recognise its many problems.
I want to keep writing about the fashion and the media AND the patriarchy, because I feel that it still affects (effects? I always stuff those two up for some reason!) the world and myself and I want to explore those effects.
I don’t pretend that people should learn about feminism from my blog. I’m still learning about it myself and it’s always going to be a journey. I still have plenty of reading to do on various subjects and I don’t pretend to be an absolute font of knowledge.
I feel the use of the words “victims” and “complaining” to be insulting, quite frankly. If you are finding this blog increasingly hard to read, then perhaps you should stop reading it.
Hi Sonya
While I would love to say that I pay no attention to what the media says about anything – I do. Which is why when I see a photograph of myself I do an inspection of each & every flaw. Every bump & shadow I evaluate with the eye of a tabloid picture editor. This is at odds with the way that I live my life and the way that I dress, the way that I feel about myself and the way that I perceive myself when I look in the mirror.
My body dysmophia is entirely related to looking at photographs of myself.
Selective photographs and over-use of picture editing software has done no-one any favours. Please rant away – it clearly opens up debate.
Kazari, do I need to give you a lesson in Feminism 101?
1. There are no such thing as norms. Norms are social constructions which reflect power dynamics in society. As such, they have to be challenged as they will not reflect the best interests of all, only a minority.
2. The standards and images of the fashion world and media have led to a privileging of style over substance for women and disturbing levels of physical and mental regulation and disciplining of women. Our bodies have effectively become our prisons.
3. Disloging patriarchy is, er, kind of the original tenet of feminism. Without accomplishing that we can never become equal.
I’d encourage you to read Wolf’s “The Beauty Myth” or Greer’s “The Female Eunach” before you decide to embarass yourself any further with any more ill-informed, Gen Y mindless comments. Until then, perhaps do the rest of us a favour and dis-identify as a feminist. Ta.
Caveat Calcei,
I’ll admit, I sometimes do the same thing. I look at photographs of myself and think, “Do I really look like that in real life? Really?” I know I don’t do this in person, when I’m getting ready for the day or when I look in the mirror either, so I’m much the same as you in that regard.
In fact, this comment has just spawned another idea for an article. So thank you for making it!
It’s taken me a long time to love my body and I do…I’m short, I’m quite petite but still curvy, I have stretch marks, I wobble…but I’m me and I’m fine with it. But, and there’s always a but, I still have those horrible moments when I see some statuesque, willowy woman who looks so elegant and chic and thin and for the briefest of moments my stomach sinks and I feel embarrassed about the way I look because I don’t look like this Amazonian goddess. It’s only a brief moment, barely even a moment, but it happens nonetheless. It’s easy to shake off but, yes, I still compare myself to other women. I try not to though and I’m aware of doing it and it rarely makes me miserable like it used to!
I’m glad you love your body, Andi. I think it’s totally normal to have envy for other people’s bodies, especially when they’re perceived as the ‘perfect’ bodies to have. It’s hard to break out of that conditioning.