Thursday, March 31, 2011

Impossible Standards?

It's rare that you hear someone in the fashion industry bemoaning the size of models.  Unless, of course, it is to say that they could stand to lose a few pounds.  I've always found the emphasis on extreme thinness frustrating and somewhat sickening.  I love magazines, but I tend to lean more towards the ones with health elements than the fashion oriented ones.  I love looking at the clothes, but seeing the models is always a downer.

So I was a little surprised when I came across this quote by fashion designer Hervé Léger:
"If I had to go back to catwalk presentations I would be in a panic… Already the models I find are too skinny, too sad. I knew the age of the super top models, Linda Evangelista and Cindy Crawford, who were always lively and smiling. Today you go between several défilés and you will see the exact same type of girl – it just doesn’t inspire me."
I then googled his name and "skinny" to see what I could find...

Same style of dresses, but the models on the left are from the 80s/90s while the models on the right are from today.  It's really shocking to see how the standards have changed over the last few decades.  The models on the left look happy, healthy, and fit.  The models on the right look tired and sad.

It just depresses me that these are the images that are out there.  These are the images that women have to look to...to aspire to?

Woman come in all kinds of shapes and sizes.  I'm not trying to say that if you're skinny, you're obviously sick and starving yourself.  I know women that are a size 0 and perfectly healthy.  That's the size their body is happy at.  And I know women at the other end of the spectrum that are equally as healthy.

But to see a side by side comparison of how the so-called "standards" have changed is shocking.  These are the women that are plastered on billboards.  These are the women whose pictures fill magazines.  These are the women we're told we need to look like.

I think the worst part of all of this is that there are young, impressionable girls out there that see these images and learn to hate their bodies for having the very curves that make them womanly.  I've worked a lot with kids, and I've literally had girls no older than eight telling me that they think they're fat and want to lose weight.  Eight year olds.

It's no surprise in an industry where a size 6 or 8 is often considered "plus size."

I don't know how we change this other than embracing our bodies for what they are and what they do for us.  And look to models like this for inspiration!


So I know this is kind of off the whole "running" theme, but I think positive body image is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle.  About my run today: I ran 5 miles today in about 42 minutes which means I'm right on my way to my goal of finishing 5 miles in under 40 minutes by mid-June.  That's the goal and I definitely think I can shave 2 minutes off my time in 2.5 months!

3.31.2011 Run
Distance: 8.04 K (5 mi)
Time: 42:08:00
Pace: 8:30/mi
Calories: 597

































































































































1 comment:

  1. Thanks for following my blog! I really like yours also, so I will be following yours too!! Congrats on the weight loss! I am headed down that road to becoming healthier, and am working at running too!! Can't wait to read more!

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