Plus size and being overweight

[tltinatl]

Originally Posted by tytbody

I brought it up because it had to do with fitness. On one channel the poor giro is crying because she thinks she is overweight.

then today, I turn on the TV and there is another young girl crying because she is a little heavy and she wants to be a plus size model.

So my question was, is the other girl really over weight? Why couldn't she be considered a plus size model also.

But what was pointed out, it's all in who's eyes are looking.

It's supposed to confuse you. They want you to be confused. Otherwise you might give it a few minutes' thought and decide that all this "overweight/plus size/curvy" stuff is just made up terms applied arbitrarily to women's bodies to indicate to what extent they've failed to adhere to an impossible standard.

Yes it does have to do with fitness because someone overweight will not look to exercise because they are in someones eyes, a plus size and it's okay.

Only if that someone is still in the dark enough to think that weight loss is the only possible function of exercise. It's quite possible to be just fine with being a double-digit size and be a hardcore, dedicated exerciser.

it just all confused me as to when to exercise and when it's not okay to exercise even though you are noticeably over weight.

Since when is body size and indicator of who should or shouldn't exercise? Barring an illness, an injury, or environmental conditions that would make it unsafe, how is there any such thing as "not okay to exercise?" I don't even understand what that means.

[Hej]

Originally Posted by tytbody

I brought it up because it had to do with fitness. On one channel the poor giro is crying because she thinks she is overweight.

then today, I turn on the TV and there is another young girl crying because she is a little heavy and she wants to be a plus size model.

So my question was, is the other girl really over weight? Why couldn't she be considered a plus size model also.

But what was pointed out, it's all in who's eyes are looking. Yes it does have to do with fitness because someone overweight will not look to exercise because they are in someones eyes, a plus size and it's okay.

it just all confused me as to when to exercise and when it's not okay to exercise even though you are noticeably over weight.

I got my answers to my questions and it makes sense to me now.

I'll answer your specific question here:

Why don't you tell us why you don't think it's okay... Do you wear a "plus size" and think you're fat, or do you know someone who wears that size and thinks they're fat? Are you trying to make a comment about clothing sizes and fatness in general? Or do you think plus sized models are fat? I dunno. And I really wonder why you've brought it up here. It's got nothing to do with fitness and everything about stirring pots and sticking nasty labels on people


1. I can wear a plus size and yes, I do think I'm fat.
2. Yes, I know someone who also wears a plus size and she says *she's a big girl. and yes, she thinks she is fat.
3. Yes, my question is a generalization because it pertains to no one i know of in particular. It all stemmed from two shows, one was on MTV and the other I don't know, what channel, probably MTV about young girls who are Fat.
4. I brought it up here because i was confused about what can be considered fat on one hand and then it's okay to be fat on another hand if you want to be a model, (plus size)

5. Stirring pots? what's that. I saw it on TV and it made me wonder that's all. I'm using the words that are used on Television.

Thanks for your reply. It's a lot clearer to me now, and I'm glad you got some answers to your questions.

The issue of "fatness", "obesity", "plus sizedness" etc. is an extremely complex one because body composition and appearance have been taken as a symbol of so many other things-- mainly about who qualifies as "good", "hardworking", "healthy", "attractive", "worthy", etc. and who's "bad", "lazy", "unhealthy", "ugly", "unworthy", etc.

Non plus-size models embody the dominant ideal of beauty in our society (which is not to say that they represent everyone's ideal). BUT there are other standards of beauty and large groups of perhaps "plus sized" consumers that the fashion, cosmetics, travel, and other industries want to reach. Modelling is all about selling something after all. Hence plus size modelling.

I think wearing any clothing size is "okay". Beauty and worth don't depend on what size a person is. And health depends less on it than we are often led to believe.

The idea of anyone purposefully avoiding exercise just so they can become a plus-sized model sounds a lot like the fantasy thinking of teenagers. Even very large plus sized models exercise and take care of their health in other ways.

Teenagers have a lot of issues about their own body shapes no matter what those shapes happen to be. Larger teenage girls suffer even more. I think the key is something you've said in one of your earlier posts. What's the difference between just another overweight teenager and a plus sized model? If you're a plus sized model, does that somehow magically make being a larger size "okay"? Well in this girl's mind it clearly does, and that's why she's claiming that identity. There are a lot of other people telling her in subtle and not so subtle ways that she's not okay. That's sad. And clearly it's not having the "desired effect" of making her feel ashamed enough to conform.

[suebella]

I think I get it now, too. Thanks for explaining, Tyt.

I would say that sizing, particularly in women's sizes, is so arbitrary that it can't be used as a measure of anything. Not your overall desirable size, weight or level of fitness.

The fashion industry is messed up. I also have three sizes of clothes in my closet and my weight is pretty stable. When I see someone post (or say, IRL), I am a size eight, or four, or fourteen, I always think, how do you KNOW that?

And modeling - whether plus sized or runway or fashion modeling - is a whole different world. I don't think you can draw any conclusions about weight or fitness from that world at all.

[kat999]

See, this is why I'm glad I cancelled cable. MTV is not a good source of information on, basically, anything.

Almost all commercial television is designed to sell products, especially "reality" shows. There is money to be made in playing upon people's fears, and very young women are susceptible to these fear tactics. If you don't look a certain way, you could never be a model. Well, why make that a life goal anyway? Really, models' lives look kind of horrible to me. Even looking at the "glamorous" parts of it, they're traveling all the time, they're posing for hours at a stretch... even fashion shows seem kind of dull and hectic at the same time, which just sounds awful. Who wants that sort of life? And being constantly hungry to boot?

If one is fearful that men only want "models" to date, that's also a huge myth. If you polled ten teenage boys about who they find attractive, you would probably not get a list of ten fashion models.

Honestly, I don't watch reality shows anymore or buy any women's health/beauty magazines anymore, and you know what? My self-esteem is all the better for it.

[slysam]

I think all of us on VF know that fitness and health comes in many sizes and shapes. And that's great, if we all looked the same it would be a boring world. From the tone of many threads it seems that most of us are interested and motivated by all the health reasons to exercise and also many are at least a little motivated by the aesthetic reasons and hopes of achieving or maintaining the look they desire.

However this does to me see to be a relevant topic or there would not be so many replies to the original post. Body image and whatever ideal someone is comparing themselves to is very relevant to health and fitness. I remember as a teen who was not at all overweight comparing my measurements to the ones fashion magazines reported certain models having and as a result believing my hips and chest were disproportionately large. If I were comparing myself to more of a range of people well I probably would have noticed they were not, but I felt extremely self conscious. I also remember watching the olympics and thinking that the female figure skaters looked fat! (Yikes! I see them now and think they look strong and very lean. I am not sure what my eyes recognized as fat on their bodies). I actually wonder if it might be a little better for teen girls now as there seem to be more variety in body types and ages represented as beautiful though looking at the models I am not sure that fashion has caught up. I personally think that exercise, fitness and sports are part of the answer to this as for many girls and women these things help them see their bodies as functional and also changes the aesthetic they prefer. But it is a touchy and complicated issue (and do disrespect to any women with a model type build as health, beauty and fitness comes in a lot of ages, sizes and shapes including the thin, long model type and many others too).

[tytbody]

Amen.