Skinny VS Curvy

At request, here’s plus-size beauty Jennie Runk, a size 14 beauty who models (in bikinis) for H&M – Jennie, who is 5’10” and measures 36D-31-44, recently wrote an essay that has been published on the BBC site where she shares her views on body image and promotes body acceptance and diversity. Unlike other celebrities, who seem to think that beauty only comes in one type of package, Jennie thinks that the hatred towards any body type needs to stop:

I had no idea that my H&M beachwear campaign would receive so much publicity. I’m the quiet type who reads books, plays video games, and might be a little too obsessed with her cat.

So, suddenly having a large amount of publicity was an awkward surprise at first. I found it strange that people made such a fuss about how my body looks in a bikini, since I don’t usually give it much thought.

When my Facebook fan page gained about 2,000 new likes in 24 hours, I decided to use the attention as an opportunity to make the world a little nicer by promoting confidence. I’ve since been receiving lots of messages from fans, expressing gratitude.

Some even told me that my confidence has inspired them to try on a bikini for the first time in years. This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to accomplish, showing women that it’s OK to be confident even if you’re not the popular notion of “perfect.”

This message is especially important for teenage girls. Being a teenage girl is incredibly difficult. They need all the help and support they can get.

When our bodies change and we all start to look totally different, we simultaneously begin feeling pressured to look exactly the same. This is an impossible goal to achieve and I wish I had known that when I was 13. At 5ft 9in and a US size eight (usually either a UK 10 or 12), I envied the girls whose boyfriends could pick them up and carry them on their shoulders.

Gym class was a nightmare. While the thin girls were wearing shorts, I was wearing sweat pants because my thighs were the size of their waists, and those pants were embarrassingly short because I was taller than the average adult, but still shopped at (pre-teen clothing store) Limited Too.

I also had thick, curly hair that only drew more attention to me, hiding behind my braces and beige, wire-rimmed glasses. On top of all this I’ve always been rather clumsy, so to say that my adolescence was awkward is an understatement.

Having finally survived it, I feel compelled to show girls who are going through the same thing that it’s acceptable to be different. You will grow out of this awkwardness fabulously. Just focus on being the best possible version of yourself and quit worrying about your thighs, there’s nothing wrong with them.

After all, I never thought of myself as model material but then I was discovered at a Petsmart, while volunteering in my too-short sweat pants no less.

I was given the option to lose weight and try to maintain a size four (a UK six or eight), or to gain a little – maintain a size 10 (a UK 12 or 14) – and start a career as a plus-size model. I knew my body was never meant to be a size four, so I went with plus.

People assume “plus” equates to fat, which in turn equates to ugly. This is completely absurd because many women who are considered plus-sized are actually in line with the American national average, or a US size 12/14 (somewhere between a UK size 14-18).

I can’t argue that some styles look better on one size than another.

While the idea of separating women into size categories seems stigmatising, clothing companies do this in order to offer their customers exactly what they’re looking for, making it easier for people of all sizes to find clothes that fit their bodies as well as their own unique stylistic expression.

The only problem is the negative connotations that remain stubbornly attached to the term “plus-size”. There shouldn’t be anything negative about being the same size as the average American woman, or even being a little bigger. Some women are perfectly healthy at a size 16 (a UK 18 or 20).

There are also negative connotations associated with thinness. Just as bigger women get called fat or chunky, thin women get called gangly or bony.

There’s no need to glamorise one body type and slam another. We need to stop this absurd hatred towards bodies for being different sizes. It doesn’t help anyone and it’s getting old.

What do you all think of Jennie’s message?

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On body image:

‘When you change your body, you start to get selfish. You’re like, ”Oh, but that’s still fat and that’s still gross and why can’t I look like that?” To stop myself I have to look at how far I’ve come. I’ve learned how to eat right and look after myself. Also, I don’t weigh myself. If you like what you see in front of the mirror, then what’s the f**king point of getting on a scale?’

‘It’s OK to have a healthy envy and look up to somebody and set goals, but you have to realize that you’re never going to be exactly that person. Wishing you were Angelina Jolie or J.Lo isn’t going to change the fact that you’re not. Why not start working with what you do have instead of what you don’t?’

I figured out there is no such thing as perfection. If I had known that earlier, I wouldn’t have been such a f–k up. The only thing I can be is me. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. And my body is not perfect, either, but I love it. It will never be perfect but I do not want it to be. That’s so boring!’

… says Kelly in Self Magazine.

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Continue reading “Kelly Osbourne: “I figured out there is no such thing as perfection”” »

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On being inspired by women who look stunning at any age:

I do sometimes worry about getting older and the fact that I am not going to be a model for ever, but then I look at amazing women like Lauren Hutton (69) and Yasmin Le Bon (48).

‘Monica Bellucci (48) is also a big inspiration, she is so curvaceous and fabulous, and she models, she acts – she does it all! When I think about those women I instantly stop worrying. And, anyway, hopefully by the time I get to that point I will be married with children and I’ll be happy and I won’t care any more.

And the fact that Helen Mirren (67) can look so great in swimwear is an amazing boost for all women. (click here to see her).

… says glamour model Kelly Brook.

See pictures of Kelly’s inspirational women next!

Continue reading “Kelly Brook: “I do sometimes worry about getting older”” »

15 year-old Ariel Winter, who stars in Modern Family has a little quote for you:

“I had body insecurities when I was younger. I still do. Every girl has insecurities — mine were heightened at the time because my mother wasn’t supportive. Now, my sister is always making sure to tell me that I look beautiful . . . It’s about learning to love yourself.”

… says Ariel in Teen Vogue.

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Note: Comments that criticize her figure will not be tolerated, since Ariel is just 15 years old.

Continue reading “Ariel Winter Brings the Quote of the Day” »

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Crystal Renn, the former plus-size model who wrote a book that documented her weight journey as a model from a size 0 to a size 14 recently opened to the press about body image in the fashion world and suggested the designers to change same sizes from 2 to an 8 – here’s the full story from Radar:

Each of the models present shared compelling personal stories about their struggles with weight and body image in the modeling industry. Amy Lemons said that when her body started changing at 17, her agent recommended eating just one rice cake a day, and if that didn’t work, cutting back to only half of one. Katherine Schuette, who also studied nutrition, stopped eating even though she knew the dangers. “I knew down to the chemistry what was happening to my body when I tried to get to that size [0],” she shared.

It was Crystal Renn, who has publicly shared her struggles with eating disorders in her book Hungry, who spoke most passionately about the subject. After being signed by a model scout who told her to lose ten inches from her waist and advised her to look to Vogue for standards of what she should look like, Renn entered into years of obsessive dieting and exercise to get down to a frightening 95 lbs. “What I found,” Renn said of that time, “is that I felt nothing except hatred for myself.”

And the problem isn’t just with model agents; Ashley Mears says the problem lies much more in the editorial side of the industry. Chris Gay agreed, expressing frustration with industry standards set by designers and editors that he deemed ridiculous. “They’re not standards a woman can keep through her life or her career,” May said. “You’re replacing good models with new models because of unrealistic standards…”

Renn’s suggestion, which seems almost painfully obvious in its simplicity, is for designers to change the sample size to a size 8. She argues this could accommodate bodies between sizes 6 and 10, or tailored down to a size 0 if the designer wanted to hire a girl that thin. Renn posited that some designers feel pressured to keep their sample sizes small because that’s what industry leaders are doing–she of course made an exception for close friend Zac Posen.

“There are some people who lead,” Renn said of the designer’s attempts to diversify his runway, “and Zac Posen is one of those people.”

What do you think of Crystal’s thoughts?

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Continue reading “Crystal Renn Wants Designers to Change Sample Sizes to an 8 Instead of a 2” »

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