The weight debate
There is an anti size zero campaign in the media at the moment aimed at
fighting back on behalf of curvy women who have have been discriminated in the media and in the modelling industry in particular.
Now I don't know anyone who's naturally a size zero, which is an Irish size four. If you're not familiar with size four that's because if you're that size over here then you're probably wearing children's clothes. I most certainly don't aspire to it but at the same time I'm not sure I'm okay with the idea of pinning up any particular body shape as the ideal as it implies that there's something wrong with any woman who doesn't meet that criteria.
It is said to be unfair as it discriminates against the naturally skinny but it also says its not okay to be trying to lose weight or to work hard to get in shape. I suppose some might have said I was curvy before, and if so I thank them for their generosity, I know I was in fact fat and so I have worked my ass off (literally !) changing my diet and lifestyle and doing all sorts of things I didn't really want to do at the time to get where I am today. So how dare the media tell me that's not okay.
As I've said before I have no aspirations to be size zero and apologies to anyone who is naturally that size but it kind of grosses me out. I'm a size 8 now ( american size 4 so two above the size 0) and honestly it's as small as I want to go, am I happy with how I look ? honestly most of the time no. At this stage I'm starting to resemble a boy and I can't say I'm delighted about that even though I don't ever want to go back to the weight I used to be. I can accept that a lot of my body image issues are just that, my issues but they are not helped by being constantly told that the ideal body is something I will never have every time I open a fashion magazine.
I think women are being pitted against each other and told that someone has to win. Will it be the skinny women or the curvy ones? But I think we should pause and ask why does someone have to be the winner? some women are naturally skinny, some have curves in all the right places and some seem to have fat in all the wrong places but feel no need to change. Why should we force women to aspire to things that it might not be possible for them to have.
And why can't I aspire to be stronger and fitter, should that not be okay too.
I think if we could just learn to accept that you can't fit all women into the one mold and make an ideal. And maybe it might be nice to not have someone dangle a carrot in front of you that you'll never quite reach. I'm talking to you ...people pushing for size zero models, and you in the magazines on the internet telling me curvy women are the only ones that are sexy and you air brushed fitness models pushing me to be something I can't.
fighting back on behalf of curvy women who have have been discriminated in the media and in the modelling industry in particular.
Now I don't know anyone who's naturally a size zero, which is an Irish size four. If you're not familiar with size four that's because if you're that size over here then you're probably wearing children's clothes. I most certainly don't aspire to it but at the same time I'm not sure I'm okay with the idea of pinning up any particular body shape as the ideal as it implies that there's something wrong with any woman who doesn't meet that criteria.
It is said to be unfair as it discriminates against the naturally skinny but it also says its not okay to be trying to lose weight or to work hard to get in shape. I suppose some might have said I was curvy before, and if so I thank them for their generosity, I know I was in fact fat and so I have worked my ass off (literally !) changing my diet and lifestyle and doing all sorts of things I didn't really want to do at the time to get where I am today. So how dare the media tell me that's not okay.
As I've said before I have no aspirations to be size zero and apologies to anyone who is naturally that size but it kind of grosses me out. I'm a size 8 now ( american size 4 so two above the size 0) and honestly it's as small as I want to go, am I happy with how I look ? honestly most of the time no. At this stage I'm starting to resemble a boy and I can't say I'm delighted about that even though I don't ever want to go back to the weight I used to be. I can accept that a lot of my body image issues are just that, my issues but they are not helped by being constantly told that the ideal body is something I will never have every time I open a fashion magazine.
I think women are being pitted against each other and told that someone has to win. Will it be the skinny women or the curvy ones? But I think we should pause and ask why does someone have to be the winner? some women are naturally skinny, some have curves in all the right places and some seem to have fat in all the wrong places but feel no need to change. Why should we force women to aspire to things that it might not be possible for them to have.
And why can't I aspire to be stronger and fitter, should that not be okay too.
I think if we could just learn to accept that you can't fit all women into the one mold and make an ideal. And maybe it might be nice to not have someone dangle a carrot in front of you that you'll never quite reach. I'm talking to you ...people pushing for size zero models, and you in the magazines on the internet telling me curvy women are the only ones that are sexy and you air brushed fitness models pushing me to be something I can't.
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