Huffington Post got their paws on more photos of V Magazine's Size Issue.
Photo: Huffington Post via V Magazine (Photographer Solve Sundsbo for V Magazine)
If you thought the the Great Weight Debate of 2009 was a fleeing issue, it's not going away at the start of 2010.
What I'm interested in knowing, is not just how I feel about magazines like Glamour, Germany's Brigitte, and V Magazine doing "Size Issues" and recruiting "real women" but what the real women in settings other than my own, the women these spreads are saying they portray. How do they actually feel about these fashion spreads.
As an insider in the fashion industry, and as someone who has always been the media and society's standard of thin, my thoughts likely vary from what other women have to say on the subject.
PART 1
Photo: Terry Richardson for V Magazine, via Vmagazine.com
In Part 1 of this blog, here is my take as someone who is 5'7" and 120lbs.
I reached a my current and steady weight when I was about 16 years old. Certain girls in my high school started rumors that I was anorexic. I've been an open target for unsolicited criticism because thin people are thought to be lucky, I suppose. "Did you loose weight? Have you gotten thinner? Do you eat? We need to fatten you up!"
I've heard all the standards, said directly to my face and not behind my back. It's taboo to insult a woman who is considered overweight. Somehow, for the thin, these words are not supposed to be offensive: "I wan't to feed you a sandwich. Eat another piece of cake, you can use it." and "You look emaciated! Eat!"
My father was "under -weight" according to those doctors's old school charts. My own childhood doctors feared I was suffering of malnutrition. I have a small frame and yes, a "lucky" metabolism. But, I am cautious of what I eat. If I eat a giant muffin for breakfast, that's my bakery intake for the day. I rarely drink sodas. I didn't say NEVER. I am not the picture of perfect health, thats certain. Yet, I do attempt to balance my meals. While I don't want to put on pounds, I also don't want to die of some wretched disease. Cancers and diabetes run in my family genes.
A friend I hadn't seen in a year came to visit me. The first thing she said to me is "Oh, did you gain weight?" I said "I don't think" She replied, "Good, because you were gross skinny before." I was the same as I'd always been, not any more or less.
I was working in an office and there was a bagel and cream cheese birthday breakfast. I already ate my morning muffin. When I passed on eating the chunk of bread they were offering, my boss kept badgering me. "Are you sure you don't want one? You look like you need to eat. You probably didn't eat breakfast, right?" Other co-workers came by, "How come you're not having a bagel?" Because Im not hungry, I don't want a f*cking bagel!
Another incident when I was working at a fashion magazine, happy to discover that I finally had taken my measurements and discovered why I can never find the correct pants size, I said to my boss, "I finally figured out why all of my pants are too big." Before I could tell her that I was like most other women who fall in between off-the-rack cookie cutter sizes, she said in an accusatory tone "Yea, why DONT your pants fit?" There has always been this assumption by others that because of my size I'm have unhealthy eating habits.
Conversely, the same boss and I were working on a shoot which we needed to find sizes for the editor in chief's front of the book photo. Thoughtlessly, I kept blurting out, "There's no way she's a size 30 jeans! These are huge!" As it turns out, my boss was also a size 30, and she was not at all "huge." She pointed out that because of my size, I "see the world in miniatures."
Neither of our comments were intended to be malicious, but it shows different perspectives on sizes. Some of you may read this and are saying to yourself in a sarcastic tone "Oh, being thin is sooo hard!" My intention is not to have readers take pity on my bony soul.
As I see this V magazine spread, however, I do fear for my "skinny" little ass. If these shoots become a regular occurrence and manage to change the landscape of how women's bodies are portrayed in fashion, will this make me more of a target to insensitive remarks and force feedings? The point is we all judge each other and sometimes, its unfair. Is it my business what anyone else eats for lunch? We are not clones of each other.
All of my narcissistic concerns aside, should there be more "size issues" or should all issues contain the various shapes of us all? Is this just a novelty which will go away when the cash registers start chiming again? Surely during a recession, magazines and retailers are looking for ways to gather a wider audience- no pun intended.
Is this a beneficial step in conquering body image issues and eating disorders? Are we blaming the correct people (media) and taking the appropriate actions?
What about different faces? Barbie is pretty, but what about crooked teeth and bulbous noses? If the fashion world were to shake up the perception of beauty, would the fantasy of obtaining perfection exist? Would the same women who are advocating for "real women" still buy magazines with the same fervor?
There is no doubt that the women in the above photos look pretty damn sexy. If this type of editorial is here to stay, however, I think we need to proceed with caution. We can't just promote fat rolls, we can't just promote skin and bones.
While the fashion world tries to dig itself out of the ideal image mess it created, for me, it will be interesting to see "if these every body is beautiful" style spreads will spark real change in the women vs women culture we've become accustomed to. Will we finally accept our own shapes? Will ladies stop putting down other ladies? (I doubt.) And finally, for an industry that has detoured away from art and into strictly selling, will the women they target start buying if they see themselves reflected in advertising and on glossy pages?
Will we ever be able to make a distinction between art, fantasy and commercial? Should we? Is there a way to make a separation when making art that can be worn on the body? I think lumps in a garment where they aren't intended to be takes away from the design of the piece. I certainly work in this industry because its pretty. Its not bombs, blood and death. It's doesn't look or dress like me. Its fantasy. I'm essentially the equivalent of a "trekkie" or an avid professional sports fan, only my interest lies in clothing an accessories,some are which are available to me, some are not.
Last, I showed my boyfriend the V magazine photoshoot and asked "what do you think?" Other than one or two photos that he felt were too retouched, he said "they're all hot." (I am sure he was not saying this just to impress me, we've been together for so long that we're beyond that point)
When coming upon the all nude model, he said "NICE!". So there you go ladies.
