How can it be that plus size women want to idealize themselves as perfect, when perfect is different to many people? Culturally as a nation we see "perfect" now a day's as being skinny, because you can be a beautiful plus size model, but still be overlooked by a skinner version. So how can we evaluate perfect? But this article only makes sense on two levels to me.
First off, right now our country is on a skinny health trip, which means, if you look skinny you are perceived healthier than those of a heavy weight or size. Which can change soon with the new focus on being actively healthy because of "skinny fat".
Secondly, plus size women only have lower self-esteem because they are constantly told that they are not as pretty as thinner women. Society creates this self-esteem issue, because look at some of the really dangerously thin women and ask them why they don't shop or enjoy the way they look. Plus, if they made clothing that was pretty for plus size women things could be different as well.
What do you think, can plus size models hinder you from buying clothing, shoes, watches or anything? Do you think that seeing plus size models make it more diverse when it comes to adds, because not everyone can be this size 0-4 frame?
I personally don't think that watching plus sized models will hinder me from buying clothing, shoes, etc. Honestly what hinders me is the fact that I go to a store and finding out the size you have been wearing is not the size you need to buy. Yet, no weight change on my part has happened. That gets very annoying.
In reference of the article, I'm not really convinced on the findings due to the lack of information. However it got me thinking if there was another factor in plus sized women not wanting to shop. In our book it talks about learned helplessness. Through helplessness people expect their behaviors to not have any effect on the outcome. So if women go out and shop, and they have this learned helplessness, they will expect that no matter what mood, or behavior they engage in, the outcome will still be negative, and they are not going to find that perfect outfit, or the outfit they saw advertised just doesn't look the same on them as it did on tv.
You also talked about society creating this self esteem aspect in all of us, which I think would be linked with learned helplessness. Our book mentions that low self esteem, loss of appetite, and passivity are common symptoms between depression and learned helplessness. With these factors I could see the relationship between depression and eating disorders.
All in all, it is obvious that there needs to be a change in the way our current society looks at "perfect" women. Thanks for bringing up this topic!
I must say, I loved this. It is not everyday that you see a modeling agency that really respects the "plus-sized" model. In my opinion, most of these women aren't even obese.
As an admittedly overweight woman, I sometimes find my self-esteem drop whenever I see the "perfect" woman. There are so many times when I see a shirt or pant that is perfect, but can't get it because it is far too small.
More stores should follow the lead of this article and cater more towards the average sized woman and not just tiny women who could fit themselves through a key-hole.
I must say, I loved this. It is not everyday that you see a modeling agency that really respects the "plus-sized" model. In my opinion, most of these women aren't even obese.
As an admittedly overweight woman, I sometimes find my self-esteem drop whenever I see the "perfect" woman. There are so many times when I see a shirt or pant that is perfect, but can't get it because it is far too small.
More stores should follow the lead of this agency and cater more towards the average sized woman and not just tiny women who could fit themselves through a key-hole.
What we really need is a happy medium when it comes to advertising. Different women react differently when presented with different stimuli. By allowing for a vairety of models of varying sizes, you can eliminate almost all the risk of women having low self-esteem.
As for the people who think that sales will go down, they need to get their heads out of their wallets for a just a split second. Part of business is taking risks. If that risk doesn't work out...then oh well. Go back to the drawing board.
Self-esteem is a huge issue, especially in younger females. By showing models of all sizes, we can teach women that it is okay to love the size you are.