The fashion industry likes models to be tall and thin so they can fit into sample size clothing. Unless blessed with amazing genetics, hardly any woman out there wears a size 0 or 2. The film industry usually shows incredibly thin actress too. While there are some bigger actresses, they are given parts in films that are secondary to the lead, and usually never the love interest.
On television, most ads that are run are about how to improve you looks and this includes dieting. The diet industry sees the most interest after New Year's when people resolve to lose weight and then again when it is time for swimsuit season. All of these miracle treatments for rapid weight loss are advertised which conveys the message that we can never be happy with our weight. There are always a few pounds to lose. To top it all off, women on TV are actually skinnier in real life, because it is true that the camera adds ten pounds. It's sickening to think the media wants us to conform to a stick-thin figure.
Model Kate Moss appeared in the 1990s for Calvin Klein and she began what was known as the "waif" trend. She was ridiculously thin, with bones protruding everywhere. The fashion industry has continued to follow her lead although it is evolving a little bit.
A few years ago, Nicole Ritchie was shown in a bikini that was literally falling off of her because she had no fat for it to hold onto. At the time, she didn't consider herself unhealthy, but after having two children looks much healthier. She says she now realizes how thin and unhealthy she looked.
The latest wrinkle for celebrities is dieting with Jenny Craig and so there are several celebrities that have gone on as spokespeople for the company. Valerie Bertinelli was really the first one to lose weight and keep it off, but once again they don't advertise the hard work you need to do to be healthy. The only thing advertised is that you need to lose weight and here is the quick fix.
Jennifer Love Hewitt was ostracized last summer because she had an unflattering photo taken of her in a bikini. She gave an interview in which she said she was only a size two, but that is considered fat in Hollywood. Instead of being a role model for women with butts, she went on a diet to lose what little fat she had.
Mary-Kate Olsen checked into rehab for an undisclosed eating disorder, but it was obvious long before she checked herself in that something was wrong. She was photographed at movie premieres looking extremely skeletal. She is interesting in that she is both a part of the fashion world as a designer, and an actress. Her sister and she have been in the spotlight since they were young, so they were role models to little girls. Mary-Kate's weight was encouraging eating disorders until she reached out for help.
LOL!! I am loving the title of this blog!!! You definitely brought up some major points that I hadn't ever realized such as how models are hopeful to being able to fit into sample size clothing. SAMPLE size! That is so ridiculous yet so true. And you are right when the majority of motion pictures always place the "heavier" (when they're really just normal size) actresses as secondary roles. The first movie that comes to my mind when thinking about this scenario is the movie, "In Her Shoes," which stars Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette. In case you haven't seen the movie, the title is referring to Toni Collette's shoes, so you would think that the starring role would be Collette, Wrong! The starring role is the more skinnier, society accepted, blond haired, blue eyed, Cameron Diaz....It's a shame that celebrities are thrown into the spotlight because they are labeled as "fat." This also happened to Tyra Banks from a swimsuit she wore and very soon after, the picture people said was hideous," of her was all over news magazine covers.... Quick fixes for weight loss are continuously an issue and aren't healthy at all. Recently I praised Jennifer Hudson for being satisfied with her appearance, since she wasn't the typical media wanted size of 4,6,8, and then she was suddenly an endorser for Weight Watchers. While I do commend her for her successful weight loss, it becomes a fine line because it goes to show again that "bigger women" are "bad."
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