Sizing Up Beauty

Cherokee Hernandez, Feature Editor

Allow me to begin with…where are all the REAL models at?
Little girls walk through the mall and see the pretty girls with the long hair, the perfect skin, the skinny waist and perfect bust plastered all over the walls. That is what they want to look like, but is that a goal that is attainable?
According to the CDC or the Center of Disease Control and Prevention the average weight of a woman is 140 pounds. Victoria’s Secret on the other hand has a standard 5’9’’ height requirement and 24” waist requirement.
The sad reality of this all is we all are not made for the standards. What I believe should be done is, get more “plus sized” models out on the runway. Encourage self love for our average women and men out there.
Dove has already begun what may be a revolution in fashion, with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, participants of all shapes and sizes were able to feel beautiful and exemplify their beauty regardless of the ridiculous standards given out by other modeling or advertising agencies.
Modeling is about beauty so who cares what size you are! Social media happens to be a place where the trend of plus sized positivity is taking off. On Instagram you may find users such as; @theashleygraham, @tinysatan, @tessholliday, and @plusmodelmag all sporting a new take on true beauty modeling and spreading positivity to all their followers.
Let’s take a moment and appreciate our celebrity acknowledgement of this issue…
“You shouldn’t be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins…But you have to remember that it’s not practical or possible for an everyday woman to look like that. Being size zero is a career in itself so we shouldn’t try and be like them. It’s not realistic and it’s not healthy,” said Rihanna to Marie Claire magazine.
In other words let’s appreciate the body that we have and get rid of the preexisting model qualifications.