The
Sleeping Venus c. 1510
The Natural Profile of a Child
Note
the Relaxed Projection
of His Abdomen
Illustration from The Book of Massage. Copyright 1984 by Gaia Books Limited
A
Figure Study of a Young Woman
Conducted During the Early 20th Century
Note
the Relaxed Projection of Her
Abdomen
Photographs from the book: Femina Libido Sexualis. Copyright 1965 by The Medical Press, New York
The Abdomens of Modern Swimsuit Models
Are These Examples
of Normal, Relaxed, and Healthy Female
Bodies?
Glamour, Sept 2009 Issue
"Here's the deal: The picture wasn't of a celebrity. It wasn't of a supermodel. It was of a woman sitting in her underwear with a smile on her face and a belly that looks...wait for it...normal.
"So what's the story behind the photo? "The woman on p. 194" is actually 20-year-old model Lizzi Miller, and this is her second appearance in Glamour, shot by fashion photographer Walter Chin. A size 12-14 [180-lb.] and avid softball player/belly dancer ("I like exercising when it's fun"), Lizzi moved to New York City from San Jose three years ago to become a model (a "plus-size" one by modeling industry standards, though hello, at size 12 she's actually "normal size"...but I digress).
"When I was young I really struggled with my body and how it looked because I didn't understand why my friends were so effortlessly skinny," Lizzi told me. "As I got older I realized that everyone's body is different and not everyone is skinny naturally--me included! I learned to love my body for how it is, every curve of it. I used to be so self-conscious in a bikini because my stomach wasn't perfectly defined. But everyone has different body shapes! And it's not all about the physical! If you walk on the beach in your bikini with confidence and you feel sexy, people will see you that way too."" Source
Webmaster: I must admit, when I look at these images I don't see a "plus-size" woman, and apparently I'm not alone, as some of the comments in response to an online follow-up Glamour article demonstrate.
"I'm
sure this has been said, but
please don't represent a size
12 or 14 as a plus size. Represent
it as it really is ...NORMAL.
I am a plus size, you know,
the clothes that have a W after
the size (16W). those are plus
sizes. so by letting the media
call this woman a plus size,
you are still saying to women
a size 12 or 14 is fat. the
word plus size to most of us
(i did say most) means we are
overweight or just large women.
It's a shame no one can quite
come out in a magazine yet
and say YES, a size 14 is NORMAL.
I wait for the day."
Posted 8/25/2009 9:40:58am
by bpwriter47
"I
was watching tv last night
with my husband and they showed
the picture and I wanted him
to see it before telling him
what the whole thing was about.
His first response was "she
looks good"! When he heard
that she was a plus size model
he could not beleive it. He
said how is she consider to
be plus size and that that
was not right. It made me feel
good because even though I
am a size 6-8, my body looks
like hers. After having two
kids I really look like that
and I realized that my husband
still finds me attractive and
that I don't have to be perfect.
OMG thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!"
Posted 8/25/2009 9:52:48am
by caty11
Webmaster: Is being tall or having a large frame the same as being plus-sized? The image has resulted in a public discussion of what is appropriate to show in magazines, but will it change what women want to see? Do women want to see themselves, or somebody else, what they want to be, when they open the pages of a magazine? But, doesn't what they see influence what they want to see, in a magazine, and in the mirror?
