It's always been a major issue in the fashion industry and divides many opinions. The idea of body representation proves to be a difficult topic surrounding personal morality, opinion and social acceptance. It appears that nowadays there is more of an acceptance around body image and how people look. We are taught not to pass comment on people's weight and not to offend anyone. However, as soon as someone is put on the cover of a magazine or on TV, everyone seems to have an opinion, especially regarding weight.
Size zero and underweight models have dominated the catwalk for a long time. Although this size is banned in a lot of fashion shows, many models are still extremely skinny. Many argue that the way they represent women's bodies and the idea that skinny is more beautiful can prove extremely damaging for young and influential people. We are constantly bombarded with images of beautiful skinny women - whom many of us cannot relate to.
However, as we've slightly moved away from the idea that skinny is more beautiful, there is another extreme which is taking over the debate.
ImageReference: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/a22993945/stephanie-yeboah-double-standard-tess-holliday-cosmopolitan-cover-criticism/[/caption]Tess Holliday - a UK size 24 women is on the cover of Cosmopolitan's magazine October issue. Her image on the cover has caused a lot of controversy. On one hand people are excited by the fact a major magazine is promoting more than one body image and type. It is refreshing to see someone who is representing something other than "skinny" and who is just as beautiful.
Holliday told BBC's Victoria Derbyshire "A magazine like that has never put someone like me, an actual fat body, on the cover of a magazine."
Despite much support from the plus size community and others, there is another side to the argument which says that this image is just as damaging as size zero models as it is promoting an extreme to influential people.
In My Personal Opinion
I feel that the issue surrounding body representation is a tough one. Body positivity on the other hand I believe to be a movement where people can feel beautiful and accepted - the key is to not mix up the two. If we had models and magazine girls who were casted based on their physical health rather than their physical image, the kind of photographs and videos we see would differ tremendously.
Promoting extremes of anything whether it be political views, personal opinion or body image can be damaging to influential people. The average women's size in the UK is a 14-16 so why can we not see more of that? I makes sense for companies who are trying to target the masses to use someone who represents the masses, right? Again, it's not about making people feel like they're not good enough or skinny enough, it's about being as representative as possible without promoting unhealthy lifestyles to ensure that the right message is getting across.
References:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/london-fashion-week/the-average-size-in-the-uk-is-a-16-so-why-dont-we-see-that-on-th/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45354696