Look at a damn Fellini film. Fellini women are not size two. Most women are not a size two, yet people in San Antonio are trying to oust Miss San Antonio because she is only a size two. They said they want to promote healthy eating. Asking a 17 year old girl to lose 13 pounds when she is a size two is unhealthy and actually promotes unhealthy eating habits. Implying that Michelle Obama is overweight when she's had two children, has arms of steel and still manages to look like this
is freakin' unhealthy. Man, she looks hot in that dress!
Exactly what do people have against women? Are folks still upset that we get to wear both skirts and pants? Why do some of you insist on making us believe that we have to look like this in order to be "healthy?" Sorry, Stella Tenant, but I don't think visible rib cages are a sign of health or sexual prowess. Is it that people want to keep us weak and silly, because that seems like the only possible explanation. Our brains are made of body fat, so we simply cannot rid ourselves of all the fat - sorry, I'd prefer that the governing organ of my body be able to function properly.
Here are some averages of women's measurements. Note that the older average measurements (35-27-37.5), from around the 1940s, are not what is considered a size two today, which is a max of 34-24.5-35.5. Yet models are expected to be 34-24-34, and that is at 5'8 or taller. What we need to consider is how perception changes. In the past, a curvy woman was considered healthy; now, she is considered obese. I've taken certain surveys on weight and size and I've gotten "obese" back as a result. My waist is 26 inches. I don't want to look scrawny like Charlotte Gainsbourg! Ugh!
Don't get me wrong - we have promoted a healthier lifestyle as of late. I do believe that changing our smoking habits from those promoted in the past is totally correct, but making women believe that their natural body shape - one which has carried many women in the 1950s to age 80, or 90 or older - is totally incorrect. Even today we have many women who are energetic forces of nature who have commanding bodies we should admire. Here are some beautiful women who are certainly not a size two and, apart from Monroe, most are/were incredibly healthy.
BEYONCE
GRACE JONES
RITA HAYWORTH
SELENA
And, iconic beauties:
MARILYN
MOHINI IN BELUR TEMPLE
VENUS
CLEOPATRA
None of these amazing beauties are a size two, not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with being a size two (as someone who is 5'1, I've been there, but I was also very young and without child - as an older woman I enjoy my new curves and I think my husband does, too). We definitely shouldn't be hurtful to women who are NATURALLY thin, but to expect our First Lady to change her beauty when she represents the ideal - a strong, healthy, active woman - is ignorant. Furthermore, to ask a young girl who is already thin to risk her health for the camera is horrific - what kind of adult are you?? To expect any woman who is healthy and active to conform to unhealthy delusions is just plain stupid, especially when we have so many examples of how healthy is beautiful.
Can we just squash this stuff already? We made sexual harassment a big no-no; can we make weight harassment a no-no, too? Or maybe we can just get Grace Jones to kick Limbaugh's ass.