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Size 10: Does That Make You Plus Size?
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It seems that every couple of months, some photographs of celebrities or models are exposed as having been “Photoshopped” far beyond the reality of their bodies. The latest person to go on a digital diet is plus-size model Crystal Renn.
She is complaining that because the photographer slimmed her down, her image is tarnished — that her fans and clients might think she lost weight and succumbed to the beauty ideal of “straight”-sized models. (The photographer defends his work on his blog as normal touching up.)
Renn says she is a size 10, which is considered a plus size in the fashion industry. That got us thinking — again — about what a plus-sized model really represents. As she told the Today Show, “what industry thinks as plus and what society thinks is plus” are out of whack.
But even as a size 10, Renn really doesn’t represent most women. Today, the average American woman is 5’4″, has a waist size of 34 to 35 inches, weighs 140 to 150 pounds, and wears a size 12 to 14, says Pam Peeke, MD, WebMD’s Everyday Fitness blogger. So the fashion industry probably considers you and most of your friends plus-size.
Think about that: If you’re average, you’re plus-size. The clothes the fashion industry creates for you are in a separate area of the store. They might be more expensive. They might be less stylish. So you might be made to feel less-than-average by this skewed ideal. The “majority rules” concept doesn’t apply to the fashion industry.
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