So Iâm not averageâŚIâm 5â8", 125 lbs., 35-25-35; but that doesnât mean I donât have cellulite (Iâm glad I have to type it, I still pronounce it wrong), or big scars, blah blah, so on and so forth. I dunno, there seems to be somebody for everybody; just take a look at your happily-partnered friends!
I fully support the idea of self-esteem, but the whole concept of the disparity between the common portrayal of average vs the true average is stupid. Media will always portray idealized forms of things rather than truly average forms of such things. The characters in our media are always far more intelligent than average people. They are typically more affluent than average. They are prettier than average. They have more interesting lives than average people.
Why?
If we all wanted to watch truly average-looking people have average conversations in average settings then we would just go hang out with our friends. We indulge in media as a form of escape. Sure, this can get out of hand when every bit of clothing is modeled by razor-thin models, but it is just expanding on a common trend. It isnât some malevolent and sadistic invention of the fashion industry.
Are âplus-sizedâ and âaverageâ equivalent in this context?
Which one, I wonder, deviates furthest from a âHealthyâ BMI:
[says the Obese Class I person]
FYI: Fashion plus size models start at an american size 6-8, so a 5â9 and up woman who weighs about 125-140ish.
I donât care what society thinks Iâm supposed to find attractive or not. That is a beautiful human right there.
If one of my sons brought her home I would psychically high five him so hard.
When has the fashion industry ever used anything close to average to display their wares?
Thanks!
She doesnât seem very average to me. Yowza.
That woman is about as accurate a depiction of the average american woman as the mannequin is.
I think the one with no arms, legs, head or organs my have the greatest deviation.
This is the only sentence with which I must quibble.
Except that mannequins have the express purpose of showing how clothes fit- on average. It doesnât do the customer any real good to see something that only looks good on something that doesnât resemble the average. Theyâre not there for female customers to fantasize.
Many mannequins in stores have a series of binder clips in the back, to tighten the fit of a normally sizes dress over an abnormally sized mannequin. The side seams never seem to drape properly as a result.
No, they have the express purpose of selling clothes.
The âplus-sizeâ woman depicted in this article is not an âaverageâ woman, whatever the-hell that is. This woman is obviously larger than the standard store mannequin or average catalog/fashion model sure, but wouldnât you say that she is still a reflection of the same beauty standards? Sheâs completely proportional, smooth and fair skinned, likely has had stretch marks and imperfections photoshopped out, her face is symmetrical and pleasing, sheâs wearing the ârightâ amount of makeup, sheâs got the âcome f**k me nowâ look on her mug, and sheâs buck arse-naked. I donât know a single guy that wouldnât think sheâs all kinds of hot. I mean, this woman is in the 1% of the females you might actually meet on the line at Wal-Mart demographic. Sheâs the girl next door you probably still donât have a chance with. What the hell is average about that, other than she shops at Wal-Mart?
Shaming people is always bad. Body shaming, racial shaming, gender shaming. The thing is, once the shaming starts, no one can tell where that line is anymore and everybody gets shamed by everybody else. Seriously, I know women that are shaped just like that mannequin and I know women that are shaped, well, like ten of those mannequins. How about we do something completely revolutionary and not shame anybody? If you feel like there are too many skinny mannequins out there, then start a company called Chubby Mannequins and sell them to stores to put alongside the skinny ones. The only difference is that when you put the chubby one and skinny one together in a store window they wonât shame the shit out of each other like the people who made them do. People could learn a lot from mannequins.
Iâll see your Yowza and raise you a KaBOOM!
Thatâs not exactly accurate. Yes, they do help sell cloths but not as a marketing device to increase profit or move inventory. You assume that if there were no mannequins that it would affect the volume of clothes sold each year thus lowering profits. That is not correct. Mannequins are display racks designed to demonstrate fit to help control merchandise returns, which lowers overhead and handling, but they are passive sales tools not meant to directly generate revenueâŚthey are clothes-hangers with boobs.
Iâll see your KaBOOM and raise you a ZOINKS!
