Stop blaming the models and put that doughnut down!

I’m really sick of people bashing models and thin people for causing everyone else to have low self-esteem. These people claim that models and magazine pictures distort the idea of what beauty really is. To some degree, I agree. Magazines do Photoshop, edit, and airbrush their subjects to make them look skinnier, prettier, and generally more attractive. In this scenario, I do believe these images are detrimental to the minds and confidence of young women, and I think Spain was correct in banning models with low BMI’s (healthy is around 18.5-24, anorexic is 17.5.) But sometimes they go too far.
One well-known example is the Dove “Campaign for Real Beauty”; featuring “average” sized women who want beauty to mean more than size 0-2. These people (and supporters and other groups) claim that since the average pants size of an American woman is 14, there should be size 14 models, and that size 14 should be considered “sexy” and “hot”. But does beauty really have a number? Are we so materialistic that we define our beauty by numbers? And what does beauty really mean?
To most men, a woman’s beauty coincides with health. But oh no! Those anorexic models aren’t healthy! However, do you really think guys look at models? Most of the time they have those pert faces and no shapeliness. And have you ever heard guys say, “ ‘Man, that second girl on the Versace runway show last night was hot!’ ‘No way! I definitely think the headliner for Gucci was better’ ‘You guys are whack, that Donna Karan chick was soooo much hotter!’” Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to happen. The only model guys probably have even heard of/seen is Giselle Bundchen (Sunglass Hut) , or maybe Adriana Lima in a Maybelline ad on the back of his girlfriend’s Cosmo. Models are thin and tall because clothes look better; layers are easier to assemble when the person is taller and the CLOTHES (not the person, models model clothes not themselves) look better. Models are to designers as mannequins are to department stores. Have you ever seen a small mannequin? They are tall to show the clothes more prominently.
So, back to health’s relationship with beauty. What attributes do we as a society (and the men we try to impress) consider beautiful? Some would be: healthy skin, healthy nails and hair, toned muscles, curves (including le derrière and le décolletage), lean (not thin or skinny), and a positive attitude. Most guys don’t like stick-thin twigs, they like some t*ts and a** (T&A).
Now, back to the Dove campaign. Have you seen the women they advertise as being “normal”? I’m not trying to be offensive, but almost all of them are overweight, and it looks like they don’t take care of their bodies by eating healthily and vigorously exercising. You don’t have to be a size 0-2 to be healthy (or sexy!), but unless you are very tall, (the US average is 5’4”), a size 14 is most certainly overweight. If size 14 is average, and the average women is overweight (two-thirds of the US is), then what does that say? Simple math, hello! The last time I heard, the average woman was 5’4” and 145 pounds, and apparently, a size 14 (that’s what Dove says.) Size 14 and 5’4??? That’s CERTAINLY not healthy! I’m 5’4” and I am not anorexic. I am on the lower end of the healthy range for my height (the range is from 110 to 125), and I have an athletic/muscular build, not a twig build. I am between a 0 and a 2. Even if I expanded as I aged, I still can’t see myself being healthy and above a size 4. I’m 10 sizes below “average”, and am considered healthy. Somehow, if I gained 10 pants sizes (or even 5!) I doubt I would still be healthy.
I am sick of overweight, inactive girls criticizing me and people like me for being “too thin” (healthy) and making me out to be the cause of their low self-esteem. If they played 3 Varsity sports a year and ate healthily (vegan or not, though vegan is certainly very healthy), they wouldn’t have muffin tops and jelly rolls. While stick-thin, unhealthy, and anorexic models make being thin seem unattainable because they are soooo thin, people have to realize that most people don’t consider models hot, or even use them as comparisons!
So pretty much, there is a bunch of overweight women complaining that healthy and fit women are considered more attractive than they are. I’m just taking a wild guess, but I think the root of this is jealousy, because they don’t have the motivation to treat their bodies well.
I don’t blame overweight women for being upset that they aren’t as “hot” or “sexy” as their thinner counterparts. But they can’t try to overthrow the system and make everyone think that size 14 is attractive. Besides the fact that beauty should be on the inside (men look for personality, too!), if overweight is considered the new thin, people will be switching salad for ice cream because their weight won't matter to them anymore, and we’ll see an increase of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other horrible diseases that are already on the incline because of the unhealthy trends of this era.
Instead, these women should be trying to see that they are attractive, with their curves, attitudes, and personalities, and understand that they have a health issue. I see plenty of overweight women who are happily married. You don’t need to be the stereotype of “hot” and “sexy” to be attractive and lovable. If anything, these overweight/ “normal” girls are the most materialistic because they are judging themselves based on size. They should realize that by becoming healthy, they will no longer have the problem of being what they perceive as unattractive and will only be bettering their health.