The-F-Word.org

It’s Friday, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and I’m much too buoyant to dwell on frustrating and depressing news, so instead I’ll share some fuck-yeah! good news from the north. Canada’s National Eating Disorder Information Centre has teamed up with Toronto-based advertising agency Zulu Alpha Kilo to creatively combat unhealthy body images promoted by the fashion industry.  The small-budget guerrilla-style advertising campaign involved sending fashion editors and brand marketing directors across the country a Hallmark-style greeting card which reads, “Thanks for helping to make me such a successful anorexic.” They also sent out T-shirts with an absurdly small waist featuring the message, “Please try this on to experience how your ads make us feel.” And an interactive transit shelter with a poster reading “Shed your weight problem here” currently functions as a garbage bin for fashion magazines, complete with a slot at the front which allows consumers to add their glossies to a growing stack of Glamour, Vogue, and Fashion magazines.  The campaign’s broader goal asks marketers and fashion leaders to “cast responsibly and retouch minimally.”

More than half of all Canadian women diet, according to NEDIC, and one in four teenage girls engage in eating disordered behavior (in the U.S., it’s estimated that three out of four women have disordered eating and as many as 10 percent may have a full-blown eating disorder).  The fashion industry often bears the brunt for instilling unhealthy body images in girls and women and while NEDIC director Merryl Bear acknowledges that “a range of factors” are at play when it comes to eating disorders, the organization’s goal, she said, was to “focus on different audiences at different times to look at a broad range of some of the influences on body image and disordered eating.  We wanted to show that both the public and some fashion thinkers are ready for change. It may look provocative and edgy, but it is a very substantive campaign.”

NEDIC is collecting digital signatures for its petition, which asks fashion leaders and marketers to “broaden their definition of beauty and inspire us with looks that are beautiful and attainable.”  Watch highlights from the campaign below (beware: the video contains potentially triggering images of emaciated models).

A new study of 1,000 American girls between the ages of 13-17 by the Girl Scouts finds that 9 out of 10 girls say they feel pressure from the media and/or fashion industry to be skinny.  More than 80 percent of the girls polled said they’d rather see natural photos of models than digitally enhanced or altered photos.

Specialists calculate life expectancy for people with anorexia to be 25 years shorter than average.  Patients who recover however, may expect full lifespans.

A Chicago mom and grandmother shares her story of finally overcoming anorexia after 25 years of battling the disorder.

Remember the mental health parity law that passed in 2008? The The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury jointly issued new rules this week governing the law.

The Website Realself.com tracked cosmetic surgery trends by region and even city with some surprising results.

New “groundbreaking” study shows abnormal brain function in people with body dysmorphic disorder.

Eve Ensler: Girl power can save the world.

The New York Times reviews Michael Pollan’s new book, “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.”

Remember the Ralph Lauren shrinky-dink hack job of already underweight supermodel Filippa Hamilton?  Followed by them firing the same underweight supermodel for being too fat?  Now the producers of America the Beautiful are waging an online boycott of the unrepentant fashion house.

On behalf of all the girls who feel ugly, overweight, and just not-good-enough;

On behalf of the parents who worry, cry, strive to help their daughters, and shell out $20,000 a month and above for eating disorder treatment centers;

On behalf of all the Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Aunts, women everywhere who have ever been made to feel insecure by the magazines, billboards, ads, and television commercials;

We are calling for the Boycott of Ralph Lauren products.

No more insincere Apologies, no more tiptoeing around the seriousness of this matter, we need a FIRM COMMITMENT from Ralph Lauren and his company that he will put an end to this egregious type of advertising forever. Please join the Boycott and help stop the suffering of women everywhere!

They’ve reached 5,000 Facebook supporters in just two days.  Lend your support by signing the online boycott here and becoming a fan of the boycott on Facebook here.

Supermodel Cindy Crawford opened up to the Guardian’s Hannah Poole on super-skinny models and eating disorders.  Check out the audio clip here.

The audio clip starts mid-conversation, so based on the response, I can only assume the first question is on super-skinny models.

I think the girls that are models now, that’s just their body. Did fashion celebrate thinness more? That’s a different question. And you can’t fault the models for that.Those girls are just thin girls. Like, Kate Moss is thin. She eats. I’ve seen her eat. She’s thin. I think that fashion though is all about extreme in a way and it also has to change; it’s constantly in flux. It’s just fashion.  It’s just fashion.

But fashion does get blamed often for encouraging eating disorders…

I think that’s a little bit of a stretch. I don’t know; I’m not an expert. I’m certainly not one of the people they’ve ever blamed because I’m not super-skinny. I think that people want to find something to fault. I think an eating disorder is way more than a girl looking at a magazine and seeing a picture of a skinny model. I think maybe that’s one tiny piece of the puzzle, but I think it’s a lot more about self-esteem.

I’m sure there are naturally-slender women in the modeling business, but I have a hard time believing that a BMI four points (or more) below what the WHO deems underweight to the point where the model doesn’t have enough body fat to support menstruation is “just their body.”  And certainly the latest wave of models to die from complications related to eating disorders indicate that not all are “just thin girls.” But, as I’ve written before, I am with Cindy in that the relationship between super-skinny models in the media and eating disorders isn’t as directly causal as we’d like to think.  Your thoughts?

While still sadly lagging in both range and affordability, plus-size clothing has come a long way from the shapeless elastic pants and sack-like tops usually reserved for fat teens and women (find great plus-size fashion tips and reviews at Pretty Pear or Young, Fat and Fabulous).  Yet there still seems to be a relative dearth of similar fashionable options for the 6 million overweight kids in the U.S. who are too large to fit into mainstream youth offerings.  According to one report, the girl’s plus-size apparel market is a $3.2 billion market that is only 16 percent served!  Capitalism, it would appear, is no match for fat-stigma.

Now a new company hopes to fill that gaping void in the children’s clothing market with fun, age-appropriate designs and sizing to fit both average and plus-size girls ages 5-12.  The mission of RealKidz Clothing is to “enhance girl’s self-esteem by providing them with age-appropriate clothing they look good in and are excited to wear.“  RealKidz founder Merrill Guerra was inspired to start the business after experiencing frustration in finding clothing for her own plus-size daughter.   Just check out some of these adorable designs:

I normally dislike the labeling of “real” in describing women because it all too often dismisses naturally slim women, but in the case of RealKidz, it’s entirely appropriate.  The RealKidz K-I-D-Z Sizing Model is designed to fit Slim (K), Average (I), Above Average (D) and Plus (Z) girls ages 5-12.  This system ignores industry standards and takes a much more granular approach to sizing, which, according to Guerra, “moves as close as you can find in the industry toward tailor made.”  And because the clothes are primarily sold in home-based parties (and online), girls are able to see and try on clothing in the comfort of their own or a friend’s home.  The pieces are pricey for children’s clothing, ranging from $24 for a pair of capris and $34 for a flare top, but not unexpected for a new and independent clothing line.  RealKidz is also developing an online social network group that would allow parents to “share their challenges, suggestions and joys” and also provide information from experts in fields that affect childrens’ health.

I’m sure this start-up will have the lunatic MeMe Roths of the world picketing at its virtual doors for somehow “promoting” obesity by allowing fat girls to wear something other than a potato sack, but I’m betting that it’s met with more positive reception than negative.  Even if childhood obesity is the raging public health and national security crisis it’s purported to be — despite statistics that show it hit its plateau years ago — fat kids need clothes too and othering them with a lack of options and styles only serves to further erode what are often already fragile self-esteems, which can not-so-ironically lead to even greater weight gain and health problems.   Bravo, RealKidz, bravo.

Supermodel Filippa Hamilton has reportedly weighed in on the “shrinky-dink” hack job of her by Ralph Lauren.  According to the Examiner:

“I was shocked to see that super-skinny girl with my face,” says Hamilton, who’s a size 4. “I think [the Ralph Lauren company] owes American women an apology. I’m very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy.”

Hamilton also told the NY Daily News that Ralph Lauren fired her for “being overweight” and not being able to fit into their clothes.  The fashion house confirmed that Hamilton was released “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us.”

Uhh.. Ralph Lauren?  If a 5-foot-10, 120-pound, size 4 supermodel with a BMI considered to be underweight by WHO standards* is too fat to fit into your clothes…  how exactly do you expect to remain in business?

*Hamilton’s BMI is 17.2.  The World Health Organization considers any BMI under 18.5 to be underweight.

French-Swedish supermodel Filippa Hamilton is thinner than 99 percent of American women, but she’s still not thin enough for Ralph Lauren.  After legally threatening the website Boing Boing for posting a horribly digitally altered Ralph Lauren advertisement of Hamilton in which the model was Photoshopped to give her an impossibly skinny body (”Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis”), the fashion house admitted to Extra, “Oops, our bad.”

Here’s the image, originally posted on Photoshop Disasters for obvious reasons.  Photoshop Disasters also received a similar threatening letter and took the image down.

Ralph Lauren issued the statement: “For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Quality and integrity?  There are many, myself included, who would argue that Ralph Lauren’s normal “brand” caliber presents very distorted images of women’s bodies on a daily basis, but frankly I doubt the company cares much or at all.  Jenny Lauren, the niece of Ralph Lauren, developed a serious eating disorder as a teen — her disorder, like others, was complex in nature, but she admits in her deliberately titled memoir Homesick that fashion and her family played a “huge role” in affecting her “psyche” — and even now as a mostly recovered adult, still suffers mentally and physically from it.  Violent bingeing and purging caused Jenny’s colon to herniate so that her small intestines dropped to the space between her rectum and vagina, sparking a lifetime of living with chronic pain and ailments.  Her search for relief has taken her from the Mayo Clinic to a spiritual healer in Brazil, from the East Coast to Tucson, Arizona, and she suffers still.

Ralph Lauren doesn’t seem to care that his upscale rail-thin images contributed to his niece’s eating disorder and subsequent debilitating ailments; why should he care about all the other girls (and boys) who develop eating disorders in attempts to look like the digitally slimmed models gracing his catalogue and website?  The only reason the company objected to this ad is because it went too far and made the brand an object of ridicule and not aspiration.

In a move similar to that of Glamour, Germany’s most popular women’s magazine, Brigitte, announced that it will no longer use professional models in favor of “real women” in an attempt to combat an unhealthy standard of size-zero models its says has alienated readers.  Andreas Lebert, Brigitte’s editor-in-chief, said that the bimonthly magazine will, starting next year, feature a mix of prominent women and regular readers in photo spreads for everything from beauty to fashion to fitness.  Lebert said the move is in response to readers saying that they are tired of seeing “protruding bones” from models who weigh the same as a prepubescent girl.

But unlike Glamour, which has committed to featuring plus-size models, Brigitte isn’t “going to become a magazine for plus-sizes,” said Lebert.   Because, “real women,” apparently, only come in sizes 4-12.  Read an English translation of the magazine’s call for models here.

You know who else uses “real people” in its ads?  Wal-Mart.  I hate to give any kudos to the union-busting retail bully who sells both women and the community it robs jobs from short, but I do have to admire the diverse everyday kinds of people it features in its print and television ads.  There was a print ad not too long ago for bras that featured a group of women a’ la Dove-style, but also included women who were old and wrinkled and actually plus-size.  The Nivea spot Wal-Mart is currently running on television shows a plus-size black woman and (who I assume to be) her husband sitting on the couch watching TV and eating popcorn.  The woman wears probably a U.S. size 20 at the least, and her husband can’t take his hands off of her.

The owner of one German modeling agency told The Associated Press that she believed Brigitte’s ban on models was simply a marketing gag that wouldn’t last once readers began clamoring again for “beautiful, aesthetically pleasing” people.  Yet Wal-Mart, with its regular people marketing blitz, trails only Exxon in annual revenues.  Sure, the demographics are different for Wal-Mart and Brigitte and people would continue shopping at Wal-Mart even if it did no advertising at all, but the fact remains that the super center dynamo knows both its clientele and how to best reach out to them — it doesn’t throw a half-billion-dollars a year at its advertising strategy for nothing — and it does this by thumbing its nose at the “advertising is aspirational” mantra with direct appeals to the Regular Joes and Janes who shop at its stores.  It’s this same appeal to consumers that motivated Glamour to diversify the models it features and that has now pushed Brigitte to move in the same direction.

What with Vogue’s public condemnation of fashion designers, the backlash received by SELF for digitally slimming Kelly Clarkson, the British Parliament debating regulation of airbrushed images, Glamour’s new commitment to body diversity and now Brigitte seeking out “real people” for its ads… it certainly seems like the dominoes have been set in motion. Here’s hoping they tumble rapidly.

The “Naked Fat Women” edition of Glamour is now out in what the fashion mag’s editors promise will be an “extraordinary dialogue on body image.”  But, as those same editors remind readers, Glamour has been on the cutting edge of body acceptance since the early 1990s — they’ve put Queen Latifah on the cover twice and “frequently feature other fuller-bodied celebs and models.”  Is anyone else as dubiously surprised as I am by this?

Glamour now promises to do the following:

A continued commitment to showing a wide range of body types—and, of course, racial diversity—in our pages, including fashion and beauty stories.

A promise to give the best plus models not just work, but the same great work straight-size models get, partnering with top photographers, stylists and makeup artists. Because a generous helping of fantasy, in our view, is fabulous—as long as it’s extended to women of all sizes.

An ongoing celebration of the so-called imperfections, from nose bumps to gap teeth smiles, that make us all unique.

Enthusiastic support for any designer who manufactures chic clothes we can photograph on full-bodied models. Isn’t it time for changes like these? Reality, after all, is everywhere.

What do you think?  Is this just lip service or has Glamour truly seen the body acceptance light?  Do you think we’ll see any true size 20-plus models featured in its pages anytime soon?

Plus-size model Crystal Renn appeared on Good Morning America yesterday to talk about her new book, Hungry.  Renn, who is America’s highest paid plus-size model, once epitomized the size-zero super-wraith model: 98 pounds and set to starve herself even thinner. Now back to a healthy size 12, she’s on a mission to promote self-acceptance – and, ironically, is more sought-after than ever.

“My message is that I want people to know that they can be themselves, that they can be individual, and that they don’t have to conform to be accepted and to succeed. I found that when I accepted myself and became an individual and who I am really, that my life and everything about me finally flourished and my career took off.“

In an interview Sunday with The Guardian, Renn said that while “crazy town still loves to gawp at the ultra-slim” there is a growing appetite in the fashion world for “the natural shapes a woman’s body takes when it’s not being deprived of food.”  Inga Eiriksdottir, another plus-size fashion model, agrees.  She, too, was pressured into losing more and more weight off her natural UK size 8 frame, but her “body just wouldn’t do it.”  Becoming a plus-size model was the “best advice” of her life, she says.  Now a “natural size [UK] 14,” Inga  also sees the modeling world becoming more accepting of more body shapes and sizes:

“I had no idea it was such a huge market or of the number of opportunities and amazing clients there were for real-sized girls. It’s crazy how much work there is. I’ve worked for Vanity Fair, Bloomingdale’s, Saks and Macy’s. But what I’ve really noticed is that the gap is being blurred between standard size models and plus sizes: before there were only super-skinny and pluses, but now you see all sorts of shapes and sizes. All beauty is now being appreciated.”

Renn’s agent, Gary Dakin, of New York’s Ford Models, echoes the trend:

“I have been in this business for 11 years and I have seen this debate ripple through the fashion world a number of times,” he said. “This time, though, the momentum of the debate feels different.” Style arbiter Stephen Bayley agrees. Bayley’s book, Women as Design, is published this week and looks at how definitions of female beauty have changed over the centuries. “In periods when we are impoverished, as now, there is a vogue for voluptuous women,” he said.”

But Kate Smith, a UK size-16 (US size 14) plus-size model, isn’t so sure.

“The number of plus-size models in the industry has quadrupled in the past few years, but we’re still a tiny percentage of the whole modelling business.

“What does my head in is that I’m a model but I can’t buy designer clothes that fit me. Everything is crawl-walk-run. We’ll get to the point where every shape and size will be represented on the runway, but maybe not in my lifetime.”

From Forever 21 offering a line of plus-size clothes to Glamour featuring nearly-naked fat women in multiple issues, I do see the market slightly cracking while still yet resistant to change. But I also see that narrow opening to be welcoming only of women who fit a certain mold, which is to say, not too fat. Crystal Renn wears a size 12 — a full size below what traditional plus-size clothing starts at — while Lizzie Miller of the recent Glamour fame, was quick to point out that she’s “not obese.”  The fact that models like Crystal and Lizzie aren’t clinically fat gives the magazines who feature them in their issues and the designers who send them strutting down the runway the marketing opportunity to pay lip service to body diversity while still yet shielding themselves from claims that they’re promoting an “unhealthy lifestyle.”  Caught somewhere in the contradictions are the majority of American women, who have yet to see themselves represented in fashion or print.

What do you think?  Will we ever reach the point where “every shape and size will be represented on the runway”?