Women Under Pressure 2 B Fake!!

It is a phenomenon that has been discussed over and over again but to no avail. The fact that women are held to these unreasonable, unhealthy, high standards of physical perfection by the media and their male counterparts. Now I have highlighted two main sources of pressure and I will discuss each separately:

(1) There has been the ongoing standard that models should be anorexic. I say anorexic because they are oftentimes required to be under their ideal weight. I guess that is why models are usually wanted at younger ages before their body morphs into their hereditary shape/size. Designers assert that in order for their clothes to look good on the runway they must have tall and slim girls to fit the sample sizes. Yeah right! Sell me that bridge to nowhere! The problem is that designers are not making clothes with the average woman in mind, they are making it for this very small sector of society (tall/slim girls). My friends who are average size cringe at the notion of having to find a dress or jeans to complement their body type. Why should this be if they are in the majority? Furthermore, the magazines are photoshopping photos of celebrities to make them fit this superficial societal ideal of tall and slim...an ideal they created. I just read this article about a Ralph Lauren model, Filippa Hamilton, who was appalled when R. Lauren photo- shopped a photo of her, and subsequently fired her for being too fat.....a size 4!!! I am mature enough to admit that she most likely signed a contract that specified her weight requirements, however, she is 5" 10, 120 pounds for crying out loud, underweight for her height. With the recession, I guess losing weight from tight budgets may not be a bad thing lol, however, being underweight to sell clothing that does not fit the average girl is something totally different. (I have the link for this article below).

Photo-shopped photo of Filippa Hamilton (Ralph Lauren)

(2) Men!!

My issue when it comes to the standards men hold for women's physical attributes is that half of them do not hold themselves to these standards. I am so sick of talking to my male counterparts who are terribly out of shape, who do not even try to work out, but have the most stringent standards for women. There is a glaring Double Standard!!! One that states that women should understand the genetic makeup of men, and thus their tendancy to put high values on physical/aesthetic beauty. I understand that men are physical, however, with the emancipation and liberation of women, I think the playing field has been leveled somewhat. So the man wants the woman to have his kids and shrink right back to her pre-natal weight....while he on the other hand gets fat from admiring her perfect physique. The man wants his girl to be model pretty, slim, nice teeth, nice feet, oh and the best one is the infamous line "I like my girls natural!!" I am here to tell you that most men do not have a clue about what a natural girl looks like, and from my experience, the truly natural girls they would not date. Nope, what I think they want is the girl who appears natural to the untrained eye, but pays attention to her physical appearance. I say to my male readers....cut women some slack or live up to your own standards. Just like you want us PHAT (pretty, hot, and tempting) we like you PHAT (pulchritudinous, higher educated, alluring, and toned)...sounds like a lot right? Sounds like women want the whole package right? The fact is that the double standard is there to be addressed. Honestly, while I am addressing the pressures on women, I am a proponent of being fair and realistic! Everyone, should hold others to a standard that s/he can realistically maintain. If you are overweight and refuse to exercise, why do you eliminate someone who reflects what you are? I believe this pressure to be something you are not has led to my previous post on DIY (Do It Yourself) Plastic Surgery. What a mess!!

Click the link below to read the post that fostered these sentiments:

http://health.usnews.com/blogs/on-women/2009/10/15/body-image-lessons-from-a-fired-for-being-too-fat-model.html

News Report:

Please carry yourself with pride and focus on your HEALTH....realizing that trying to live up to a societal standard/someone's ideal of beauty is really the Ultimate Bridge to Nowhere!

Physical Beauty (-) Inner Happiness = Depression!

Share you thoughts ;)

Rae~