Molly Horne weighs in to the body shaming debate, insisting there’s no shame in being whatever shape you’re in.
Retired supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, when asked about the new cover stars of Sports Illustrated Magazine, told E! at the 13th Annual Global Green USA Pre-Oscar Party that the rise of full-figured women is problematic for the message it sends.
It seemed like yet another example of the way women are pricked and prodded into looking, or wanting to look, a certain way – the only way to acquire the stamp of social approval.
Tiegs (68) was referring to cover star Ashley Graham (28): “I don’t like it that we’re talking about full-figured women because we’re glamorizing them.” With conviction, she stated that “your waist should be smaller than 35 inches – that’s what Dr Oz said and I’m sticking to it!”
Dr Oz – must be right, then. No question. I don’t think.
“I don’t think it’s healthy,” Tiegs explained. “Her face is beautiful, beautiful. But I don’t think it’s healthy in the long run.”
After her caustic comment on the red carpet, Tiegs sent social media into uproar. For the opposition, Kate Upton uploaded a picture of the magazine cover on her Instagram, captioned ‘let’s empower and support one another! #beautyisbeyondsize #beautyfadesuseyourbrain #cheryltiegs’
Having graced the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue more times than I have ever worn a swimsuit, Cheryl Tiegs should have known better than to say those things. Surely she’s seen enough to know how the idea of the ideal body shape has been moulded and re-moulded over the years – with women always being pushed and pulled to fit the latest version.
Right now, there’s ultra-fashionable size 0, achieved by the likes of Kate Moss, Nicole Richie and a handful of others who live on celery sticks thicker than their waistline. Moving up the scale, a girl can go to the gym but then she’s told that she had better not be ‘muscly’ because that’s way too masculine. And if you are more than size 12 or 14 you’re already on the way to being obese and unhealthy – according to not only sharply-spoken Cheryl Tiegs but also a host of soft-sounding medical/nutritional experts who claim to be only interested in our health.
Although body image has always been a concern, over time the body shapes which giving rise either to concern or to admiration, have not always been the same. In the 1950s, women were supposed to be curvaceous, i.e. small breasts were taken to suggest there might be something wrong with you. But in the 1960s, it was suddenly fashionable to be as skinny as Twiggy. In the 1980s, there was a fitness kick: ladies’ six packs and abs were trending. Ten years later and the trend was for tall, skinny and big breasted. The point is, at different times in history, one and the same body shape can be considered the height of fashion or a sign of something wrong – depending on what time it is. In which case, surely it’s time for us to STOP paying attention to any of this stuff, and allow ourselves to be the shape our bodies want to be.
Cheryl Tiegs made a concession in this direction after the social media backlash against her comments about Ashley Graham. “I would like to clarify my thoughts regarding bodyweight,” Tiegs explained. “I don’t think being anorexic/bulimic/or overweight are healthy. All of these can be connected to serious health issues.” She went on to say that she wishes “everyone to be as healthy as they can be.”
What do real women think? Caroline, a 19-year-old student, said, “It’s refreshing to see models like Ashley Graham on covers of magazines because it shows the world just how beautiful different body sizes can be.” Her opinion on the first ever plus-sized model to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated: “She looks good and defiantly healthy!”
“If I were a girl I wish I would look like that,” said 20-year-old student Lorenzo, who also commented that “[Ashley] may be bigger than your typical model but that doesn’t matter because everyone is different in their own healthy way and that’s what makes you unique.”
When I looked at the cover all I saw was an empowering message to all women, simply saying: ‘I feel amazing, sexy and no matter what size, YOU can too!’ It doesn’t take X-Ray vision to see that Ashley Graham is healthy. The woman is glowing! She’s telling the world that your body size shouldn’t label you as a person – and don’t let anybody tell you anything different.
But there is a whole world of Kardashian-style waist trainers and fat-free everything, which shows that many of us are still struggling to fit into that ‘perfect’ body image without even knowing exactly what it is or why it is supposed to be perfect.
Now that I have come to see things differently, if there even is a perfect body out there, I’d like to shake her hand and politely send her on her way because the reality is that, flaws and all, I am doing just fine at being me!
Molly Horne is Rising East’s Health and Wellbeing correspondent.