Have you read September’s issue of Glamour? There is a feature about the diets that various celebs do (of course Liz Hurley and her quote on getting through the day on six raisins is in there, bit old hat that one now), with much clamoured for info on their dress sizes included.
Victoria Beckham is reportedly dressing in a scary size 4. If true, is that really a size that a grown woman of five foot six should be? I mean, she’s not vertically challenged, so why is she wearing clothes that would fit an eight year old girl?
And can you imagine her struggle to stay at that weight – what her day to day eating regime must be? I mean, let’s be honest, do you think she just decides on whim what she’ll be eating for lunch, in a casual and relaxed way? I doubt it.
The woman looks emaciated – most definitely not emancipated – and the pressure she must be putting herself under for whatever reason to maintain her size must be incredible.
It’s madness – the heftiest woman in the article is Beyonce at a blubbery size 12, but we have Renee Zellweger coming in at 6 which she apparently owes to the Zone Diet.
How often do we become aware of what ‘sizes’ men are, and why don’t they have the same associations attached to the size of their clothes (which generally come in a small, medium and large)? Do men weigh each other up according to what size they think each other is?
And the fact is, sizing is so arbitrary. It depends on where you shop. So isn’t it time we stopped trying to measure up?
Hi Andrea,
I think it's incredibly scary and frightening to see how far women will go in the pursuit of being thin. Ironically, our whole image of what constitutes beauty is completely subjective and changes over time. Marilyn Monroe was a sexy size 16 which would be considered 'overweight' in our celebrity-obsessed culture.
cheers,
Karen
Posted by: Karen Higginbottom | October 03, 2006 at 03:53 PM
Yes Karen I agree, and think about the Pre-Raphaelite 'ideal figure' as well - all womanly hips and rounded bellies!
Posted by: Andrea Wren | October 05, 2006 at 12:19 PM