Curvy Confidential

It’s Barbie’s 50th anniversary and everyone is celebrating. I just came across an article about a life size Barbie car with a tall, lanky Heidi Klum standing next to it. I guess Heidi does represent the perfect life size Barbie. After seeing her photo I wondered what it would have been like if we had a more realistic doll to play with growing up. There have been reports which claim that Barbie and her skinny doll friends may promote young girls’ insecurity about their image which, in turn, may contribute to body insecurity. And we all know that in some cases, body insecurity in children can lead to eating disorders later in life.

What if we had a different doll to play with when we were growing up? She would still wear fashionable clothes, drive a convertible and have a hot boyfriend, but instead of the 39-19-33 measurements she’s famous for, she would have a real body with curves. I wonder if we would have a different view of our body while playing with her’s?

Well, I looked it up and apparently there does exist the Barbie doll of my dreams. The doll was released in 2002 and I found this blog post about it.

Emme, the plus-size model who made it more than OK for cover girls to be a size 12, is bringing an industry not known for positive body images up to size. Tonner Doll Co. last week introduced a toy created in the image of Emme.

The doll’s designer, Robert Tonner, would rather talk about the beauty of Emme (the person) than the messy issues surrounding feminism, Barbie and eating disorders. Tonner, a former Bill Blass designer and doll collector, said he created the Emme look-alike after being swept away by the model’s appearance on a talk show. If he’s out to make any statement, it’s more “Emme is beautiful” than “Big is beautiful.”

But, the Barbie versus Emme comparison is hard to ignore. For 50 years (WHOOPS!), an impossibly proportioned figure has reigned in the fashion-doll aisle. So when a size 12 joins her on the shelf, it’s got to make some waves. And, the life-sized Emme is anything but silent on the subject: “Barbie needs some new friend.”

Emme was the first model to speak to these issues before a congressional subcommittee and the chair ambassador of the National Eating Disorders Association.

“Yes, it is just a doll, but it’s a chance to open the doll industry to the idea of inclusiveness,” Emme says. “Don’t you think that girls who play with dolls would include all types if there were any available? They’re not the ones who think all dolls should be blond, blue-eyed and thin. That’s introduced to them.”

Perhaps times are changing. Maybe when I have daughters I’ll be able to buy them a Mia Tyler or Barbara Brickner doll?

What do you guys think? Do you let your daughters play with Barbie Dolls?

I have a little story to tell.  This is a true story.  Happened just last week.  I am still wondering about it.  I am still baffled by it.  I want some feedback here….and decided that this might be the place to ask for it. 

A wonderful friend of mine (I will call her Maria to protect her privacy) and I had gotten together last week while I was in Michigan.  We were going to get some dinner, do some shopping and stop in for a Chinese Massage.  Wow.  A perfect evening for me!

While shopping in one of our favorite stores, she came upon a light-weight jacket.  Nothing special.  Just a nylon jacket, blue, snug fitting and just…well, there.  She said that she could use it for golfing and if it rained there was the obligatory hood.  She kept looking.  She was on the small girl side and I was in the plus sizes across the aisle. 

She then said, “Look at this!”  I turned to see her in this amazingly ADORABLE jean jacket.  Large grommets on the front, hook and eye closures and grommets with large ribbons on the sleeves.  It was just darling.  I couldn’t quit commenting on how cute it was and how it was so dang cute on her!

Maria held her breath as she wondered about the price, thinking that it would cost about $50.  She was thrilled when she looked at the tag and it was only $24.99!!   I asked her if she liked the size…as it was a little bigger and more flowing that most of her other clothes, but not too big by any means.  She said yes, that she really liked the fit and the look.  SHE LOVED THIS JACKET!!

I looked over at her and now she was looking in the neckline.  I asked her what she was looking for and she replied, “I want to see if this is a Medium.”  I couldn’t figure that out, why it would matter what the tag said…she loved it. 

“Oh my God, do you know what size this is?” Maria exclaimed.    “It is a 1X!”  She took it off and hung it back up.  SHE HUNG IT BACK UP!!  She did not want to buy it.  Because it was a 1X…and not a medium.  I replied, “What difference does it make what that tag says….you can cut the tag out if it bothers you.”   But she didn’t buy it.  Continue Reading »

There is a ton of talk on Twitter today about Laura Ingraham referring to Meghan McCain (John McCain’s daughter) as a “plus size model”. While mocking Meghan on her radio show, Laura Ingraham said

“O.K., I was really hoping that I was going to get that role in “The Real World,” but then I realized that, well, they don’t like plus-sized models.”

Although I’m not big on politics, the story caught my eye when I read Meghan’s response in the Daily Beast. I definitely thought it was worth sharing with you guys.

I have been teased about my weight and body figure since I was in middle school, and I decided a very long time ago to embrace what God gave me and live my life positively…. I am a size 8 and fluctuated up to a size 10 during the campaign. It’s ridiculous even to have this conversation because I am not overweight in the least and have a natural body weight.

But even if I were overweight, it would be ridiculous. I expected substantive criticism from conservative pundits for my views…. My intent was to generate discussion about the current problems facing the Republican Party. Unfortunately, even though Ingraham is more than 20 years older than I and has been a political pundit for longer, almost, than I have been alive, she responded in a form that was embarrassing to herself and to any woman listening to her radio program who was not a size 0.

In today’s society this is, unfortunately, predictable. Everyone from Jessica Simpson to Tyra Banks, Oprah and Hillary Clinton has fallen victim to this type of image-oriented bullying. Recent pictures of Pierce Brosnan’s wife, Keely Shaye Smith, on the beach in her bikini raised criticism about her weight and choice of bathing suit — as if the woman should be wearing a giant muumuu to swim in the ocean. After Kelly Clarkson’s recent appearance on “American Idol,” the first commentary I read on the Internet was about her weight gain instead of her singing.

My weight was consistently criticized throughout the campaign. Once someone even suggested I go to a plastic surgeon for liposuction. Afterward, I blogged about loving my body and suggested critics focus their insecurities about women’s bodies elsewhere. On the other side, my mother was constantly slammed for being too skinny, so the weight obsession of the media and our culture goes both ways. It also goes to both parties. Hillary Clinton has consistently received criticism for her pantsuits and figure. Whatever someone’s party, these criticisms are quite obviously both wrong and distracting from the larger issues at play.

The question remains: Why, after all this time and all the progress feminists have made, is weight still such an issue? And in Laura’s case, why in the world would a woman raise it? Today, taking shots at a woman’s weight has become one of the last frontiers in socially accepted prejudice.”

Kudos for Meghan for putting things in perspective! Read her entire response here and check out Meghan discussing the issue with the ladies on The View:

I was reading one of the lingerie trade magazines on Sunday morning and saw page after page of skinny, boney women in lingerie. This particular publication isn’t always that bad, and to be fair, more and more companies are heading in the direction of “real” women. However this issue was extreme. There was one model that was bone-thin with almost nothing between her skin and her skeleton. The angles of her body were almost freakish as she would thrust out a hip or turn her body at a certain angle. I sat back and thought of all the Rubens paintings and how being round and healthy was considered attractive in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and how people today, especially in the fashion world, would disagree. They might look at a Ruben and wonder how those voluptuous figures were ever considered attractive or desirable.

I wondered if our kids or grandkids would look back at our old magazines years from now and see the models with protruding hip bones and rib cages and hollow cheeks and be amazed by what we thought was “sexy”. Throughout history the feminine ideal was curvy, fleshy and plump. Now we’re into this skinny = sexy phase, with no room to appreciate the incredibly rich and vast array of differences. Different body types, different shapes, different hair and skins colors.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the media still influences trends and tells us what is “in” and “attractive”. As I was trying to step back and look at these pictures from a totally objective stand point (i.e. an alien landing on Earth and being shown a series of photographs, or someone from the past time-traveling into the future) I wondered, would they pick out these skinny, angular, women as the most attractive? Or would they pick the ones who were rounder and curvier? Of course in my opinion, the fuller figures that are luscious, sensual and soft and feminine would be the obvious choice. But then, it’s hard for me to be objective. I love hips and curves!