Amy Schumer Upset With ‘Glamour’: Does ‘Attractive’ In The U.S. Only Mean Insanely Thin?

The conversation about Amy Schumer’s reaction to being used in a “plus size” Glamour magazine issue has spread across social media, but what does this say about the general perception of what deems a woman attractive in the U.S.? And where is the more important conversation about weight and health and how the fashion industry doesn’t help with self-image?

Real Bodies

Amy Schumer stated there was “nothing wrong with being plus size”, yet is not pleased that young girls might see her body type and think of it as plus size when it is not. Schumer says she’s about 160 lbs. and a size 6-8, which is smaller than industry standards in America that have plus size at 16 and over. The average American woman is a size 14, and the CDC says is almost five-four and 166 pounds. That puts public figures such as Adele, Rebel Wilson, and Melissa McCarthy in the “average” size arena…and they want everyone to know how comfortable they are in their bodies.

Amy Schumer calls out Glamour magazine for featuring her in “plus-size” issue https://t.co/tEbMNF457X

— TIME.com (@TIME) April 6, 2016

Sizes of clothing vary by store, brand name, and clothing item. You can go in one store for jeans that say a size 6 and the exact same pair will be labeled a size 4 in another store, or even a size 8 (if they’re behind the curve) in another store. There is no standard clothing size, like there is no standard body size, type, or shape.

Glamour magazine said it was celebrating “women who inspire us”, Time reported, even though they admitted it was aimed at size 12 and over. Ashley Graham, a model and body activist, has been featured in many plus size modeling campaigns but, like Schumer and others, also expresses displeasure at the label, says People. “It shouldn’t be about labels. I don’t want to be called a label, I want to be called a model.”

Fake Sizes

Although Schumer sometimes wears a size 6, a size 6 in the eighties is now considered a size 1. The blame for the gradual change in sizes—appropriately called “vanity sizing”, and only for women’s clothing, it should be noted—has been placed squarely on the fashion industry’s shoulders. However, they only did it (supply) in response to continued outcry from female consumers (demand) complaining about their body size.

The absurdity of women’s clothing sizes, in one chart – The Washington Post vanity sizing is just wrong http://t.co/C3QsJUDA4o

— Rachel Roman (@rachelynnroman) August 14, 2015

At first glance, it seems logical that there are only two choices if you don’t like the size of clothing you wear: make yourself smaller, or buy larger clothes. But the fashion industry came up with the not-so-secret, secret third option: change the size of the clothing so the consumer thinks she is wearing a smaller size. She’ll feel better about herself and continue to buy those products. The Washington Post published a great graphic that illustrates “the insanity of women’s clothing sizes“.

Extremes and Health – the Struggle is Real

At Amy Schumer’s 160 lbs., her weight to height ratio might be just fine. But, the CDC says 71% of Americans are overweight or obese. Carrying too much body weight for your height is unhealthy and can lead to any number of medical issues such as diabetes. In 2014, the national average of adults who had diabetes was 9.3 percent. In Bexar County, Texas, for example, mySA reported that the percentage of adults who had diabetes jumped to 14.2 percent—higher than the Texas average of 10.6 percent and much higher than the national average.

A model in a Gucci ad was deemed "unhealthily thin" by a British regulator https://t.co/UoB2vhEhB7 http://pic.twitter.com/Vaw8dqEPSS

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 7, 2016

But, being unhealthy with too much on your frame is equally as bad as being unhealthy with too little on your frame. Especially where younger models are concerned, American advertisers are well-known for using rail-thin models in their advertising. In the early 1990s, there were waves of outcries against the “heroin chic” look of models that looked so thin and gaunt. Last year, the New York Times reported, the French Parliament prohibited modeling agencies from hiring models that were too thin and required that altered photos of models should be labeled.

And just yesterday, Britain ruled that an ad created by Gucci was “irresponsible” because the model looked “unhealthily thin”. These measures were intended, NYT reported, to prevent young and vulnerable models from being pressed into becoming excessively thin and to protect against anorexia.

Amy Schumer posed nearly nude late last year for the 2016 Pirelli calendar, Time reported, joining several celebrities and public figures who posed for famed photographer Annie Liebowitz. As part of Schumer’s continuing desire to hold a mirror up “to the inordinate value placed on women’s appearance,” she boldly took another step in the right direction, reminding us beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not on a label somewhere.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

Amy Schumer Upset With ‘Glamour’: Does ‘Attractive’ In The U.S. Only Mean Insanely Thin? is an article from: The Inquisitr News