Thursday, March 18, 2010

Three Models of Varying Sizes: Is this authentic body diversity?

Glamour, or someone, leaked a couple photos via Live Journal from the body-diversity shoot scheduled to don the June cover of said magazine. The models are, from left to right, Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio, the most popular plus-size model Crystal Renn, and Sports Illustrated hottie Brooklyn Decker. Ambrosio is considered a standard model, Renn plus sized and Decker a glamour model or lad-mag (think Maxim) model. Notice that these are pre-photoshopped, so expect Ambrosio's ribs to be smoothed over, Renn's tummy tucked a bit and Decker's hips curved and waist cinched (those are just my predictions based on standard treatment of models, not that any of these women need to be altered!).

So, is this body diversity? Well, there's no women of color, they are all tall and leggy and conventionally beautiful, but they do wear different sizes. I guess its a step, but its still kind of playing on the "oh, Glamour is so special considering women of varying sizes and not just doing all of its shots with sample-size models like Ambrosio." So, it might be a gimmick they get tired of, not a commitment to long-lasting body diversity.

What are your thoughts readers?

1 comment:

  1. I totally brought this up last year when Victoria Secret start their new bra campagin. You can call it diversity if you focus on bra size alone. If you call it diversity based on readership and/or the american women. Then I would say there is no diveristy here.

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