Body Image - the polar opposite
It is undoubtedly great that we are now seeing more ‘normal’ body types on the media with plus size models and ‘dad bods’ getting more representation.
But is there a line? And if so, when do we cross the line?
In 2018 Cosmopolitan UK featured the well known plus-size model Tess Holiday on a magazine front cover. This sparked controversy. Some praised Cosmopolitan for challenging unhealthy body standards and some stated that the cover is dangerous due to it potentially normalising obesity.
Personally I believe that the cover is fine. It’s something new and interesting and the discussions sparked by it are important. However, if overweight models become the norm, if we start seeing magazine covers like this frequently, there is a serious issue. Similarly to young people growing up thinking size-0 waists are the standard of beauty, young people will grow up thinking obesity is perfectly fine. Of course, neither of these are healthy.
If you're comfortable with being plus size, that’s awesome. Same with being undersize, that’s awesome too. But, we must remember that there are very real health complications with both, and normalising either is not healthy.
What do you guys think? Is this a good or a bad thing? Is promoting obese models a step too far? Or is it simply not important enough to discuss?
