Cover Girl: Why “Promotional Obesity” Does Not Exist
margarita virova
The beginning of September for the gloss began with a flurry of fatsuming to Tess Holliday, who was shot for the Cosmopolitan cover. To the offensive statement of TV presenter Pierce Morgan, that such a cover is “dangerous,” Holliday, whose modeling career has been on the rise for eight years, responded sharply, and the Internet plunged into heated discussions. We tell why "obesity propaganda" does not exist and why people of all sizes are needed in show business.
Autumn for glossy magazines is a hot season, in which this year many publications have come in with statements. Singer Rihanna on the cover of British Vogue fashion release with eyebrows made by avant-garde make-up artist Isamayi Ffrench proclaims creative freedom. Diva Beyonce with their American colleagues shines in the lens of twenty-three Tyler Mitchell - he was not only one of the youngest photographers who shot the cover of Vogue US, but also the first African American. And for the October cover of the British Cosmopolitan posed Tess Holliday, the most famous plus-size model in the world. The carryout on the cover says that Holliday offers to kiss her ass. On Twitter, the heroine of the issue wrote a much more gentle message: "If I had seen a body in my youth that looked like mine, it could change my life."
Yulia Lapina, a clinical psychologist and author of the Tele-channel of the Body Neutral Zone, explains the fighting spirit of the magazine’s creators: “Let us recall one more photo: this is Dorothy Kants, the first African-American woman who decided to come to the school for whites. As we see, they were not happy: way out they called it a provocation, supposedly it “deliberately angers people.” It’s always difficult to go against the foundations, and not everyone is able to bear the subsequent harassment, they are people of a special nature. Such revolutionaries personally may not like the majority, but the majority will enjoy the fruits of their victory. Cover Magazine - this is the quintessence of publicity and acceptance, since even the most popular blog remains in the underground while subscribers themselves form the tape. The print media is everywhere - hence the myth of “propaganda.” But “propaganda”, even if you agree with this question, - this is an advertisement about the superiority of one way of life over another. There were no Cosmo stories in this issue in the spirit of: “The guy doesn't like you? Friends do not accept? No money! We have a solution - get a hundred kilograms! "Another message is encrypted in it: there are more important things than the number on the scales."
Tess Holliday is a millionaire, and serious money is independence from the state, relations with a partner on an equal footing, good education for children and high-quality medical care.
British TV anchorman Pierce Morgan had his own thoughts about changes in gloss: he said that such a cover is no less dangerous than covers with very thin models, and mentioned the problem of obesity in the country. His instagram post provoked a loud conflict, despite the fact that many resources sounded words of approval and support for the publication. In the end, Cosmo UK chief editor Farra Storr came to Morgan's morning show to defend her decision and defend a model that had already given the presenter an obscene answer. The journalist said: “You think that people will look at this cover and say,“ You know what? I'm going to eat donuts, this is what I have wanted all my life ”? Of course not.”
In Western culture, thinness became the general standard of beauty in the 1960s - and since then it has only gained momentum, leading to the dominance of images of very thin girls, the spread of eating disorders (mainly in women) and other daily effects of lukism. In parallel with the increase in the number of cases of obesity in the United States, the weight loss industry has become a separate powerful force, and the underlined harmony has only strengthened in the position of the ideal - most often unattainable. Fatscheming and the rejection of "excess weight" as a mass phenomenon have become particularly noticeable thanks to the Internet. At the same time, there is nothing in common with concern about the health of those around them: fetfobia affects anyone whose volumes exceed aesthetically approved parameters.
Lapina emphasizes that women are the first to suffer from fetching: “Of course, there are male models, and they earn their appearance - but for men, this is just one of their career options. While women spend a lot of time and effort on bringing themselves to certain ideals money and health, men invest resources in what really brings freedom: career, business, power, independence. Tess Holliday is a millionaire, and serious money is independence from the state, relations with a partner on an equal footing, good education for children and qualities "Enjoy health care, implement your business projects, and donate to charity. This really should be important for women, not who weighs much."
Fatscheming is based on a number of incorrect logical connections and prejudices. Greater than the prescribed standard of beauty, the weight is necessarily associated with diseases - while many conventionally thin people have no less health problems than full ones, and they are associated more with the individual characteristics of the body than with the figure on the scales. The consequences of fattophobia are always unequivocally destructive: in response to the criticism of body-positive and fat-taking by caroline Caroline Hall, Psychology Today’s edition answers a number of facts. According to a study by the Center for Health Improvement, adolescents who consider themselves fat are more susceptible to depression and suicidal thoughts than their classmates. Bulling leads to social isolation, extreme diets, and most importantly - makes the victims of discrimination feel even worse.
According to a study by the Center for Health Improvement, adolescents who consider themselves fat are more susceptible to depression and suicidal thoughts than their classmates
Covers and films with plus-size models and actors are necessary: people who are full from the point of view of society suffer from a lack of visibility just like other "untouchable" groups in pop culture. When a lot of weight is beyond the norm, it leads not only to ridicule on the Internet, but also to discrimination at work, which is perfectly visible, for example, in the acting environment. You don’t have to go far for an example - this is Sophie Hagen’s emotional column in The Guardian. The comedian tells how a “fat suit” with a skinny actor turned into a nightmare for a conventionally complete person: the volume of the hero’s body is still often served as an obstacle to happiness, which you can simply “remove” from yourself. Finally, Hagen offers Netflix to hire not only thin people for screenwriting, so that the roles turn out to be diverse: “Let's look at a happy fat man. At a vengeful fat man. Seductive fat man. I can play a role: despite the fact that I'm fat, I am an excellent actress.”
Returning to the “myth of propaganda”: the only ideal imposed over the last decades has been harmony — however, it would be a mistake to think that in this status just another body volume will replace it. What is finally starting to offer gloss and pop culture in portions is the ability to independently choose their role models, rather than dictate. Tess Holliday in the underwear on the cover of Cosmopolitan is not a hacking of the system and not a precedent, but the result of long labors on the basis of body positive. But the fact that the glossy retouching was diminished and the folds and cellulite are clearly visible on the supermodel's open body is a really big step forward for the journalistic traditions of body imaging.