Real is the new sexy

CRYSTAL RENN

197 pounds
A few months ago, The Globe and Mail ran a story I've been wanting to talk about for a while called "We're having a fat moment: Go ahead and have another slice of pumpkin pie. Thin's not so in any more."

The article asserts that there is currently "a backlash against a culture that has long perpetuated futile strict diets and impossible exercise regimes. People are finally tired of the yo-yo meal plans that help them melt off pounds but also pack them back on. And the media are making more efforts to reflect a public with ever-expanding waistlines."

Though I'm not sure I agree that there really is a backlash as big as this article implies, I do think things are beginning to change.

In fact, just yesterday, my copy of Glamour magazine arrived with this cover:

The one on the left is a "plus-size" model: Crystal Renn, author of Hungry: A Young Model's Story of Appetite, Ambition, and the Ultimate Embrace of Curves. Though it's somewhat hard to tell in this image, Renn is actually a size twelve, and her body does look real. Meaning it does look like she eats from time to time.

Sure, Renn appeared next to two more traditional sized models here, but this is progress, people. A woman who wears a size twelve is on the cover of Glamour! This is huge.

An article called "Real is the New Sexy" appears in the same issue, and in that article another "plus-size" model—Jennie Runk, who is 5'10" and around 175 pounds—says, “I used to compare myself to others, until I realized it’s better if I don’t look like everyone else . . . my curves make me feel sexy . . . Every woman, of every body type, should be able to stand up and say she’s beautiful.”

Words to live by.

Even some fashion designers are using larger models on the runway. No, they're not overweight, but they're not underweight either. And I've never advocated that we idolize overweight women—just woman who have real bodies, which is exactly what's beginning to happen in some magazines, with some fashion designers, and on some television shows.

Case in point: on tonight's episode of Glee, Mercedes was pursued by one of the "popular" boys, Puck, and no mention was made of her body size except that Puck said he liked "curvy" girls. Unlike other actresses her size, Mercedes isn't being relegated to playing the BFF of the girl who got the guy.

There's no denying that things are changing. Changing for the better. The only question is how far will it go? And will it be far enough?