Glamour, dahling, glamour....

Typically, I would reserve such social commentary for my roommate,

over a pack of smokes and pot of tea. But this time I simply 

couldn't resist.

I want to make a few points regarding Lizzi Miller's photo

for Glamour magazine, which is currently causing a lot

of fuss on the interwebs.

Make no mistake, I think this woman is strikingly beautiful, and not just

because her body so resembles my own, and so does not the body

of our cultural image of "model". It is, however, this juxtaposition 

that I want to comment on.

Firstly, I vehemently object to the term "plus sized model" for a number of

reasons. Namely, this is an industry distinction, used to sort models

by size. Within the industry, it makes sense, as most designers

make samples in specific sizes to show on the runway

and in photo shoots. But the fact that this term exists at all points to 

a disturbing reality of the fashion world. Designers typically don't make

sample size 12 for a show. If they do, they're usually a "plus size"

specific label. This deeply ingrained practice has so thoroughly delineated

models and labels that it seems inconceivable that a size 12 model

would appear in Dior or Lanvin, but rather normal for

her to appear in the "plus" section of a Sears ad. It's simple to 

see where this distinction comes from, and how and why the 

industry upholds it so rigidly, but that doesn't make it right. A model

is a profession. Most professions that have distinctions that 

indicate what sort of jobs a person does are based

on experience and skill. Not the size of one's waist.

A model is a model, no matter what size he or she may be.

Just because Marc Jacobs doesn't book the size 12 girl doesn't

mean he couldn't! We've created an entirely new subspecies

of this profession and subjected women to the stigma of being

a "plus sized" model based on the idea of beauty held

by a frighteningly small number of select individuals. Are

you going to let the people who book models for

YSL and Chanel (PEOPLE YOU'VE NEVER MET, and

aren't likely to ever meet!) tell you that because they don't

book girls that look like you, you're not beautiful?

We've given these "fashion people" so much control

over our lives. We look at magazines like Vogue and Glamour,

with their twiggy models wearing clothes we can't afford ANYWAY,

and judge ourselves, and tell ourselves that we're not good

enough because our jeans came from Penny's instead of

Bloomingdales. People like Anna Wintour are running

the lives and minds of American women from behind

expensive office furniture in Manhattan, and we're

LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.

Lizzi Miller's photo for Glamour in interesting, thought provoking,

and definitely makes me feel better about my own thighs, but it is

by no means a giant leap, or even a good-sized stride. The editor

of Glamour says that this shoot will influence her further decisions

regarding the women in her magazine, but I for one, am very 

skeptical. It could even be argued that Glamour did this just

for the publicity. God knows they sold a million copies to 

women desperately wanting to see a belly and bum like their

own printed on glossy paper. But even this desperation we feel

is in the hands of the editors, and they're in a perfect position

to use it to sell more magazines and exploit our perception of 

our own bodies. Next they'll go after the skinny girls, and when

the table is turned, you'll find the bottom is just as dirty and

underhanded as the top, and the same people are sitting

around it, plotting against out bodies and counting their

money.