Skinny or curvy, many young girls and women feel dissatisfied with what they see in the mirror. They don't realize that their cellulite, fat, etc. are normal and airbrushed off the supermodels and superstars scattered across magazine tearspreads. And to think, just because of a photoshop device, an industry, a standard, females across the globe are put into the hands of eating disorders and plastic surgeons. Because of a photoshop device, an industry, a standard, too many females become hospitalized, depressed, or - even worse - dead.Now, if I can be one female - just one female - who can stop another female, from sticking a finger down her throat or putting a gun to her head, I would, even if that means having an unretouched photo of me in a magazine for the world to criticize. If that's what it takes to stop her, I would. And if the following celebs didn't exist, even more of this tragedy would exist. Thanks to the lovely ladies below, more magazines - like Glamour and Shape - are publishing body image articles and "plus-size" models who have redefined this seldom skeletal definition of beauty. Here are to those ladies who keep it REAL:
1. TYRA BANKS
A self-described awkwardly skinny teenager and a somewhat fuller Victoria Secret model, Tyra has battled with the struggles of body image, even closer to the heart of the industry. On her talk show (The Tyra Banks Show), she works incessantly with young girls and aspiring models alike to help them not hide behind their physical "flaws" but accept them for being cool, authentic, unique. Tyra admits to camouflaging her ample bottom in sarongs on the Victoria Secret runway, convincing the audience that not everything they see on TV and in magazines is REAL. She also initiated her own experiment, wearing a fat suit and disguise to see what it's like to live in the physical and emotional pain of an obese person. When reality soon followed to imitate art, and an "unflattering" swimsuit photo resurfaced, Tyra Banks stood up in front of all national television- and for all the slandered stars, mothers, daughters out there - and told everyone to "KISS (HER) FAT ASS!" Go, Tyra!
2. BEYONCE
At a tall and voluptuous 5'7, Beyonce's curves are in all the right places, according to drooling boys and lad publications internationally. Her most sensual trademark asset - a full and round derriere - has caught so much attention, she even wrote a song about it! However, her primary objective for writing the song was the negative attention she thought she got from her A$$. Beyonce confesses to penning her hit "Bootylicious," when she felt the most insecure about her weight. As a r-(c)aboose to encourage positive body image for women everywhere, she sings "I don't think you're ready for this jelly...my body too bootylicious for you baby," with her accompanying music video displaying girls who were supposedly "100 pounds and 300 pounds." Beyonce fluctuated from her DreamGirl weight 120 lbs to her curviest 160 lbs, but either way, she stayed true to herself, and if you glance at the above photo, you cannot miss those hips. And those hips don't lie; her curves are au naturel, and she has nothing to apologize for!
3. KIM KARDASHIAN
Another female famous for her prominent lower half, Kim is the most recent addition to these healthy, average-sized women who like to keep it REAL. You wouldn't normally see her type in a magazine like Playboy or FHM, but somehow, she managed it, and there's no surprise there. Kim represents the cartoonish, extreme hourglass figure males have been longing for, since the days of Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe and excruciating corsets. Some may argue she's a spolied heiress who can only be credited for her sex tape and reality TV show, but I say she's a truly brave and beautiful fashion icon who accentuates her silhouette in mostly tasteful but form-fitting BCBG bandage dresses and business-y pencil skirts and reveals her unphotoshopped face and body in various tabloid magazines. "I'm proud of who I am. I'm proud of my curves," Kim consistently declares.
4. CHRISTINA HENDRICKS
This red-headed, fiery bombshell used to be a lanky supermodel. But, thanks to Mad Men, she gained gorgeous meat to her delicious frame for her role, as a woman living in the fleshy 60s. A break from her starving days as a model, Christina emphasizes that men like to feel that little tummy roll there, that it's ok to have a woman's body. Because of her exotic looks and positive attitude, both men and women agree Christina is one of the sexiest women out there, well, at least, according to New York and Esquire Magazine.
5. MELYSSA FORD
A Toronto-based original - appropriately branded with the name of the desirable cartoon character "Jessica Rabbit" - Melyssa's prestigious thick thighs, buttocks, and hips have landed her in various music videos and magazines, such as Maxim, FHM, and Playboy. Her 40-22-40 may be hard to attain, but naturally, it must all be good jeans/genes for Melyssa, who attributes her race and ethnicity in magazines that typically use girls of her womanly size and shape (finally!), like Black Men's and King. Where most publications would slenderize and extend one of her most memorable features, Melyssa's built legs here (above) are made the centre of attention. And why shouldn't they be? She looks awesome!
6. CRYSTAL RENN
Another model who retired from being a "straight-size" model to embrace her natural body structure as a "plus-size" model," Crystal was more successful as a size 12 landing gigs with legendary laminates, such as Glamour and Vogue. If she listened to the agency who told her to drop a few, maybe she wouldn't have written her inspiring memoir "Hungry," a frequent must-see at Chapters and Indigos stores. Recently posing nude in the evolutionary Glamour photoshoot - with other so-called "plus-size" models - Crystal is a shining example of a woman who isn't afraid to show off her size in a public and sexy way.
7. JENNIE RUNK
Another model who joined Renn in the Glamour photoshoot, Jennie also had alot to say about the ever-changing media and modeling industry. She also agrees with Renn that we are working to adapt to the more colourful body types demonstrated on the Prada runways and that the women she shot with at Glamour aren't plus-size like the industry labels them, but "healthy, average-sized women, just like smaller models (are made) to represent average-sized women (in advertisements, etc.)." In the June 2010 swimsuit issue of Glamour - which features a cover of Crystal Renn, alongside a Victoria Secret model and a Sports Illustrated model (to convey swimsuits for different body types) - Runk strikes a pose in an implied nude shot, saying "it's better if (I) don't look like everyone else." And at 5'10 and 175 lbs, she makes her own hot standard.
8. STELLA ELLIS
Maybe the larger of the plus models, Stella has written a semi-autobiographical, semi-selfhelp book appropriately titled "SizeSexy." Stella was first discovered by a fashion designer, when she was employed as a make-up artist in France. Made someone's "muse," Stella - as well as her nicely-proportioned body and distinct facial features - was celebrated on runways and in magazines, such as Italian Vogue and Glamour. Stella has proven that there are different types of modelling that many people can participate in and, as a size 20, she has amped the size expectation of usually size 8-14 "plus-size" models. Not to mention that she was featured in Madonna's controversial 1992 book "Sex." Now, that's sex-y.
9. JESSICA SIMPSON
Jessica has gone from being an early-blooming teenager to a thinner movie star in Daisy Duke shorts to a widely-publicized "chubby girl" in "Mom jeans." Despite her look being blamed on an unflattering angle and her "Mom jeans," Jessica and her sister Ashlee still had to defend her growing figure, by comparing her overrated and over-promoted weight gain to that of the importance of Barack Obama's inauguration. While, like a typical woman, Jessica humanly found imperfection in her body and starved and sweated for a better body - according to celebrity gossip magazines - Jessica eventually came at peace and reinforced "Going from a size 2 to a size 8 is not FAT!"
10. KATE WINSLET
Most remembered by her impeccable performance in Titanic, Kate has been debated as "fat" or "curvy" by various tabloid, men's, and women's magazines. More recently, she had to defend an obviously photoshopped cover of her on GQ Magazine, claiming her "legs were obviously cut down by a third" and that she preferred the untouched version. With loads of confidence, Kate emphasizes that she loves her "mother" body, and that she wonders why women think they need to be skinny to be loved. "The men I know want women with an arse on them!" Now, there's the British spirit we know and love!
I hope you take what's in the moments from reading this article, confidence that should last for a lifetime. We all have our bad days, but if we continuously compare ourselves to models with bone structures that we can't have and photoshopped images that aren't real, then we will slowly burden ourselves emotionally and mentally. So, eat healthy, exercise, indulge, LIVE LIFE, and love the body that God gave you, because there's only ONE you. Come as you are, and the world will follow!
