Wednesday, August 27, 2008

'Real' Women?

Reebok is casting.....


SEEKING:

[ FEMALES ]THE LOOK: WE WANT ALL TYPES OF BEAUTIFUL ATHLETIC HEALTHY WOMEN WHO ARE BELIEVABLE!! AGES 20-30. SIZE 4/6. NO ONE TOO SKINNY! REAL GIRLS AND MODELS ARE REQUESTED. THE TYPES MUST BE AUTHENTIC AND SPECIFIC AS LISTED.

Size 4/6, not "too skinny," "real girls" requested. Gotcha.

A.) Implying that ANY woman--be she size 0 or size 30--might not be 'real.'
B.) Implying that there is a 'too skinny'--which is, quite frankly, offensive to our thinner sisters.
C.) Implying that real women are only valid as a 4 or 6.

Hmm. Well, this is why the entertainment industry is not subject to the rules, regulations and employment laws of the rest of the world.

But...is it "progress" that they're asking for someone as a size 6 and not a size 2? (Probably not. But just a thought.)

-Zaftige

5 comments:

Mindy said...

Hey, size 6! Looks like they are OK with getting plus-sized women! /sarcasm

I really hate the "real woman" nonsense. I get it a lot simply because I have decided not to have children. If you don't want children, you're not a "real woman," dontcha know? I guess it's double for me as I'm a plus-size shopper.

Pretty much any woman I see, be she a size 0 or a size 20 or a size 30 is a "real woman" with feelings and love to give.

mccn said...

I went to see the Devil Wears Prada movie - with, of all people, my dad, who wanted to see it for some reason I will never understand.

The only thing I remember about the movie is that the main character was always being told she was the "smart fat girl" and being too "fat" for the clothes at a size 6. Then, of course, when life is going very well, she turns into a size 4 - which she announces with a clink of a champagne glass. Followed by a scene with her eating dinner - I believe I counted seven green beans on her plate as dinner, but it could have been a different number.

I remember thinking how awful that was. I remember thinking how many of us would find those numbers hurtful and awful. I remember all the horrible things I did to my body as a thirteen year old, trying to get into a size 9, so I could wear a single digit size. This just feels like more of the same.

The Zaftig Thespian said...

Hi Mindy! That's another RIDICULOUS standard of "real women." I am really not cool with that one--because while we might not really 'choose' to be fat, many of us can choose to have or not have kids.

Hi Mary! I remember what you're talking about as clear as day. It's just so sad. And also, that she had no problem being a 6 previously--but her entire office just shaked their heads and clucked at her. Not like it's anywhere near what actual fat people face, but still--! I remember being 12 and just KNOWING I was the only girl whose age matched her pants size.


You couldn't pay me enough to go back to 7th grade.

Lindsey said...

Hi,

I'm almost 20 years old, 5'2", and a size 2-4, with a 34A. I am growing more and more irritated with the notion of the "real" or "ideal" woman, in regards to her body shape/size. I hear things like, "size 2 women shouldn't have kids!" being used to make women who have severe body image issues feel better. I don't understand why people need to invalidate "size 2" women to make other women feel better.

A friend of mine gave me a pair of pajama pants because they didn't fit her. Mind you, this friend is beautiful and healthy looking. I am healthy looking as well, but she is not thin like me, nor is she heavy. Another friend said they were cute and asked her why she gave them away, and my friend's response was, "Honey, I have hips." Maybe I should not have taken it this way, but I felt as if I was hearing, "She doesn't have hips, so she can wear them. I have hips, so I can't."

I have hips.. they may be small and narrow but they're there.

Also, there's a facebook group called "Real Women Have Curves" that has a very large number of members. It should really be called, "Curvy Women Are Real Women, Too!" Or something like that.

I am just so tired of hearing that I am not what a "real" woman should look like.


Thank you for posting this, it helps to know that someone else understands.

The Zaftig Thespian said...

Linds,

Thank you so much for stopping by! You're totally on the mark. De-feminizing women by calling them 'unreal,' 'manly,' etc.; telling them they should/shouldn't have children, and just overall judging their behavior by their bodies is something that we women have gotten REALLY good at. We end up turning against our own because we feel threatened--so, while there's a LOT of prejudice against fat women, very slim or petite women also feel the heat. This "real women have curves" crap is supposed to empower fat women, and it ends up just alienating our thinner counterparts. No woman should ever be made to feel like she doesn't deserve the femininity that she's born with! Thank you again for stopping here. I'm all about body positivity of *all* sizes, and you can get your daily dose of self-empowerment and body love here or at the hub of the Fat-o-Sphere, www.kateharding.net :)

<3 Z.