Good Old Fashioned, High Fashion Sizism

Gemma Ward, one of the most talented Supermodels in the new generation of mannequins has quit modeling. 

After these paparazzi photos of her out and about made the rounds on the internet to a chorus of “Look How Fat She Is” the doll-like waif contacted her manager and announced that she was done with the business with no immediate plans to return to the catwalk.

One blogger even went so far as to say that Ward could carve out a niche for herself with a career as a plus model.  I’m disgusted and disturbed by this. I’m happy that Gemma stood up for herself but I wish she hadn’t quit. 

To me she’s one of the best.  I wish she would have used the attention and taken a stand against sizism in the fashion industry.

I understand that this is a lot for a 22-year-old to handle but something needs to be done. Girls all over the world can’t be led to believe that this is “fat” or un-pretty.

As a society we need to be more diligent about accepting all body types and not holding up a certain body type as the standard of beauty.

2009 has seen some pretty ugly attacks on Supermodels and the like.  Designer Woolfgang Joop stated that Heidi Klum was too much of a “cow” to do runway

Shoe Designer Christian Louboutian was quoted stating that Barbie’s cankles made them too fat for his shoes!

Ralph Lauren fired model Filippa Hamilton because she was “too fat” at a size 4 and her photoshopped her campaign ads to near distortion.

And formerly full-figured designer Karl Lagerfeld had this gem to offer, “No one wants to see curvy women, you’ve got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly.”

My sentiments exactly...

What is the solution? What can we do to end the sizism in the fashion industry and to give women around the globe a chance at healthy societal self-esteem?

2010 has to be better.  Our future as women depends on it.

XOXO,

Mia