How can I paint an accurate picture of my body with words? I’ll give it an attempt here but I’m sure you, as the reader, will be imagining some weird giraffe/elephant mix. I am 5’11”, I have the thighs of a volleyball player, “child-bearing” hips, a relatively small waist, rather voluptuous chest, sort-of-toned arms, and as my mother says, an “oversized head.” Somehow, despite these awkward descriptions, my friends have all noted how “proportional” I am, and how whether I gain or lose 10 pounds, it’s hardly noticeable because of how evenly distributed my weight is.
I am incredibly grateful for my body—I am strong, athletic yet feminine, I care a lot about my physical health, and I have a good body image. I feel secure in my appearance, and in my body’s abilities; however, these good feelings falter when people say to me: “Monte, you should be a model!—You know, one of those thick ones. They have those now.” I can’t help but feel a little worse about both myself, and society when I hear those words.
When I hear the first part of that sentence “Monte, you should be a model!” I am instantly flattered. Those words mean that in someone else’s eyes, I fit the societal standard of beauty. However, when that statement is followed by “You know, one of those thick ones. They have those now” I no longer feel like I am “Varsity team” beautiful, but rather “Freshman Team” beautiful.
This is an extremely problematic thought process on my part, but I can’t say that it’s my fault. Though I am proud of my body, society has taught me to strive for unattainable beauty. I need have the metabolism of a 12-year-old boy, be a size double zero, be virtually hairless, or as I like to say, a “naked mole rat”… the list goes on. So when someone tells me that I should be a model, I instantly feel like I am a step closer to reaching that unattainable beauty, and I can’t help but be secretly excited; but when that statement is followed up by “You know, one of those thick ones, they have those now.” I feel like I gain 20 pounds in a second.
Society should not endorse a standard of beauty that inspires people to eat less, and feel insecure about their bodies; however, the new movement of “curvy/thick” models is swinging too far in the other direction. Girls should not be told that it is okay to weigh 80 pounds if that is not natural for their bodies, but neither should they idolize being 200 pounds, when really that weight may be detrimental to their health.
I am all about feeling beautiful in your own skin, but as a societal standard to strive for, I believe models should be healthy. This should be measured by whether these girls live a healthy lifestyle of frequent exercise, (relatively) good eating habits, and however else you want to measure health. I should not be told by society that it is okay to starve myself to lose 40 pounds, or overeat and gain 40 pounds, if neither weight is within a healthy range for my body to function.
So I am not flattered when I hear that I should be a “thick model,” because health and wellness are extremely important to me, and I do not think that thick models necessarily exemplify the epitome of health. Sure, these girls are beautiful, but I want to be idolizing and striving for a healthy lifestyle, rather than a starving one, or an overindulgent one.
