Yes, those pictures are of Whitney Thompson, the plus-size winner of America's Next Top Model. Whitney, age 20, used to live in Jacksonville Florida and began her modeling career doing local fashion shows and magazine covers. She was 15 when she began her modeling career and noticeably thinner. Rumors on the internet are flying about Whitney being a size 4 when ANTM approached her about signing up for the show. Allegedly, the execs at ANTM told Whitney that size 4 was too big for "regular" modeling, but if she gained some weight they would let her be the "plus size" model.
Who knows if this is true, but she does look a lot skinnier on the covers than she does on the show. Then again, my 15 year old body looked very different from my 20 year old body. I don't know if I believe the rumors. I've invented my own story that I think sounds better.
Whitney once dieted heavily to grace the covers of Jacksonville, but she is no longer a slave to the scale. Now she embraces her body and not dieting. Since she stopped dieting for good a couple years ago, she has gained weight. However, she is using the new curves she has to her advantage by becoming a plus size model.
Why?
19 May 2008
Did Tyra Force Whitney to Gain Weight?
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6 comments:
I dont' know, I've never seen the show, so I haven't seen her on a regular basis. I do know that I am 5'10" and currently weigh about 175, and I am barely squeezing into a size 12. To me, she looks like an 8 *at most.* But then again, that would still be "plus-sized" for the conventional fashion industry. I am pretty ambivalent about her win, but I guess I might feel differently if I'd watched the show.
I thought I saw somewhere that she said she was airbrushed for the above photos.
Look at it another way... even if she was thinner at one time, she likely managed that by putting all her effort into it. So if Tyra and company said, "You'll be a contender if you weigh more," and thus gave her permission to eat regular meals, then they didn't "force" her to gain weight, but rather allowed her to in an industry in which that's usually not allowed.
But none of that addresses the problem of her not being plus size in the sense that, if she were to walk into a plus size department or store, there'd be nothing for her on the shelves even at her current "winning" weight.
Its actually pretty common for plus-size models to be refuges from the traditional modeling industry. If they aren't able to maintain an extremely thin body, they opt for a more conventionally thin body where they can still get plenty of plus-size modeling work. While they might not be able to present an unattainable goal for "average" size women, as "average" size women, they can still present an unattainable goal for fat women. Indeed, I'd suggest a woman like Whitney is even less representative of the women who'd buy the clothes she models than a "traditional" size 0 is to "average" size women. None of which is Whitney's fault, of course. Just the fundamental horror that is the modeling industry.
I have mixed feelings about Whitney's win. On the, well, plus side, I think it's fabulous that a "plus-sized" model won. On the other hand, it's amazing, sad and a tad infuriating to me that size 4 is too big to be a successful "normal-sized" model. The fashion industry has managed to normalize abnormality. Gee, I wonder why teenage girls and women of all ages feel they can't possibly measure up ...
Haven't watched Top Model, since I don't have cable... But I was a 3/4 when I was in high school and even college... Now I'm a happy 8/10, and I can eat like a normal human being. No diets for me, thanks!
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