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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Normal-sized model likely flash in the pan
Lizzie Miller appeared in Glamour magazine. (WALTER CHIN / GLAMOUR)
Consider this a multiple choice test.
Which of the following pieces of news received unexpected worldwide attention? Was it:
A) Gary Doer's announcement he is stepping down as premier of Manitoba and the subsequent announcement he will become ambassador to the United States;
B) The death of Senator Ted Kennedy;
C) The indications the Canadian economy is showing signs of recovery;
D) The appearance of a normal-sized woman on the pages of a fashion magazine?
Points go to all those who chose "D."
Glamour magazine's willingness to take the chance of repelling the nation by featuring an almost-nude, plus-size woman has eclipsed all other global stories in the past two weeks.
Lizzie Miller is a beautiful 20-year-old. She's 5'11" and 180 pounds. She wears a Size 12-14, which is supposed to be average for North American women. Given the obesity epidemic, I find that hard to swallow but we shouldn't get bogged down by reality here.
This is a fairy tale, after all.
Miller's photo, not much bigger than a couple of postage stamps, ran on page 194 of the magazine. It was greeted with the sort of astonishment normally reserved for the appearance of Christ's image on toast.
She's normal-sized and we didn't go blind looking at her???
The tasteful photo shows Miller from the side, thong strap showing and arms strategically crossed to hide her breasts. She has flesh on her thighs. Her belly pooches out, the kind of lumpy bit most people spy when they look in the mirror.
Of course she's not an average person. Miller is a model, genetically blessed in the beauty department. She's all smooth limbs and lovely hair, a glory in her youth and energy.
The fact that she is considered plus-size is but one of the reasons so many girls and women have body-image problems. If we've normalized Size 0 anorexic models to the degree that a woman of a healthy weight is considered fat, we're in deep trouble.
The talking-dog phenomenon of Miller and her belly has fascinated America. She appeared on the Today Show. Glamour's editor has blogged about her, likely chortling that a small risk has paid big dividends. The blogosphere is filled with women practically weeping with gratitude that her nakedness saw the light of day.
A Google search of her name produced more than two million hits.
A star is made?
Not a chance. Not in the pages of Glamour or anywhere else. The magazine, busy congratulating itself for its progressive approach, has been airbrushing the fact that while Miller's tiny photo ran on page 194, their front cover promoted a story on three ways to get a flat stomach.
Glamour's editor has been making noises about this being a new era in modelling. Normal women will see themselves reflected in fashion magazines, she has implied, and the era of bony 13-year-olds garbed in designer wear may be over.
I'd be willing to bet Kate Moss's cigarette-and-carrot-stick budget that's not going to happen.
Fashion and style magazines depend upon the fact that all women would change something about themselves. Their thighs are too fat. Their hair is frizzy. They're too tall/too short/too round/too flat-chested. The magazines' business is cultivating insecurity.
If we felt confident about our real bodies and faces, secure that the exterior doesn't reflect the soul of a person, their industry would dry up. You can't sell makeup, clothing, diet plans or ludicrous exercise tips to women who like themselves. What's the point in marketing to the comfortable? What can you sell them?
Here's my prediction:
Lizzie Miller's star will fade faster than Leif Garrett's did. (That's an ancient cultural reference, kids. Look it up). Glamour will spend the next six months offering beauty tips to 20-year-olds and fashion advice convincing young women to hide their perceived flaws.
And smart women will eat properly, exercise with joy and remember that Size 12 is normal, not extraordinary.
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 29, 2009 A2
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