The Truth about Fashion Models and Plus Size Models

In 1992 the average American woman in her 20s weighed 132 lbs.

In 1992 the average fashion model weighed 120 lbs (8% less than the average).

In 2012 the average fashion model weighs 102 lbs (23% less than the average).

In 2002 plus-size models were considered to be between size 12 and 18.

In 2012 plus-size models now average between a size 6 and size 14.

So the fashion models are getting thinner and even the plus-size fashion models are getting thinner, despite the vast majority of women who say they would prefer models who are more realistic.

In America 50% of women wear a size 14 or larger, but the majority of fashion stores only cater to size 14 or smaller. Even so-called "plus size" stores have a limit on the sizes they have available.

My message?

Support local companies which cater to your size and taste in fashion. Change will never happen if we keep supporting companies which keep making things smaller and smaller.

Let fashion designers and brands know what you think via social networking sites and email them via their websites to let them know how you feel about clothing options.

If more people stop buying at certain stores and let them know you will not be purchasing clothing from them until they market to you, this will get their attention when they see their revenue losses and have to start contemplating store closures.

Support indie designers.

We are bombarded with sexually suggestive ads every day, but there is nothing wrong with our bodies. Our bodies aren't meant to be starved. We're meant to be eating hearty, exercising constantly and have an Amazon / Cavegirl physique. Its being too skinny which is unnatural.

We need to embrace our Amazon side and not be afraid of it.

In other news here is a fun video that may give you some food for thought...

Feminism: The Sliding Scale

FEMINIST - Seriously, feminists will protest almost anything they think causes inequality.

ie. The Muff March

Activists in London and Southampton are staging a "Muff March" on Saturday December 10th to speak out against labiaplasty and what they call a ‘pornified’ culture driving increasing numbers of women to seek vaginal cosmetic surgery, and to protest against the cosmetic surgeons profiting from it. The activists will be wearing fake ‘muffs’, will march down Harley Street, famed for its cosmetic surgeries, and stage a synchronised "muff dance".

Demand for labiaplasty is increasing rapidly due to the online porn industry. Its not just saggy breasts women are seeking surgery for. Between 2007 - 2008 there was a 70% increase in the number of labiaplasty operations carried out by the NHS, and last year the Harley Medical Group received more than 5,000 inquiries about cosmetic gynaecology. Researchers at Kings College London are studying the demand for labiaplasty and have suggested this increase stems from the increasing ‘pornification’ of culture. The protest comes two weeks before Christmas, a period during which demand for cosmetic surgery has been found to surge.

The "Muff Marches" protest includes slogans likr: “Keep your mits off our bits!”, “there’s nothing finer than my vagina!”, and “Harley Street puts my chuff in a huff”.

Over 325 people have so far signed up to the London event on Facebook.

Ahem...

Which brings me back to the real reason I am writing this post: The concept of a Sliding Scale of Feminism. A scale of 0 to 10, sort of like wine dryness to sweetness.

0 - A woman who doesn't care that she is treated poorly and basically does whatever men want her to do.

5 - The average woman in the world.

10 - A hardcore feminist.

Obviously there are some women out there who want labiaplasty and have a specific idea of what their vagina should look like on an aesthetic level. On the opposite end there are women who think body modification for the sake of male standards of beauty is wrong.

Now I admit there is always the potential for some kind of horrible accident and a woman might want to seek labiaplasty as an effort to get her self esteem back, and yes, she should totally have that option. But that isn't really a feminist issue to me except on the level that it gives the victim back some of their self-esteem.

Thus I would leave the door open to people doing these things because they might see it as part of their healing process after some horrific accident.

Also some people are just really into body modification... tattoos, piercings, implants... there is a whole sub-culture for such things. Not my cup of tea, but people are free to make their own choices.

There are some things I believe in that makes me think I might be more of a 9.5 on the Sliding Scale of Feminism. Maybe a 9.1 or a 9.9. There is no way to accurately measure unless I come up with some kind of more scientific survey which determines exactly where people are on the scale.

So... on my list of things to do in the future I need to craft a survey which does two things, 1. gauges what topics people consider to be a feminist issue, and 2. asks people to gauge themselves on a scale of 0 to 5 how much they agree to disagree with a specific feminist issue. Add up all the scores, come up with a score out of 100, and then pinpoint based on the responses people give whether they are a 5.2 or a 9.7 or whatever on the scale.

Note: The questions and answers on the survey should be made precise and avoid any vagueness. Vagueness decreases the accuracy of a survey because then people will just pick one of the numbers when uncertain which number reflects their own beliefs.

1 - Disagree Strongly (worth 0 points).
2 - Disagree (worth 1 point).
3 - Not sure (worth 2 points).
4 - Agree (worth 3 points).
5 - Agree Strongly (worth 4 points).

Times 25 questions... a grand total of 100 possible points. Divide the total by 10 to get your result. Voila! Suzy's Sliding Scale of Feminism.

The Truth about Bald Women

SHAVING YOUR HEAD - The truth is being bald can be very beautiful. It really depends on the shape of your head.

Some people have really nicely shaped heads and look absolutely amazing bald.

Virginity, Chastity and Muslim Beauty Queens

DIVORCE - A Muslim couple in France are still married tonight because the husbands request for annulment was turned down by a French tribunal.


The problem started in 2006 when on their wedding night the husband discovered that his wife was not a virgin (or at very least didn't bleed when her hymen broke, which is known to happen). He immediately stomped out of the bedroom and into the still active wedding party and demanded the vows be undone.


The case provoked wide outrage as an attack on male-female equality. One female government minister called the original tribunal ascent a "fatwa against the emancipation of women."


The issue of virginity amongst Muslim women is so controversial that some women either "fake their virginity" or have surgery to have their hymen restored.


Annulments in France have been granted for impotence, sterility, a criminal record, foreign nationality undisclosed, prostitution, and discovery of a previous divorce. The French tribunal saw this for what it was: Denunciation of a woman for having sex outside marriage (while the husband in question had previous sexual experience), discrimination based on anachronistic traditions, and imposition of religious values on secular law. The tribunal made the following comment:

"Virginity can in no case constitute an essential quality. It is not possible to obtain an annulment on such a discriminatory basis; this motive is an attack on male-female equality, the right to dispose of one's own body, and human dignity. It would be contrary to public order to grant an annulment on the grounds of non-virginity."

The couple can still apply for an annulment on more legal grounds, such as if they don't love each other and never did.


Meanwhile lets back up a few years and go to Germany... the 2005 Miss Germany was Asli Bayram, the first Muslim to be chosen as Germany's beauty queen.


Born in 1981 Germany Asli's father was killed by a Neo-NAZI when she was 12 years old, and unlike stereotypical beauty queens Asli is serious about her career as an actor, but also spends a significant amount of time trying to be a role model for young Muslim women.


There's also a rumour that she might end up guest starring on CBC's Little Mosque on the Prairie as she is currently touring Canada.


Evidently its not just Muslim women who need role models. Its Muslim men who need better role models and need to understand that virginity only effects one night of your marriage. GET OVER IT.

The Truth about Botox

HEALTH - Its bad enough that the advertising industry lies to us regularly, but pressuring women with the idea that its safe to use botox...? Scary. I seem to recall the breast implant industry using the same tactics. Its amazing the number of women willing to go under the knife for the sake of fake beauty.

Of course these days the beauty industry tries to be more sophisticated, but they're not above preying on the fears of women, and one of our biggest fears is growing old and becoming ignored.

I found this excellent video which illustrates the lies used by the botox industry... and I will point out that REAL doctors don't recommend botox, but slimy money-grubbing estheticians do... and it will only cost you $299.99 to inject your face with needles.

Scary? Not half as scary as the women hired to smile for the camera while being injected. Its like they don't even have souls any more...

Disney Princesses, Capitalism and Feminism

ENTERTAINMENT - Disney princesses don't slay dragons, play sports or go to university. Higher academics, athletics don't seem to be on their list of things to do.

Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan and newly added Tiana and Rapunzel... they have all perfected the art of being the damsel in distress. Even the bookish Belle, the runaway Jasmine and the resourceful Pocahontas... they all are beholden to having a man rescue them. Mulan is the only one that actually gets a sword.

Girl power? Don't make me laugh.

As a franchise Disney has done very well at selling clothes, toys, dolls to your kids. As cute as the little dresses are Disney's primary goal is your wallet.

You may laugh when your daughter says she wants to be a princess when she grows up, but what is she really aspiring to? Wearing pretty dresses and being rescued all the time? We all know there's no knight in shining armour. REAL relationships are about communication, mutual respect and spending time with each other.

There's also the health issue... all the Disney Princesses are anorexic. Do we really need to encourage our daughters to emulate the super thin?

Fairy tales have been around for centuries, little girls have always liked pretty dresses, and its no surprise little girls like them. But should parents be going out of their way to buy their kids all the Disney crap? Does the Disney Corporation really need more money?

Why not buy something that is good for your daughter's health and education?

This Christmas, I encourage parents to go out and buy their kids some sports equipment. Or something that will stimulate their brains.

The Disney Princesses may have beauty, but our daughters need more brawn and brains.

Women in Sports: Lies, Sexism & Selling Out

FEMINISM - If you look at women in sports what do you usually see?

Actually you probably don't see a lot unless you're looking in a men's magazine like Sports Illustrated and what you will see is a lot of skin and the emphasis will be on sex, not sports.

Men have so dominated the sports industry that when women try to get attention in the business they have to resort to doing something other than their actual sport... namely posing scantily clad. Take Ana Kournikova for example. She makes more money from doing photo shoots than she does from tennis. She's actually not even that good of a tennis player. She's a complete sell out.

The good female tennis players, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, meanwhile are widely ignored because they're black and there's the belief in western culture that black isn't beautiful. Complete nonsense of course, but thats the situation.

"How good does a female athlete have to be before we just call her an athlete?" - Feminist Quote.

Just recently Billy Jean King was on Oprah and then talked about the historic moment in 1973's "Battle of the Sexes" when she defeated male champion Bobby Riggs. Billy Jean King won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an outspoken advocate against sexism in sports and society.

And she's absolutely right. There's a tonne of sexism in the sports industry and a lot of it shows up in the mass media in the form of women athletes (who aren't wearing very much).

And you will note quite a few of them are in Billy Jean King's profession: tennis. Also a lot of swimmers and golfers too who are willing to show a lot of skin. Check out the list at: Female Athletes, who takes them seriously?

Frankly there's a lot of myths and lies about women and exercise period. Like the myth that women's weightlifting will make you look like a man.

And the mass media/men's magazines certainly don't help by publishing images that show women athletes as sex objects.

Its bad enough that men's magazines are dictating who are "best" female athletes based on how good they look in a bikini, but they're also setting beauty standards for a new generation of women (and in particular women athletes).

Not every woman falls into the Sports Illustrated ideal of what is beautiful, and certainly not every female athlete falls into that either. Its simply unrealistic.

How about more images of women athletes doing what they do best? Being athletic. Lets see more shots of them lifting weights, running, swimming, jumping.

Relaxing on the beach in a bikini or wearing white shirts and getting soaked in the rain hardly seems on topic and certainly isn't going to inspire the next generation of female athletes.

Women like Billy Jean King, Serena Williams and Venus Williams. Thats what we need more of.