Meredith

From Allure.com, the online portal of Allure magazine, comes a statement that should be met with equal amounts of approval and cynicism. Approval because it confirms (as mainstream-fashion sources seldom do) the true nature of feminine beauty; cynicism because it does come from a mainstream-fashion source, one that is, sadly, unlikely to act upon this information by changing its own underweight standard.

http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends...ves-are-in.html

The most significant points:


Kudos to Linda Wells for acknowledging this. It was true all along -- it's just that the fashion industry has never admitted it before.

Confirmation comes from an unlikely source:


That statement is significant for several reasons. First, it's gratifying to see a male voice confirming Linda Wells' point and adding to it by revealing that men find "toned" female figures repulsive. Instead, soft, fleshy, untoned female physiques are far more sensual to most men than androgynously "toned" frames.

Second -- and this is key -- it's extremely encouraging to see this individual acknowledging that diminishing a female body masculinizes it. He is thus acknowledging that a fuller figure is a more feminine figure, and that body-diminishment has the effect of androgynizing the female figure. That should be a clue as to why the fashion industry insists upon the underweight look for women. It also reveals the nature of the fey individuals who push for this masculinized standard, and what their motivations and resentments are.

On the other hand, how very troubling that a plastic surgeon was at a fashion conference in the first place.

Still, Teitelbaum's final point about "prestige" is very much on point, and confirmed in the latter portion of the Allure statement:


This fact has been well established, but it needs to be said as often as possible, because the feminist myth about a conspiratorial "patriarchy" still persists, long after it has been thoroughly debunked. It is not men (that is, not heterosexual men) who have imposed the anorexic standard of appearance on women. Quite the contrary. As this Allure write-up acknowledges, men prefer women with curves.

Rather, it is women who tyrannize themselves with the androgynous, underweight "ideal" (women, and men who are not attracted to women, who aren't "men" at all).

How gratifying to find Allure making these concessions and coming to these realizations. One would hope that this would mean that the magazine would now begin featuring plus-size models (true plus-size models, over a size 14) in its pages. But if past experiences are any indication, don't hold your breath...