There’s an enormous amount of self-confidence and determination to step in front of those beaming flashbulbs.  And while stiletto-stomping their stuff down the tunnel vision catwalk, rejection and scrutiny will inevitably follow.  But deathly heroin chic and fashion suicide is not the process in which one should go about achieving this almighty modeling ambition.  Models come in every shape and size, petites through plus.  Undoubtedly, it’s a fiercely tough industry.  Point blank.  And with today’s premeditated marketing techniques, the dire quest for ‘beauty in a bottle’ seems as galvanized as discovering the celestial Holy Grail or even the Hope diamond. 

At some point, we’ve all (unavoidably) been on this same exasperating mission since the coming of age.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong in that but, and that’s a pretty BIG but… though sadly, none of those phenomenal products is going to Harry Houdini you into someone else. 

Oh, the pursuits of vanity can be so tedious… but we (as part of this society) strive for pure excellence, nothing less is good enough.  Saturating our minds with a media-perfect infused world and the inaccessible expectations built for ourselves, shocks our egos into the oblivion of failures when we don’t achieve them.  Even my size four, is considered big!  It’s demoralizing and sometimes we forget that even they, the models, are trying to conform to an archetype created by Hollywood standards.  Seen at every newsstand, on the television, box office, bookstore, gas station, drug store, convenience market, and checkout lane… wraith forms glaring at you from the realms of glossy magazines.  For some, the only solution is to enlist the course of rivalry by imitation. 

Beautiful, tempting images slash across the pages, appearing unblemished in every way imaginable… though obviously, it’s not easy to live up to the limelight, even for them. 

It’s the moment when women are reaching for the jeans at the very back of the clothing rack… where the bigger sizes are hanging.  It’s as if they’re deliberately veiled from the rest, like some pariah of fashion civilization.  Why?  I mean, are women aliens to the rest of society if they aren’t a size zero?  It’s the constant reminder that high fashion designers and celebrity stylists prefer size a two or smaller, and thus, precedence is set.  Considering the average American woman is a (reported)size twelve… how can she possibly correlate the fine line between a healthy well-being and the standard of beauty?   

Today, even the beloved Marilyn Monroe would be a plus size actress.  That is, if she too, would not have succumbed to toothpickville.  

 Just look at the difference in these images… 

Karolina Kurkova fat?  Are you kidding me!  Omg, what’s so wrong with this beautiful woman’s body?  Nothing!

Startling facts…  Anna Carolina Reston died at age 21, from a diet regimen that consisted of apples and tomatoes.  Upon her demise, she weighed a mere 88 pounds. Luisel Ramos died at age 22, while participating in a fashion show, of anorexia-induced heart failure… it was reported that the youthful model had consumed only lettuce leaves and diet coke for three months prior to her death.  Upon her demise, she weighed a mere 98 pounds.

It’s a heartrending world , when these statistics don’t prevent further damage.

S. A. Harris

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