This afternoon when I logged online, a news item appeared regarding how a story had made the rounds this last couple of days, that a big Swedish store were using plus-sized mannequins and wasn't that a great thing. The picture accompanying the story showed a beautifully curvy mannequin in a sexy purple bra and panties set. The store was getting kudos all over the place. And then here's the kicker. It was all a hoax, apparently.
How sad. Yet at the same time, how cool! I mean, it would have been wonderful if the stores really were using realisitic looking mannequins based on what real average women look like. Maybe all the positive press they've been getting will prompt them to actually do so. What's cool to me is how much positive attention and praise the notion got. Could it be that notions of what contitute beauty are starting to change, moving away from the anorexic stick figure please-give-the-girl-a-sandwich image we're stuck with now? God, I hope so.
As you may guess, I'm a plus-sized woman...a BBW...and damned proud of it. I don't apologize for my curves and, in fact, try and celebrate the BBW as often as possible through my writing. Many of my heroines are blessed with a bounty of flesh and living pretty steamy lives, I might add *wink*. I'm so sick and tired of me and those like me, being ignored in fashion, being berated by the medical profession, being shamed by society. It's not right. We all have a place in this world and should be able to fill it without having to apologize.
So, H&M Sweden (and elsewhere), you've already gotten the kudos for a job well done, so why not follow through and actually do it. I, for one, would love to look in a store window and see a reflection of myself there, and not just in the glass. Let's hope this is a step in the right direction.
Until next time,
~Paige
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