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Oct 27, 2008 @ 12:10pm

"They're lauding the ample, sexy behind of Joan, Mad Men's smoking-hot secretary, and beginning to reject the boniness of eastern European skinny-minnies. Could it be that, finally, we can put those two incendiary little words, "size" and "zero", behind us, and that Lowe and her softly cut ilk are the poster girls for a new aesthetic of womanliness and personality that lies ahead?" - Kate Spicer, on what she thinks is 'the death of size zero', in the London Times.

ps. Just wondering, when did it become ok to make fun of eastern European girls' looks in such a blanket way, something we've seen a lot of lately?

posted by KLW

Oct 27, 2008 12:18PM

Uhm, I would love it if you could point out an Eastern European model who *doesn't* fit the profile? No one is saying anything negative about Eastern Europeans, they're talking about a very tiny segment of the population who happen to come here and model and they ALL fit a certain physical type. I don't think the girls are being made fun of, any more than Spicher is calling Joan fat by saying her behind is ample. She's more curvy, they're all thin as rails--why is the blanket statement not okay? Models are skinny-minnies, period, full stop.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 12:24PM

um. daisy lowe is still really tiny?

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 12:32PM

if you suscribe to the idea that the economy influences fashion, then it makes sense that a fuller figure is in when times are tough.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 12:43PM

the whole point is simply: learn to accept/embrace what you have, right? there shouldn't be an "in" body type. it's like a weird, hateful battle of the body types; it gets kind of tiresome. and now i am stepping off my soapbox...

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 12:48PM

#2 um, really not, and espcially not in comparison to most other models. Also, this was in the Sunday Times, not the London Times.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 12:48PM

#2 um, really not, and espcially not in comparison to most other models. Also, this was in the Sunday Times, not the London Times.

posted by Peter

Oct 27, 2008 1:14PM

KLW, not that I disagree with you really, but arguably the most recognizable model from Eastern Europe, Karolina Kurkova, is not a 'skinny minnie'.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 1:18PM

I think the comments just reflect that a very specific Eastern European look has so dominated for so long--Eastern European women do have certain characteristics that have been in style (though certainly most Eastern European women are not that tall and that skinny!)--and satire is justified.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 1:19PM

Maybe after a few unsuccessful years of trying logic to increase the size of the models on the runway this season they're trying racism?

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 1:20PM

Maybe after a few unsuccessful years of trying to use logic to increase the size of the models on the runway this season they're trying racism?

posted by TyTy

Oct 27, 2008 1:21PM

it's been ok to ridicule pretty much everyone else's appearence in blanket ways, so I can't say I feel for the eastern european models.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 2:16PM

Why is the press so fixated on body image and sizes? Can they talk about something else.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 2:49PM

I don't think its racist to comment on this. It's about the .2% of Eastern European women who fit the profile, not the rest of us who are just normal and while we might have high cheekbones may also carry a few extra pounds or have larger noses (like me and my big polish nose) or mousy hair.

And guest #12? Maybe because advertisers are.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 3:19PM

i think the eastern euro models are basically starving themselves. this is coming from a recovering anorexic herself, and these hyper-thin models, are NOT naturally this skinny. if we are supposed to accept our bodies as a culture the way they are naturally meant to be, then why can't models, designers, agents, casting directors, etc, accept them as well?!

there needs to be more of a variety of (healthy!) figures in the media. katie spicer sounds like an ignorant bitch.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 3:32PM

daisy lowe is not normal sized.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 3:50PM

Sasha is "generously sexy"?!

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 4:08PM

#15. What is a normal size?

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 4:12PM

fashionista is really boring me now. the very worst in fashion conservatism. catch up with everyone else please.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 7:02PM

being thin =/= idolizing anorexia

while i understand she's against unhealthy standards for body shapes, her comment seems kind of malicious.
in order to get her point across, does she really need to criticize another body type?

i hate it when people insult thin celebrities with comments such as "go eat a sandwich!"
it's just as bad as yelling out "go on a diet fattie!"
but somehow we think that making fun of people who starve themselves is morally superior to teasing a fat person.

posted by cesarcmma

Oct 27, 2008 7:34PM

agree with you #19, she sounds bitchy. people think it's ok to judge a thin person, but not a fat one which by the way represent a bigger number of the poblation.

A change only depends on the advertisers /booker/stylists etc, and in peoples own lifes and health care, people decide how they want to look.

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 9:02PM

It would be really great if grown women like Kate Spicer, who write about serious issues and expect to be considered journalists, would stop using stupid-assed expressions like "skinny minnies."

posted by guest

Oct 27, 2008 10:59PM

"the death of size zero" - agreed, i think this sounds kinda malicious. i'm a size zero and sometimes people will ask me if i eat, or tell me i need to get some meat on my bones (sometimes jokingly, sometimes unkindly). i don't walk up to people and ask how much they've been eating, or tell them they need to lose weight. i think looking down on size zero is just as bad as looking down on size five, ten, thirteen. they're just numbers and depending on who makes the clothes that number can change. this thinking pits smaller and bigger sizes in a battle when there shouldn't be one at all. it's like creating competition between black models as if there could only be one good one. let's talk about fit. let's talk about health. let's appreciate the woman, the clothes, the style -- not the size.

posted by guest

Oct 28, 2008 4:35AM

Here's the thing: while I agree that it is generally wrong to assume that any skinny woman is anorexic/bulimic you all have to understand that this body image is the ideal pushed upon women by most advertisers and designers. There are PLENTY of thinner women that are naturally built that way are beautiful... they should not be persecuted! But a woman like Christina Hendricks makes those of us who are not a sample size feel a helluva lot better about ourselves. Why can't we all just accept that we are all different sizes and beautiful in our own way? Joan Holloway is gorgeous, as are many models. It's just rare/exciting for many women to see someone like her on television being portrayed as the feminine ideal for once.

posted by guest

Oct 28, 2008 11:07PM

hello?! since when is the skinny thing exclusive to eastern european models?

is this a joke?

anyway, lily donaldson has to be the skinniest model out there...

posted by guest

Oct 29, 2008 1:45AM

#22, I agree that is rude for others to ridicule your thinness, but to compare that experience with the experiences of overweight people is pretty crazy. Why people might be rude to you, you have the privilege of knowing that your body type is idolized by the United States at large. To make this comparison is similar to claiming that white victims of racism have the same experience as black victims of racism.