Plus size mannequins: Teaching women to love their bodies or normalising obesity?

I’m not plus size, but you certainly wouldn’t call me petite either, however I do get a smile on my face when I walk past mannequins that look like real women in shops. Not the skinny ones with waists I can wrap my hands around and mythical “thigh gaps” but the ones that are curvy with realistic post-childbirth hips and a bigger bust.

They have made me smile because I know that someone out there became happier about the way they look when they saw the model of the same size and in a society with horrible body shaming, I believe that is important.

However, I read a piece in the Daily Mail yesterday that had me thinking about whether I had bought into emotional manipulation or not.

A weight loss “expert” and host of UK television show, Fat Families, has claimed that by using size 16 mannequins we are normalising obesity and that our political correctness is encouraging people to stay ‘fat’.

But is using size 16 models really “promoting the idea that being fat is acceptable”?

There are a few questions that Mr Miller’s statement raises. Firstly, he is assuming that every size 16 woman is blatantly “fat”. But are they? What about the genetic plays that cause women to be bigger boned?

When eating disorders including anorexia and bulimia became increasingly common in the mid 2000s, campaigns were everywhere teaching women to love the body they are in. But the argument Mr Miller makes is that this can help to foster positive body image about unhealthy bodies.

Should clothing size be irrelevant to obesity claims? Should BMI and weight ranges be the primary indicators so women can enjoy shopping without unfair discrimination? While there are women out there who may be over weight and size 16, do they need to be reminded while they shop that they are unhealthy?

The association between shopping and emotional attitude towards weight and appearance in women is incredibly high and by making women feel worse about themselves, I can’t imagine that is going to help them make better health choices in controlling their weight. And by pointing out that size 16 is perceived as unhealthy while women are shopping, they won’t be achieving anything except fostering poor body image in women of bigger sizes.

I firmly believe that clothes shopping shouldn’t be a time to remind women they are unhealthy. I believe that allowing women to feel good about themselves is important, no matter what weight they are.

So sorry Steve Miller, while health is so important, so too is happiness. Let’s leave it to the doctors and real obesity measures to help us make the healthy choices. Not the plastic that we use to look at our clothes.

How do you feel about size 16 models and mannequins? Are they normalizing obesity or are they making women happier with themselves? Do they bother you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below…