Young and Chubby

Young and Chubby

The article Young and Chubby elaborates on the uprising amount of obese adolescents flaunting their bodies in tight clothing, and feeling very confident about it. Author Gina Bellfante explains, "Teenage girls unabashedly show their bellies, even when they have actual bellies to show." (Bellafante 2005).

In a celebrity driven hyped up world, with stick thin ideals, it is easy to be brainwashed in thinking you must look or dress a certain way. However, notable magazines like Teen Vogue are turning the tables, pushing fuller figures to be the "beautiful" more socially accepted figure.

A recent Teen Vogue issue has a bold cover stating, "Making it big; How curvy girls are changing Hollywood's stick thin standard."

Editor of Cosmo Girl, Atoosa Rubenstein expresses by using plus sized models, teenage readers are less obsessed with dieting and exercise to reach the traditional model thin ideal.

Plus size chain stores like Torrid are excessively promoting overweight women to flaunt their bodies in skin right clothing. Is this contributing to obesity in America? According to the article, "14 percent of American adolescents are already overweight-triple the rate two decades ago- the danger is an increased acceptance of bigness is that young people will balloon to perilously greater proportions, threatening their health."

So they question remains, is there a difference between a round body and overweight one? In my opinion I believe there is a difference depending on height and age. I would like to propose using the word athletic, curvy, or muscular instead of the word round. A woman can have a naturally more muscular, big boned body, while an overweight woman is considered obese.

There are many celebrities such as Beyonce and Kim Kardashian that embody a muscular, curvy woman. These women are not stick thin, but they are also not overweight.

I feel that the media should stop focusing on "big is in" because it could be translated into, eat whatever you want and look like Beyonce because she has a fuller figure. It is important to live a healthy lifestyle while not overeating, nor starving yourself. A healthy balance is what all media should be promoting. 

-Kelsey & Kirstin