Should American Apparel Hire Snarky Plus-Size Model?
SodaHead News
2011/09/16 22:00:00
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Nancy Upton definitely has the American Apparel aesthetic down -- amateur, risque, and a little bit awkward -- but the company was still unwilling to hire her when she got the most votes in their plus size model contest.
The company rejected her because of her outspoken position on American Apparel's image and message, which she felt was an "unmistakable brand of female objectification."
Well, sort of.
Just before American Apparel dropped her from the competition, she wrote a feature opinion article for The Daily Beast pointing out the problems she had with the company.
She wrote, "I entered American Apparel's 'plus-size model' contest as a joke—and won. But I want nothing to do with a company that's wanted nothing to do with large women until now ... I had been super ooged out by American Apparel in the past—its sexy-nymphs-in-tube-socks ad campaigns, the skeevy stare of its hipster-hero CEO. I just couldn’t get this new stunt out of my head."
At first, the company was critical of her attitude, informing her that they could not work with someone as opposed to their company as she was. Not that she wanted to work for them, but they had to move fast before she got the chance to reject them.
Now American Apparel is flying her out to their Los Angeles headquarters to give her a tour of the facility and introduce her to some of their high-ranking female employees.
She agreed, on one condition.
Upton wrote on her blog, "[Creative director Iris Alonzo] has graciously offered to fly Shannon and me out to LA to visit American Apparel and get a look at what it’s really like being inside the company. I agreed, as long as I could write about what I saw. She said that would be fine."
Whatever the result, we appreciate her awkwardly appropriate sense of humor, and can't wait to hear what she has to say about her visit.
The company rejected her because of her outspoken position on American Apparel's image and message, which she felt was an "unmistakable brand of female objectification."
Well, sort of.
Just before American Apparel dropped her from the competition, she wrote a feature opinion article for The Daily Beast pointing out the problems she had with the company.
She wrote, "I entered American Apparel's 'plus-size model' contest as a joke—and won. But I want nothing to do with a company that's wanted nothing to do with large women until now ... I had been super ooged out by American Apparel in the past—its sexy-nymphs-in-tube-socks ad campaigns, the skeevy stare of its hipster-hero CEO. I just couldn’t get this new stunt out of my head."
At first, the company was critical of her attitude, informing her that they could not work with someone as opposed to their company as she was. Not that she wanted to work for them, but they had to move fast before she got the chance to reject them.
Now American Apparel is flying her out to their Los Angeles headquarters to give her a tour of the facility and introduce her to some of their high-ranking female employees.
She agreed, on one condition.
Upton wrote on her blog, "[Creative director Iris Alonzo] has graciously offered to fly Shannon and me out to LA to visit American Apparel and get a look at what it’s really like being inside the company. I agreed, as long as I could write about what I saw. She said that would be fine."
Whatever the result, we appreciate her awkwardly appropriate sense of humor, and can't wait to hear what she has to say about her visit.
And people, if you are going to comment, please check your grammar and spelling because it's kind of hard to read your comments when I can't understand the grammar.
inspired by the past Divas and Queens and many other History Celebrities should be expose for new generations and it does not matter if it is overweight the model ..just as soon as you can get a lower size later on and not a larger size as time goes bye !Go ahead you have my vote ! It will be an American Icon!
did you even read the article?
back on topic---if you read the article you would realize that the point of her sending those outrageous pictures was to get their attention in the first place----because she was AGAINST what the company stood for---It wasn't a question of if they can or cant hire her---it was SHOULD they--- I felt they should because it is good business sense to understand your critics.... whatever... you obvious missed the entire point of the authors question and I think you just wanted to make yourself feel good somehow by calling a woman a "pig".... whatever floats your dumbass boat...
...huh????? o.o
68% is overweight.... 34% is obese :P
lol If Americans are anorexic, I guess rest of the world are just full of skeletons?
Also, not only weight and size matters, but where your body stores fat matters a lot too. When I was size 8, my weight was all in my stomach and waist area, there for I was not "curvy". Just because you are over certain weight, it does not automatically make you curvy.
Sure, they are some lucky girls out there that only gain weight on chest and butt when stomach stays flat, but those people are extremely rare.
You're sick of people criticizing naturally slender builds? Me too. I'm also sick and tired of people criticizing other body types - which is far more pervasive and unpleasant in our society. I'm tired of people characterizing a size 8 as overweight, unhealthy, or fat. I'm tired of the media encouraging girls, teens, and women to hate their bodies, focus only on their faults, and starve themselves in order to reach unrealistic size goals.
"Sure, they are some lucky girls out there that only gain weight on chest and butt when stomach stays flat, but those people are extremely rare."
No. That's not true. There are many different body types and many different ways in which one's weight can be distributed. It sounds like you tend towards an apple shape, with is slightly less common in women than it is in men. That's not a judgment. I don't judge or snark on the bodies of others. But your body type isn't the same as that of other women and women are more likely to be pears or hourglasses than they are apples.
You wrote “I feel sorry for any woman over the age of 21, still stuck in the 1-3-5 stores. Real women have curves!” on your first post… wow, that’s pretty mean. Maybe some people are just naturally that thin? They don’t get to shop unless they gain 100 pounds huh? Also, 5-6 being "stick thin" in your opinion . . . which I still have hard time understanding why you think that way. Not just "thin" but you have to word it "STICK thin", which sounds pretty aggressive.
Just because somebody is slender/thin that doesn't automatically make them unhealthy, insecure, vomiting, or have eating disorder. If you want every girl to feel good about their weight like you say, you shouldn't generalize thin/slender girls either. You are only hurting others the same way you were hurt.
I agree with you about media is pushing us to make us feel like we have to look the curtain way... but that's not only about weight. They will make fun of girls with big nose, long face, eyes too far apart, eye...
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You wrote “I feel sorry for any woman over the age of 21, still stuck in the 1-3-5 stores. Real women have curves!” on your first post… wow, that’s pretty mean. Maybe some people are just naturally that thin? They don’t get to shop unless they gain 100 pounds huh? Also, 5-6 being "stick thin" in your opinion . . . which I still have hard time understanding why you think that way. Not just "thin" but you have to word it "STICK thin", which sounds pretty aggressive.
Just because somebody is slender/thin that doesn't automatically make them unhealthy, insecure, vomiting, or have eating disorder. If you want every girl to feel good about their weight like you say, you shouldn't generalize thin/slender girls either. You are only hurting others the same way you were hurt.
I agree with you about media is pushing us to make us feel like we have to look the curtain way... but that's not only about weight. They will make fun of girls with big nose, long face, eyes too far apart, eyes too close together, small chest, small asset, etc etc. Personally I think it's more offensive to be judge on something you are born with, such as facial features, but somehow all these girls are real upset only about "weight" problem... heh. and of course, they are only on the heavy-people side. Nobody is defending girls WITHOUT curves, or being too skinny. For example, Hollywood is full of females with breast or butt implants. Don't you think girls without chest or behind feel insecure about that? What they feel doesn't matter? Yeah I know, it’s should be ONLY about heavy girl's rights... its all about how they feel, and how they need to feel beautiful too, need to be told that they are pretty, while they have no problem to say hateful, judgmental things about people with different shape from their selves.
I'm not naturally thin, but this is the reason why I'm really really thick of this "being big is beautiful" movement recently. Most of them are aggressive and so full of themselves, inconsiderate of others feelings, while they get to act like a biggest victim/heroin. They always scream "All shapes are beautiful", but they never mean it. "All shapes are beautiful" in English language today means "Skinny girls are anorexic and insecure and gross! Hurray for fat girls!".
>>"Sure, they are some lucky girls out there that only gain weight on chest and butt when stomach stays flat, but those people are extremely rare."
>No. That's not true.
lol Yes it is true. I wrote "Only gain weight on CHEST AND BUTT, and STOMACH STAY *FLAT* " Flat is the keyword!
Do you see girls like that walking around everyday? I'm not saying they don't exist, but it is not common at all...
I never said everybody have my shape, my point from the last post is "Just because you are over certain weight, it does not automatically make you curvy". Big girls usually tend to think "More weight = more curves" ... like you said your self, having curve depends more on your body shape you are born with. Not the total amount of fat you stored. Look at models like Adriana Lima, she is extremely fit, but she has hourglass figure. It is because of her body shape and bone structures.
So your statement “Real woman have curves” is actually judging people’s body shape they are born with, that cannot be changed unless they alter them self surgically. Don’t you think that’s pretty mean thing to say? Especially coming from you claiming you “want girls to feel good about their natural looks”??
um yes you did.
> I feel sorry for any woman over the age of 21, still stuck in the 1-3-5 stores. Real women have curves!
Just like being a doctor is for people with high intellect with great deal of knowledge in biology . . . Modeling - is a job for ATTRACTIVE people. Their job is to catch attention for various company's advertisements with their extraordinary good looks.
There is many factors in person's looks to be considered attractive. Such as skin condition, hair condition, facial features, balance of head to body, balance of upper body to lower body, size of your breast and buttocks, etc etc .... and of course, weight, too.
I already know what some people are going to tell me at this point.
"YOU THINK ANOREXIA IS PRETTY ZOMG THEY ARE ALL BONES AND SKIN BLAH BLAH THEY NEED TO EAT CHEEZ BURGER"
I am not saying only pin-thin girls should become a model. Personally I really don't find multiple stomach rolls and chin rolls attractive or beautiful at all, but let's put that aside. Since all of us in this society know that modeling is for attractive people, we need to make sure that these models are in healthy weight. If not, young people will grow up thinking ...
Just like being a doctor is for people with high intellect with great deal of knowledge in biology . . . Modeling - is a job for ATTRACTIVE people. Their job is to catch attention for various company's advertisements with their extraordinary good looks.
There is many factors in person's looks to be considered attractive. Such as skin condition, hair condition, facial features, balance of head to body, balance of upper body to lower body, size of your breast and buttocks, etc etc .... and of course, weight, too.
I already know what some people are going to tell me at this point.
"YOU THINK ANOREXIA IS PRETTY ZOMG THEY ARE ALL BONES AND SKIN BLAH BLAH THEY NEED TO EAT CHEEZ BURGER"
I am not saying only pin-thin girls should become a model. Personally I really don't find multiple stomach rolls and chin rolls attractive or beautiful at all, but let's put that aside. Since all of us in this society know that modeling is for attractive people, we need to make sure that these models are in healthy weight. If not, young people will grow up thinking that its ok to be obese because "beauty comes in all size".
The truth is being overweight is very unhealthy. Excessive eating habit (which in most case, is cause of weight gain) is bad for you. Do you want to know all the health risk of obesity? Premature Death, Heart Disease, Stroke, Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Gallbladder Disease, Breathing Problems... and many more. Do you really want to make new generation of young people go through this?
Oh, and another thing . . . people love to make it seem like all current non-plus size models are "anorexic" and puke every food they eat . . . that is not true. Most models eat very healthy, and workout hard. They have personal trainers and diet plan to keep their toned body. If you feel offended that some people criticize about over-weight people and think it's unfair to be portraited negatively, you shouldn't do the same to slender girls.
Yes, you need to be "smart" to be a doctor.....and it doesn't matter what race/color, nationality, sex, or whatever you are as long as you are "smart".
and you are right- Modeling is a job for attractive people.
So logically, if you need to be "attractive" to be a model. It doesn't matter if you are big or small, underweight or overweight, or have curves or no curves. The only thing that is relevant is that a majority of people think you are "attractive" ...if they do, then you are fit to be a model.
I personally think those pictures are absolutely stupid (as she intended them to be..because she entered the contest as a joke) but at least in the 2nd picture where she is the focal point of the picture and not a chicken, if you take away the stupid salad dressing, the woman in the picture is quite attractive. That obviously was proven by the judges of the contest picking her as the "most attractive" contestant...and her winning the contest right??!?
I still dont understand why you answered "no" because the company should hire her because she won their contest and her views will help bring some perspective to their company that its not just slender woman that are good looking... I think that somebody in the company who was smart figured that one out and that is why they decided to fly her out there------dont you?
I know the only reason they are doing this too. It’s because every year there is more overweight/obese people and average weight of US is just growing and growing, they HAVE to find a way to attract that customer base to make money out of these women…. Instead of encouraging girls to have a healthy life style, these people will tell big girls “No!! You are awesome!! Just stay the way you are! We love you! We made XXL closing line just for you!”
Don’t you think this is wrong?
I do agree that she has a pretty attractive face without those stupid things. However what I don’t understand is why can’t she just lose little more weight and become a normal model? I’m not saying she should be size 0, but healthy weight that young girls can look up too. There is so many health risk of being overweight or obese.
and...do you really think she looks morbidly obese or something??? I dont... she is overweight but not a lot.. she is what I would consider a plus size and that is what they were looking for not a
Well I'm not particularity talking about her (as in Nancy Upton) only, but more about the whole recent trend of attacking, stereotyping, humiliating anybody under size 8 as "stick figure" "anorexic" "skin and bones", and praise any over weight girls as "curvy" "sexy" "beautiful" "real woman".
I just find how big girls keep justifying their weight so stupid. They are Hippocrates...they whine about people making fun of their weight, but they have no problem making fun of smaller sized people.
and no, the lady you posted the picture is not plus size. More like Plus plus plus plus size. People shouldn't even be in that weight.
..and I dont think you are correct saying that people sit around and call people who look healthy (under an 8?) "stick figures" unless it is because they are insecure and jealous and just want to say something bad about somebody who is healthier and has their body in better condition... usually when people are anorexic you know it...but whatever.
Oh trust me, it happens. Especially on internet. They are very quick to call random girls anorexic very unfairly.
Although you don't seem like one of those people. Like you said, when somebody is anorexic its very obvious, like you see their rib bones, no meat under skin etcetc.... but the ones that are just pure hateful don't look at characteristic like that. They are like "Is this girl plus size?, no, she must have eating disorder!!!"
I'm not saying all big girls are that way, Alot of them are nice and they just openly admit that they just like food too much to lose weight. The one I cannot stand is, again, those that are hypocritical and hateful.
If anyone calls someone that is healthy anorexic its because they are jealous and wish that they could look that way.... but just like they is no reason to hate on skinny people there is no reason to hate on fat people either... as long as you are comfy with the skin you are in.
The cow above is a person with a serious problem and I'd bet a food addiction, but someone with a few extra pounds can absolutely be beautiful. I think it's very ignorant and hypocritical of you to say that plus sized women can't be beautiful.
Also, size 8 ISN'T plus sized. I'm a size 9, and look at me:
Wow, sorry about my obesity. I wouldn't want to encourage girls to eat more, and I know I can't be beautiful, and no one will ever love me, because I'm a size nine, and that means I'm obese. I know, I'm just SOOOOOO fat, I need to stop eating and start dieting so I can look like you! :D
Did I ever said "all girls over size 8 are overweight and ugly, and can never be beautiful"? I'm size 6/8 (it depends on the brand) myself. I know I'm not a supermodel weight but I know I'm not "obese" or "fat".
It seems like you are putting alot of words in my mouth, and getting offended over things I never said.
Just judging by the picture you posted, you look quite beautiful to me. You have a very small waist, and you don't have double chin. I don't see any extra fat on you that distract people from recognizing your natural beauty. On top of that you have a pretty face which is a huge plus. But I'm sure you already knew that you are pretty, and that's why you proudly post your pic :P
You don't look like "obese/big girl" at all, so I don't even understand why you are getting all worked up over my post.
I never said only "skinny woman" should be a model... If I sounded that way, I'm sorry. Anybody that looks healthy and beautiful (not too skinny or not too overweight) should be a model in my opinion. If a model is too skinny, it will set example to young girls to lose too much weight, which is bad for their health (but big girls already make this point clear enough all over the place lol). If the modeling agencies use somebody too overweight, that will make young girls think it's ok to not control your appetite and live unhealthy.
I see so many girls pushing and encouraging these companies using bigger and bigger girls, I found that very alarming. Size 0 models are getting banned all over the world anyways, so I don't worry about that. However the other end is growing rapidly.... :P
It's not really personal matter to me, because like I said I'm not that slender, I'm just average weight... but from what I see on internet and media, I see so much hateful speech pointed to slim girls that they don't deserve. I just wanted to stand up for them.
U may not be fat but my bf wouldn't do ya. Just like urs may not do me. It takes all kinds honey.