Here are some photos of Ashley Graham at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. No, I do not think her custom Bao Tranchi gown was great, but I also think she looked gorgeous, and her body looks really sexy and amazing. Last month, Ashley became the first plus-sized model to cover the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. SI did three covers with three cover girls: Ashley, Hailey Clauson and Ronda Rousey. It felt like a great moment in body-positivity. Of course someone had to say something nasty about it. That someone was Cheryl Tiegs, former SI cover lady. Tiegs said last week:
“Actually I don’t like that we’re talking about full-figured women because it’s glamorizing them and your waist should be smaller than 35 [inches]. That’s what Dr. Oz said, and I’m sticking to it. No, I don’t think it’s healthy. Her face is beautiful. Beautiful. But I don’t think it’s healthy in the long run.”
As I said last week, Cheryl Tiegs is a jackass and her perspective is pretty crappy. Ashley Graham agrees. Graham barely said anything about Tiegs’ comments last week, but Ashley is currently in Paris for fashion week (she walked the H&M runway yesterday, in what she calls her “first major show”), and Ashley was asked about Cheryl’s comments.
“Cheryl Tiegs may have said what she said and it may have hurt a lot of peoples’ feelings, but my skin is so thick. I kind of rolled my eyes, I was like, ‘Oh whatever, another one of these ladies.’ But what’s great is that—the fact that she said it—it means that other women think like her. And what that means is that we really need to change the industry. There are too many people thinking they can look at a girl my size and say that we are unhealthy. You can’t, only my doctor can!”
“I’ve never personally heard from her. She said her comment about me, then never heard a follow up. People are saying she apologized. But I never heard one,” the 28-year-old said, but did mention what she would say to Tiegs if they ever crossed paths. “You never know, and I will go up to her and say hello, and all the SI girls, I’ve always looked up to them. They are classic, amazing, beautiful women and it’s a shame that we have to bring other people down, but that’s why I’m here. I’ve got to bring other women up.”
This is a really smart response. I’m glad Ashley didn’t react in real time to Tiegs’ comments, and Graham waited until she was at work at Paris Fashion Week, you know? And she’s absolutely right – it’s good to get this bulls—t out in the open so we can actually have a conversation about body image, body positivity and the images the fashion industry push. Ashley is pretty classy. And beautiful.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
She’s a gorgeous woman, but that’s one of the tackiest dresses I’ve ever seen.
And eye-roll seems like the only appropriate response to Tiegs’ comments. There’s no point of getting offended or going on long rants about it – it’s true, she’s just one of “those ladies”, bless their hearts.
I was just going to say the same thing. She is very beautiful, but the top part of the dress is terrible.
Yes, it is. And I’d like to point out that she’s basically wearing a bra with a dress open over it, but hasn’t received the outrage that Susan Sarandon did when wearing a much more tasteful version of the same, to all of you who claimed that ageism was not at play.
True and truer. I think Sarandon’s rack was a little less out there than Graham’s is in these photos, too.
@Tegteg- YES. I think Sarandon’s outfit was a lot classier than Ashley’s.
That being said, I REALLY like Ashley a lot. That was the perfect response from her.
…and I hope this thread doesn’t end up all concern troll-y like the last one.
I think this dress is ugly, but the morning is still young.
This is a 28 year old model, where Susan is a 70 year old actress. It’s like comparing Rihanna and Helen Mirren if they wore the same type of outfit. Waiting for the girls to come after me, but I do think age is a factor in the way we dress, at least for me. Ashley seems like a classy enough women and really without the Cheryl Tiegs, there would be no Ashleys. She was from that particular era when being a supermodel was everything, even though I personally never found her even vaguely attractive. She looked more like the almost pretty prom queen. Blonde and blue, the look of the day
I think some people who had issue with Sarandon’s were because she presented the In Memoriam segment. I didn’t bother me, but some felt it was inappropriate for that, vs Ashley at a party here, so probably wouldn’t get the same response.
HA. As if David Bowie would get offended over a pair of boobs.
I think Ashley’s dress is hideous, but I like what she says and represents, so more power to her!
GNAT I never understood the hate directed at Sarandon for that outfit…she looked great!
The difference is that she isn’t wearing that to be a presenter about deceased people. If Ashley wore that outfit to do the same, I think people would put up the same stink.
I agree, it looks like a beautiful dress that popped open. It is tacky and not all that flattering.
It looks like something Kim K would wear.
That “popped open” made me laugh. Sorry for being a bitch.
It does, perfect description.
When I was editing these photos, all I kept thinking was “boob cage, boob cage.”
Boob cage is the perfect description. The colour is the only thing I like about this dress. She looks beautiful though and I dig her response to Cheryl Tiegs.
There are too many people thinking they can look at a girl my size and say that we are unhealthy. You can’t, only my doctor can!”
Tell ’em again!
If the front part was more solid/had less cut-outs, it would have been a killer dress.
Horrible dress but this woman is stunning. But she does look a little like Jordon Sparks when she smiles.
Yes!! Thank you! I kept thinking she looked like someone but couldn’t put my finger on it. I really hate that dress. Love the color but hate the bra as a dress thing happening. She’s a gorgeous woman though
Cheryl is pissy because she didn’t have the option of being a plus size model in her day. It was fagging, cocaine, speed diet pills and stone cold starvation back in her day to make it onto SI.
I was in line behind Cheryl Tiegs in a little convenience store on Madison Avenue about 25 years ago. She looked hung over and was buying cigarettes and diet soda. Not healthy in the long run, either.
She did print ads for Virginia slims for years too. Not just her own unhealthy choices, but helping to sell them to the masses.
This frustrates me a bit. Saying a certain thing is unhealthy doesn’t mean you are saying it is the only unhealthy thing in the world. Insinuating that being significantly overweight is unhealthy isn’t the same as saying anyone who is not significantly overweight is healthy. Cheryl and Ashley are probably both unhealthy in different ways. I think Ashley looks stunning here though.
@Err
If you’re going to lecture someone for not having a 35 inch waist you better be the most healthy person on the planet or your every unhealthy decision will be mocked and ridiculed.
This wasn’t about ‘health’, she was annoyed a ‘fat girl’ was making it.
@ err: I would use the following analogy instead. If you sit in a bar and tell someone that their cigarettes are promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and are probably giving the person smoking them cancer and all kinds of other diseases, you’re not technically wrong. But you better not be drinking a giant long island iced tea while you’re doing it.
Tiegs thought Ashley was too fat to be on the cover. She didn’t care about health.
I am so proud of Ashley! As a healthy big-boned gal myself, I say kudos! I will always be curvy and I accept the fact. I eat a lot of healthy foods and exercise almost every day (walking 2 miles a day plus the gym about 3-4 times a week) and I will never even be a size 8. But my blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol are perfect. I am trying to lose about 25 lbs. which will probably put me in a size 14-16 (I am a size 18 now).
You know, I just saw a stick-thin girl at my gym yesterday and she looked terribly unhealthy. It’s attitudes like Tiegs’ that can really hinder women around eating disorders. The girl that I saw was obviously suffering from an eating disorder because if you are naturally thin, you look healthy – this girl did not. A young woman I sit next to at work is very tiny, very petite – but she’s always eating! Small, balanced, healthy meals at regular intervals.
I feel so sorry for the poor women (sometimes men) who feel they need to whittle themselves down to skin and bones. So many people feel the pressure to be thin and it’s just not right – and it’s definitely NOT healthy.
ETA: I’m also 5’10, so a size 18 is a little different on me than on a person who is 5’3 or 4.
@Boston-I’m sure you look amazing 🙂
I know what you mean about the difference between unnaturally thin and naturally thin, but I just wanted to point out that we don’t really know what’s going on with that woman at your gym. She might be overly-stressed or suffer from anxiety or maybe she just got over an illness and lost a lot of weight.
I guess I’m trying to say that I wish we would just refrain from judgment when it comes to women’s bodies. These threads tend to devolve into a Thin vs Overweight battle with lots of criticisms and assumptions on either side, which is never a great thing IMO.
When I was at my skinniest, I was the least healthy of my life. I was a size 4 about 6 months after giving birth to my second daughter, and am usually an 8-10. I had a Hashimoto’s attack and I could not put on weight no matter how hard I tried. A year postpartum I gained 25 pounds in a very short time, which was uncomfortable for me but I felt better than I did as a skeleton (I looked skeletal, not that every size 4 does). I am still about an 8 never smaller, but much healthier than I was as 117 pounds – I’m usually 135-140.
@ERR…I don’t think that’s the point. Obviously lots of things are unhealthy. But instead of taking the opportunity to be gracious when asked a question about someone she has never met, Tiegs went on her little rant when she herself has made unhealthy choices. So to preach like that was rude.
+1
Right – that was my point. She has no room to talk about health just because she is thin.
Exactly. It was very rude.
That’s interesting as I noticed today some skinny girls smoking and I truly feel we have not progressed with body image versus health…Some girls are so scared even now of putting on weight that they would jepodise their long term health…
Also I thought Cheryl Tiegs did not look so great skin wise and her eyes looked weary ..so not the picture of blooming health herself..that was my reaction when she tried to hide behind DR OZ in her comment
Thank you The Eternal Side-Eye – criticizing weight for health reasons is just an excuse to bully, and that’s all she was doing. People don’t give a shit if someone else is unhealthy as long as they look good doing it.
Look my mum was a total 70’s stunner but to look that good she lived on a diet of Alpine fags and coffee for breakfast and fags and cask wine for dinner. Plenty of women did and looking at Ms Tiegs I have no doubt she did too.
Ashley Graham is a stunning babe and she also looks like she eats actual food. Ms Tiegs is a wee bit jelly I reckon.
Also. Why is it anyone’s business what weight someone else is? It drives me mental the amount of people that do that pretend concern thing (or the think of the hospital system thing!)
There’s not an obese woman alive who’s not aware of it, if not actively trying to lose it, so everyone should just mind their own beeswax.
I say this as a freshly minted 41 year old who put on 30 kg with my last kid and it has been an absolute c*nt to lose it.
That is all.
I am certain you look gorgeous! And that your child (congrats!) is happy to have a healthy mom who eats actual food.
God I love your entire comment and yes exactly.
Having a 35 inch waist doesn’t guarantee health since you could be doing terrifyingly unhealthy things to get it.
People always do that. They put the goal as the ultimate achievement and turn a blind eye to what people do to achieve that goal.
Also yeah, the ‘think of the children’ concern trolling always amuses me.
100% agree, and fyi as a person who has been trying to lose the so called baby weight for so long now I don’t think I can call it baby weight anymore good luck. Yes sometimes weight comes on and it just likes it there and stays.
It does bother me though this armchair personal medical advice. From pictures you just don’t know someone’s real health. As far as image goes if we are constantly going to be bombarded with very thin models then we need the other side to at least balance the image. I could really go for some in the middle too, but they seem to be non-existent.
@ norway
this woman is in the middle. She is only a size 14 or 16. What most of the women in America wear. People keep talking about her as if she were obese. She is in no way, shape or form over weight. She is a shapely full figured woman.
Love the comment. 🙂
I agree with *most* of your comment, especially the part about people caring WAY too much about women’s bodies and overweight people knowing that they’re overweight.
But I take issue with the insinuation that to be thin you can’t eat “real” food. Just because your mother relied on unhealthy habits to keep herself thin, doesn’t mean that all of us thin folks do the same (although I fully admit that I’ve had my struggles in the past).
These days I work my ASS off at the gym, run 60-70 miles a week (training for another half), and I ENJOY eating healthy food that makes me feel good—all of this just to maintain my fitness level (which gets more challenging with every year). But I also like my cookies, beer, and pizza. It’s all about balance. I’m just really tired of people trotting out this image of thin, unhealthy, hangry-ass women who live a life of deprivation as the “alternative” to being healthy but a bit overweight.
There are so many of us who are neither of those things, you know?
EDIT: Sorry if my reply came across as combative because I really did appreciate what you said but that part of it just struck a nerve.
Kitten, you should be proud of your hard work and healthy ways!
This is off topic, but I have been having a very hard time with anemia for these last few months, blood transfusions and iron infusions and all that. Did you ever find the cause of yours?
Oh NO. I am so sorry, GNAT. My anemia was pure hell for me. PURE. HELL.
They never found the cause of mine. I was supposed to go back for more tests but I never did.
Do you have the weird tingles in your extremities? How has your mood been? I was a nightmare to everyone around me when my anemia was at its worst. The emotional toll is almost worse than the physical toll. Have you had it before? Did the transfusion help? Did you get a colonoscopy to rule out the possibility of an ulcer?
Oh, you poor kid. It has been terrible, and yes, the mood swings are the worst. I went to my father’s 90th birthday party right after I was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. I had had a blood transfusion, but no iron yet, so I felt a bit better, as in I could walk up a flight of stairs without nearly fainting, but I was still exhausted. It’s very rare for my entire family to get together, and I ruined the dinner the night before by screaming at my older brother because he likes Trump. I mean I just lost it and I never do that, then I started sobbing uncontrollably and nobody knew what to do. My family motto is Don’t Ever Behave Badly or Show Emotion, so in a way it was almost funny, but not really. Ugh. The iron helped, and I’m scheduled for a colonoscopy but I’m still not normal. Much better, though. My family is pretending it never happened.
Sorry to butt in on y’alls conversation, but Kitten can you please talk more about your symptoms? It sounds alarmingly similar to some things I’ve been experiencing.
@GNAT-Please don’t feel bad for yelling at your brother. I alienated my whole family (whom I’m extremely close to) when I was anemic. It’s not your fault! Did you explain to him that it’s the anemia? Please keep me updated, GNAT. So sorry that you’re going through this 🙁
@Marty- My symptoms were:
1) Severe and constant pins and needles in my extremities. Sometimes I would drop a glass because I couldn’t feel it in my hand and I would think I was gripping it tightly when I wasn’t.
2) Crazy emotional mood swings. I mean, really nutso. Not being my usual self and lashing out at others for absolutely no reason.
3) FATIGUE. I don’t know how to articulate this properly but basically I felt like my body couldn’t support itself, like I didn’t have a skeletal structure…I know that sounds weird but….I guess I felt like Gumby.
4) Pica. I had the urge to eat and drink inedible things. I was obsessed with lemon Pinesol and it was all I could do to not drink it (and yes, I realize how insane this sounds) so I settled for smelling it all the time. My floors were never cleaner than when I had anemia lol. I also had the urge to drink turpentine and eat dust from the vacuum.
I never did but it was a constant battle against those urges.
Most of the time I just felt generally strange, like someone else had inhabited my body. It was the hardest time of my life TBH.
I hope you’re ok, Marty. You might want to consider getting tested even if you only have one or some of the symptoms I listed. Internet hugs to you and GNAT.
Yeah I think I should get tested I’m experiencing almost all of the symptoms you described. Especially the pins and needles feeling, that has really been freaking me out because that’s a new one.
Sorry to butt in but have you checked your ferritin level? Many people especially women don’t realise how low ferritin is dangerous.
I was anemic for years and started to lose hair and feel tired all the time. Last year I got fed up with the doctors and did some research on my own and asked for a blood test with ferritin level tested as well.
For a normal woman it should be between 20 – 250 with the best being 60 and for regrow th about 100. Mine was 14 and the doctor didn’t say anything. I then bought ferritin tablets at the pharmacy and took 210 mg twice a day with orange juice. After 3 months my ferritin level is 40 and my hair is growing back. I also feel energetic and not tired anymore.
Please be well, Marty ♥
@Maya-No I’ve never even heard of ferritin. They didn’t test for that but I’ll talk to my doc about it. I had hair loss as well and as superficial as it sounds, it was devastating. Thanks for this info and I’m glad that you’re back on track with your health.
@Kitten: welcome – many women don’t know what ferritin is. Iron is split in two, hemoglobin and ferritin, both equally important. Doctors checks the hemoglobin level and only checks the ferritin level if asked by the patient.
When you see your doctor, demand that you want your ferritin level checked and a copy of the blood results. Check for yourself what the level is and take necessary actions. As mentioned – around 100 is the best level for women.
I have a cousin who had brain tumour and had it removed last year. She didn’t have any energy to walk for long or cycle and obviously also hair loss due to treatment.
I told her about the ferritin and she got it checked. It was really low so she started to take Floradix (liquid iron) everyday. Two weeks later, she hugged me crying and saying that she now has the energy to cycle again. She even showed me how her hair is slowly growing again.
PS: liquid iron works faster and your body takes to it quicker. Be consistent for a few weeks and you will see the results yourself.
@Kitten
Thank you so much. I agree it has been completely debilitating. Before my iron infusions, I could not do anything without feeling completely exhausted and dizzy and like I was going to throw up from exertion. I just hope they can find out what’s causing it so I won’t have to keep having them.
@Maya
My ferritin level was 5, which is low. I had liquid iron transfusions every day for four days intravenously, and after a few days, I felt much, much better. My good doctor tested for both. I just wish they could find out what is causing it so I don’t have to go through this again.
Thanks Kitten!
Because it has zero to do with health and everything to do with feeling better than someone. I’m better than you because ______. Whatever. I don’t smoke. I have a smaller waist. My hair is prettier. It doesn’t matter, and body weight is an easy one to go for. And since it’s not acceptable to come right out and say “I’m better than you” one has to mask their insult behind a concern of some kind. What better concern than “oooh, that’s not healthy!”
But just because your mom was unhealthy doesn’t mean all thin women use unhealthy means to stay slim. There are unhealthy people of all weights.
Concern trolling goes both ways.
This is in reply to Kitten. Oh man I totes get it. I have actually lost the baby weight but only through a superhuman display of commitment and self control. Walking about 6 km every day and eating very carefully. I am one of these people you talk about. And I know there are naturally thin peeps too because I used to be one of them too ha ha.
Anyhoo no offense meant to skinny peeps, portly peeps, naturally skinny peeps, unnaturally skinny peeps…whatever size we are, we’re all just doing the best we can!
I love this woman.
Look my mum was a total 70’s stunner but to look that good she lived in a diet of Alpine fags and coffee and fags and cask wine. Plenty of women did that and looking at Ms Tiegs I have no doubt she did too.
Ashley Graham is a stunning babe and she also looks like she eats actual food. Na Tuegs is a wee bit jelly I reckon.
Also. Why is it anyone’s business what wright someone else? It drives me mental. There’s not an obese woman alive who’s not aware of it, if not actively trying to lose it, so everyone should just mind their own beeswax. I say this as a freshly minted 41 year old who put on 30 kg with my last kid and it has been an absolute c*nt to lose it.
That is all.
I don’t like the cage part of the dress (or whatever it’s called) but someone like Olivia Munn or Halle Berry could’ve worn the same dress and I wouldn’t have liked it. With all that said, she’s in a similar league as them and I think girl is foiiiinne! Such a sexy woman and if anyone can wear a boob cage, it’s her.
Agree.
G Rancic is thin but not healthy. This model is heavy and not healthy. One is no better or sorse than the other. The medical reality is that being overweight puts huge stress on the human body…as does starving oneself. Just because a huge proportion of amercans are overweight does not change science.
+1 I just can’t ignore this. My grandma was overweight and started having heart attacks in her 40s and died by 63. My in laws are heavily overweight and have diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. I cannot personally in good faith shovel in junk food. Every single bite I think “heart attacks, heart attack, arteries, stroke.” It’s not enjoyable to eat wads of cheese on chips, etc. But that’s me.
This is the problem for a lot of people weight has very little to do with eating junk food or not exercising and as long as we perpetuate that image we will never fix the issue. It is far more complicated and we need more medical research to help people, not just research that helps drug companies find more drugs to “manage” diseases. I have spent half my life very thin and the other half overweight so I uniquely know both sides. Trust me I did very little different either way, but I have a genetic thyroid disorder which is fairly common in women believe it or not. I think for a lot of people it isn’t just will power or way of thinking it is a lot more. The reality is you may have to live some of your life in a body that isn’t ideal through no fault of your own just the genetic lottery, and Ashley may be helping that image not seem so bad. I will tell you this when you feel the image is so bad, and it is very hard to control it you get depressed and that doesn’t help.
I have a close friend with a thyroid issue. You have my sympathies because I know from seeing what she goes through how frustrating that can be.
This is anecdotal and not evidence. I saw lots of chubby older women in the nursing home when my dad was there…and some thin ones, too. No obese people, though.
Actually, studies show that one of the biggest risk factors for having diabetes is working the night shift…having tons of life stress (like poverty/stressful job) and continually being sleep deprived. there are thin people who get diabetes and while the risk is upped *some* for overweight/obese people, causation is not correlation. 🙂
Are we looking at the same woman? She doesn’t look obese to me. The women in my family always run much bigger than Ashley, the men very thin. These women work hard from morning to night taking care of the whole family, working and can walk for miles.
Guess who lives up to their 90-100’s? Hint: it’s not the men. You can’t tell good health from only weight. Not even doctors that’s why they use weight as ONLY a screening and have to do labs, stress tests and the rest.
Do you know why she doesn’t look that big? It’s because average is shifting, and it’s a real documented thing. Somebody like Ashley Graham doesn’t look big now because we’ve become used to seeing people far larger than her. When people say the average American woman is a size 14, people forget that statistic means that half of them are larger than that. She is, in reality, an overweight woman. She just appears small because we’ve become conditioned to seeing people far larger than her.
Word!
She’s overweight, but I don’t think she’s obese. I thought you had be Honey Boo Boo’s mom’s size to be considered obese.
Actually, you have it backwards–we spent decades becoming conditioned to the beauty ideal being thinner and thinner. When people judge another to be overweight, they aren’t using persons in their neighborhood as the comparison. They are using the ideal programmed by media (magazines, television, visual ads.)
@Totallybiased: Sorry but I ACTUALLY compare her to people from my neighborhood and random people I see on the streets. and compared to these people she is really overweighted.
She is overweighted…in real life
@sam: Totally with you but people prefer to have a blind eye… if that means overlooking a problem and negating it to just feel better.
Except if you are 6 Ft and up tall, being a size 16 is not normal.
@Sam, @TotallyBiased is right – go look at old movies. Elizabeth Taylor, Rosemary Clooney, Marilyn Monroe, none of them was as thin as most actresses today. A few were, such as Audrey Hepburn, but she was the exception. Woman had boobs and hips. Now actresses have stick thin bodies and fake boobs and we are said this is the ideal.
Read what Candace Bergen said about what women in Hollywood do to stay thin. They do not eat. Period. Many smoke. Models do cocaine or Adderall. My high school students think that if they are over a size 2, they are disgustingly fat. I am so glad this young woman is being hailed as beautiful, because we have been shoveled a bunch of bs about how we should look to be healthy and attractive.
@Jib. Yes none of them was thin. But none of them was fat either. And certainly not THAT fat.
There is something twisted about the media pushing super skinny, and there is something equally twisted in trying to make fat the new normal too.
Generically you are correct, but keep in mind you don’t really know someone’s reason for their weight or even their correct weight from a picture. Especially some with large breasts, trust me people always think we weigh more than we do. There is medical evidence that some people’s metabolism and weight fall outside of the normal weight range yet they are healthy or at least as healthy as their body will allow them to be. It is possible that Ashley is one of those and maybe some of the other thin models are too, but you can’t really tell from a picture.
My question would be no one is ever 100% healthy through their entire life, are we only supposed to have models that fall in the normal bmi range to model because they are supposedly healthy? If so bring them on, because I have yet to put in a model’s weight and height in a standard bmi calculator and gotten anything in the normal range they are underweight. Some are severely underweight. I think from an image point Ashley just balances out the other image a tiny bit.
co-sign! Let’s not celebrate an other form of unhealthy.
She is clearly overweighted. Pretty but overweighted.
And? Why do you care?
You do NOT know whether Ashley Graham is healthy or not. You don’t know if her weight will cause her health issues in the long run. It is possible but in no way a certainty. Some people booze and smoke their lives away and die at 90, perfectly healthy. And G. Rancic had cancer for god’s sake.
It bothers me so much that people feel the need to lecture others on their health under the guise of “caring” or science. Again. Why do you care?
Let me clear something up about the smoking issue. Are there smokers who get through their lives without ever getting lung cancer/COPD/a list of related conditions? Yes, there are. I smoked for nearly 10 years and never, ever had an adverse side effect. It happens. But guess what? Those people are the minority. It’s not a measure of certainty, it’s a measure of RISK. And the odds are that if you are overweight, you will, at some point in your life, suffer adverse health events from it. Just like odds are that if you smoke, you will suffer for it at some point. Simply because a small minority of both groups will beat those odds is not an argument for looking the other way or telling people it’s alright to engage in these behaviors.
And why do people care? Well, because it’s a public health issue. Weight-related conditions are now among the largest expenditures for public health systems. The US isn’t feeling that so much now due to our hybrid system, but places like Canada and the UK are having to struggle with how to pay for this stuff. That makes it a public health concern that the government, and by extension the citizenry, have a right to address, since it impacts them. That’s what public health is, really.
The public health argument is such a smoke screen. There are countless aspects of our lifestyle that are terribly unhealthy but nobody bats an eye. I sit at a desk for 8 hours every day. According to studies, that’s horrible for my health. But I don’t have a choice if I want to pay rent. Drinking alcohol is awful for your system and recent studies have found that no, even the glass of wine is not “healthy”. It’s best to stay away from it completely but on average, people drink like there’s no tomorrow. I could go on. But this discussion right here? This is about a woman who dares to not fit current beauty standards and it’s apparently offensive to society. Only it’s not pc to call her a fat cow so we bring the medical statistics. How disingenuous. This one person who is not morbidly obese by any standard is NOT going to bring down the health care system whether it’s in the US, the UK, or Germany.
Btw, there is no need to clear up the smoking issue. And who says only a small minority of both groups will get out unscathed? Are there numbers? Is that just an assumption?
Bottom line, certain unhealthy behaviors are accepted in society and others are not. Being fat is not acceptable.
Except sitting is now a big target of the health campaigns. There are promotions to get walking or standing desks into more workplaces. The Department of Health has a webpage devoted it to. So you might want to check that out before declaring that it’s not an issue.
And you’re not really refuting any of my points. Being overweight is, objectively, a risky behavior in terms of health. Most overweight people will experience negative health effects as a result of their weight. That’s not a presumption, that’s science. The same way science was able to show that smoking is an objectively unhealthy behavior. Why should society as whole have to pretend otherwise?
You can believe that overweight people are entitled to basic human respect, decency and non-discrimination while still bringing home the point that they exist in an unhealthy state that is largely reversible for most of them and that society as a whole should be vested in the health of its citizens.
I don’t really have to refute your points because they don’t deal with any of what I said. My original point was that the OP does not know whether she is healthy or not. Being overweight is a risk factor, nothing more nothing less. And risk factors are a part of our modern lives, that’s just the way it is. But we focus on fat people because they carry their risk factor on their hips, literally. And we can see it and point and say “You’re risking your health and that’s not okay.”
When you point at a woman who’s overweight and say “She’s unhealthy.” you really want to say “You’re fat.” But you don’t dare (except if you’re Cheryl Tiegs apprently) so you go with science. That’s ridiculous. A broader discussion about health issues is not the same as pointing at one person who is successful in a field where – according to most others in that field – she shouldn’t be and trying to tell her that she’s a bad role model. If you point at a Victoria’s Secret model and say she’s unhealthy you’ll get “You don’t know that, she could be naturally skinny.” Yeah, right. Except we know that models often go to extreme lengths to be skinny. But you don’t know about THIS one so you should not say anything.
Btw, it’s great that sitting seems to be an issue in the US, it is not here (Germany). And we have a health care systems where we all pay for each other.
But now you’re arguing in circles. A Victoria’s Secret model has a body composition that is not scientifically linked to higher incidence of disease, premature death, etc. Ashley Graham’s body composition IS linked to those things. Speaking from a purely fact-based viewpoint, the odds say that Graham will be fairly likely in her lifetime to develop at least one adverse health outcome as a result of her weight. If you’re angry about that, then you’re angry at science, not at Cheryl Tiegs. I don’t get the fixation on denying reality when it comes to weight. On a macro level, you can not know anything about the health of anybody simply by looking at them. But that’s the wrong standard. The standard used in medical care is risk and likelihood. And one can tell just by looking at Ashley Graham that her body type dramatically raises her risk of multiple diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Oh, and you should probably know that if your in Germany, your government has declared obesity as a “major public health crisis” that now constitutes 20% of your total national health spending. So…yeah: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_Germany
And you forget that it is actually the socialized medical systems that are taking the most aggressive actions against obesity, since they are the ones that shoulder more of the burden. At least in the United States, private insurance controls the risk pool a bit more. A socialized system distributes that risk far more widely, creating a far larger incentive to control costs. The UK is already starting to implement weight penalties on the overweight individuals who drive up costs, and a lot of other places are starting to slide in that direction as well.
@sam, except your statement about being overweight is unhealthy is false. New studies show,that people with a BMI of 25 to 29, oversight but not obese, have the longest lives. They fare much better than those skinny people with a BMI of 19 to 15. Science is finding out that a little extra fat is actually healthier than too little fat.
@Jib: we are talking about two extremes here again. and what about the people between 19 and 25 AKA the norma BMI….
Too little or too much fat aren’t good, let’s not compare those two unhealthy body image and try to sort outreach one is the less “worst”.
Yeah it’s pretty straightforward.
I may be in the minority by I actually think that dress is really sexy.
The girls got an amazing bosom and body and she found a way to show off all her best assetts including her hips and legs.
I like that she went for intentionally sexy, especially since out of all the women at the show she’ll be the one people expect to dress the most modest.
Agreed, I think she looks stunning. I don’t think there’s any reason to think that she isn’t healthy. My grandmother was roughly Ashley’s size her entire life, she’s now 97 and still dancing it up at family get togethers. she’s lost her husband and two sons from lung cancer. It’s not always about your size.
There’s nothing wrong with a woman having hips and thighs,
She is really hot and I like that she was going for a body-baring dress, but I feel like she could have found a much more attractive body-baring dress. This one looks tacky IMO.
i agree, I thought she looked great ! Really sexy!
In fact, she looks so great, I feel like this will be the next thing and everyone will be clamoring to look like her and i’ll be screwed because I’m shaped like a rectangle.
No, that isn’t fair, I look more like a pregnant rectangle. Like a rectangle that’s 4 months along. When I’m thin I look like olive oil so the ol’ fashion model body type is actually somewhat more realistic for me. I mean, if I could stop over-eating it would be.
She is a ridiculously good looking woman.
Ok first she is gorgeous! I mean truly beautiful but that is the worst dress and doesn’t do her justice.
I think this girl looks healthy, she just isn’t crazy thin. I don’t think we should be glamorizing plus size/over weight just like I don’t think we should be glamorizing impossibly thin.
We need to talk about being healthy and not focus on size. If we want to be real and honest about what is right then the conversation needs to be about health. Being overweight is extremely dangerous and we need to be honest about that. That being said being underweight is equally unhealthy and extremely dangerous. So instead of saying your waist needs to be this or embrace being heavy we need to say be HEALTHY, that means EATING a healthy balanced diet, excercising, drink water and sleep and don’t smoke.
Has she ever discussed her diet? I’m curious.
Wrong place for comment.
She would fit the definition of overweight, but I’m not sure if I understand the assumption that she isn’t doing stuff to make herself healthy (which is what Tiegs seemed to imply). Whenever I’ve been to the running track or gym, I’ve seen a fair amount of overweight people doing various kinds of activities to bring their weight down or change their bodies. So while on sight people might scoff as them that they don’t “look” healthy, I think it is wrong to assume that they’re not doing something about it or are not determined to improve their health.
I think because she talks about how happy she is with the way she looks, there’s no reason to assume she is trying to lose weight. Of course, she may still exercise for health reasons.
I think she has said she exercises.
She is attractive, so even if she is overweight, I can see why she’d be happy with her looks. Despite not being a size 2, she does appear to have an appealing visual presence. She’s not unattractive in the way Honey Boo Boo’s mom is. She’s well-groomed and her face looks like that of a model’s (in these photos, she seems to have cheekbones of some kind, not just fat in the face).
Tiegs may have been a successful model back in the 70’s, but she is still stick thin and the sun and years have not been kind to her face at all.
As far as throwing shade on the model in question, she is stunning and beautiful on her own. There is a difference between being full-figured and straight up obese and she is not the latter.
I, for one, am sick to death of SOME women constantly trying to cut down and talk shit about other women, Unless, of course, they deserve it then all bets are off.
During my years and travels, one thing has remained constant. The truly successful and strong women I admire and have seen in action are more focused on lifting other women UP, instead of tearing them down, Fact.
Tiegs may have been a successful model back in the 70’s, but she is still stick thin and the sun and years have not been kind to her face at all.
As far as throwing shade on the model in question, she is stunning and beautiful on her own. There is a difference between being full-figured and straight up obese and she is not the latter.
I, for one, am sick to death of SOME women constantly trying to cut down and talk shit about other women, Unless, of course, they deserve it then all bets are off.
During my years and travels, one thing has remained constant. The truly successful and strong women I admire and have seen in action are more focused on lifting other women UP, instead of tearing them down, Fact.
There is a lot of feminist theory that connects the standard of beauty to the concept of female silencing. Women are not supposed to have control over their body or their voice. If you are thin enough, then you literally take up less space, which is what the patriarchy wants women to do: disappear. And I’m just gonna say it, Cheryl Tiegs is jealous.
That kind of feminist theory is part of the reason so many people roll their eyes at the movement.
ROLL AWAY, TROLL who’s never commented here before…
I’m glad I got your attention Jay. If you think about it, I don’t think you’ll roll your eyes, but then again, maybe they’re not open.
You are 110% correct, HoustonGrl.
Also, see the story about Jenny Beaven – same patriarchal thing against a woman who dares to dress and be the way she wants – and not dolled up like some plastic barbie doll.
Yes absolutely – there are a terrifying number of people who think that the presence of a woman in public is there to satisfy and please others. For a woman to challenge this notion by not not conforming to beauty standards (no makeup, baggy clothes, general unkempt appearance, daring to be overweight), there is HELL to pay. Sadly the internet has made this only more obvious. The vitriol dispensed to women online is absolutely revolting.
“You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don’t owe it to your mother, you don’t owe it to your children, you don’t owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked “female”.”
Thank you all, I will investigate! Both very interesting perspectives.
I think the dress is sleazy and classless. I’d say the same if she were thin. On average a person gains ten pounds for every decade. If that’s the case she will have a weight issue.
I’ve worked in a open heart surgery recovery unit and the people who are of what is considered a reasonable weight recover far quicker than those that are heavy.
@Maggie: yes everything you said is true. But this topic has been particularly sensitive on CB. People under the cover of let’s celebrate “real women” are celebrating the fact that she is fat, and for the sole reason that as someone else said that “normal” perception has shifted on the heavy side.(they even call it plus size. It’s the classic case of glossing something up instead of trying to better the situation.
Instead of thinking of the huge problem that is obesity and being overweighted in the western countries, people prefer to ignore it by trying to push it as attractive.
Beauty is health. Fat or skinny are not
The dress is horrid. She looks good in red.
Ok so her dress is a bit fug BUT I LOVE that someone put her in it. So tired of the blanket dresses for the plus size ladies. This woman is ridiculously gorgeous and now Im kind of looking at my size 4 behind like… oh… well… might be nice to have something back there. Ive got boobs though. They still count right?
Her look was one of my favorite for the oscars afterparty. She looked absolutely gorgeous.
Unless you’re a doctor health guru extraordinaire, stfu. You seem bitter, jelly, and insecure. Not a good look for a grown woman.
Even if she’s plus-size, I don’t see how women can relate, since 90% of us don’t have her beauty. To me, her face is literally perfect. But I thank her for trying to bring women up, she seems truly sweet and lovely.
Love her response – she is beautiful and classy (although I hate the dress). And, in addition to being wrong in every other way, when Cheryl quotes Dr. Oz for her position, you know it’s wrong! I can’t stand the crazy stuff he has shilled: http://www.businessinsider.com/dr-oz-treatments-that-other-doctors-say-are-bogus-2015-4
fat or drunk, both undesirable, shut up and go away
Really sad how nobody talks about ronda rousey and clausen. Poor girls got the cover and nobody knows bc they r not controversial…not bc this ashley girl is better but bc shes controversial.
First she looks gorgeous, stunning really . Second, she could be very healthy (if she is eating healthy foods vs junk) and exercising, so her weight is not indicative of her health. Third, Im so fed we do live in a society where we accept people’s differences, but when it comes to an overweight WOMAN ,there’s so much bad /trash talk about them.
So many women strive to have the weight and size of an 8 year old girl. I just don’t get it. It’s not attractive . If they don’t end up with an eating disorder, they are depriving their bodies of important nutrients .
Being thin isn’t indicative of health.
First time Old Girl Cheryl’s been in the news since she modeled for Sears Catalog, back in the late 70’s
I do think she is an attractive woman but I still think people should not glamorize obesity,or accept it as normal,although obesity does not take away from someone’s beauty,e,g ms.ashley is 100x times prettier than other real woman,but that does not mean she is healthy ,being in a medical field i do know higher weight makes you prone to diabetes,hypertension,heart disease and joint problems(because her knees and backbones have to withstand more weight than usual.
I would never understand fashion world either women are extremely thin or they are obese,what about the girl ariel from modern family she is not thin not fat she is what i would call real yet healthy.Also there are many women of color who are not model thin and healthy(e.g jennifer hudson)
It’s amazing to me how many people become medical experts the moment weight become the issue. Do Facebook and Wikipedia hand out medical degrees these days?
NO. but everyone even the kindergarten small kids do know that fat is not.
Who cares what Dr Oz says?
His show is like a travelling circus, with ample amounts of snake oil and as for Cheryl Tiegs. She is a relic from the 70s, with no other achievement to her name other than posing in bikinis.