Has the image of the thin woman sustained by the media, advertisement world and the trinity of slimming-diet-fitness demolished? According to Cemil Ipekci, fashion has started to take on the shape of the rounded figured woman.
I want to buy the cake that’s winking at me from behind the patisserie’s window. I ask myself “Do you know how many calories there are in this cake?” The hardest thing to decide is to eat or not to eat. I am about to make my choice in favour of not eating and decide to go. But suddenly I notice the fluffy white cream of the cake adorned with large, bright red strawberries. I loiter in front of the patisserie trying to overhear the conversation between the cream and strawberries. The cream is complaining to the strawberries: “This never used to be the case. A woman, seeing us inside a cake would buy without hesitation. Here is another dithering customer! With pencil and paper in her hand she is trying to calculate calories. Presumably women just don’t like us anymore!”
Don’t tell me that it’s only cream talking. Don’t you see how good it is as an observer? It observes lots of women that come to the patisserie who just watch the variety of cakes in which it is also present and arrives at a conclusion. It even goes further and creates a motto: “Good bye Marilyn Monroe, long live Kate Moss!”
All along the way I think about what the cream has said. It seems to be right. We women are just like automatons that are programmed to eat less and less and become thinner and thinner. Automatons that can instinctively calculate the amount of calories and fat in a piece of food as soon as they see it…
The only aim of this group of automatons is to be as skinny as models. That is why they run from one sports centre to another and try every diet list they come across. But if we consider the fact that a model’s weight is 23 percent below average it seems almost impossible to reach that objective. However, what differentiates women from the rest is their desire and steadfastness to achieve the most difficult of things. Those lovely cakes are just not able to sway a woman who, with all her ambition and determination, is heading for her target of being thinner. I’m sorry cream but this is the truth. Women are ready to give up eating all cakes, chocolates and delicious food in order to stay thin. So what makes women so obsessed with slimness? Do the media, advertisement and fashion industries go hand-in-hand and create the skinny image of woman? If we consider the victory of thinness over fatness in recent decades, this is exactly what happened.
Until the 19th century plumpness was a sign of beauty and prosperity. A woman’s weight was seen as the proof of her being a good housewife and mother. That is to say, plumpness was one of the indispensable elements of the woman who fitted into the conventions of society. On the other hand, slim women were not desired since they did not have fully grown images. At the beginning of the 1900s slender waists, wide hips and the architect of this image, the corset, were on the scene. Women had the hour glass appearance that they had longed for with these corsets that squeezed their bodies into shape. While these corsets made bodies thinner they also affected the internal organs and caused women to vomit. As a reaction to this depressing ideal the first anorexia cases were encountered during this period.
During the First World War as a result of economic reasons, women’s bodies became thinner. In post war period people began to eat plentifully and enjoy life in order to forget their sufferings. The 40’s and 50’s witnessed the victory of the ‘femme fatale’ image. Thanks to Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe the fuller-figured female had a smile on her face. Men sighed at the sight of Marilyn and Rita. This meant that women could also be beautiful without being thin. Unfortunately, this belief did not last long. The world of fashion met Twiggy in the 60’s and suddenly began to get slimmer. If she had lived 100 years ago no one would have noticed Twiggy, but all of a sudden she became an icon of the worlds of fashion and pop. Women had just one aim and that was to get thin. This trend has been hugely successful right up to the present-day. To stay thin women stopped eating. They vomit if they eat. Therefore, being on a diet turns out to be a life style for women. Today individuals who are obsessed with being thin are called permaxerics. These people are always on diet to stay thin even though they are actually thin.
Notwithstanding, there are some developments that will bring relief to lachrymose strawberry cakes. Of course, diet lists and tips for being thinner are still of great importance for women. However, according to the claim that is made nowadays, women’s sizes are proceeding towards 42! Cemil Ipekci who is one of the advocates of this claim, argues that fashion has started to take on the shape of the round-figured woman. İpekci is quite sure that there won’t be an era in the future like the one that glorified Twiggy. However, if you ask us, the magazine editors, the era that equated plumpness with beauty is now left on paintings and in the history books. The world revolves around thin and fit women. And it will continue to do so.
Womanish Circumstances
Famous fashion stylist Camil Ipekci thinks that women will have a happier and more peaceful life due to the well-shaped trend.
I have heard that you were making an extensive research about women and types of women.
I have a research project in which I examine the changes that women’s body types have experienced throughout history. When we look at history, we see that women’s sizes were not 36-38 in the course of centuries. In fact, women of these sizes were not considered beautiful. But after the First World War there was a slimming of bodies. At that time economic crises, poverty and hunger affected the whole world and made women and the fashion world thinner. The female body turned out to be minimalist not because of fashion, but because of economic circumstances. Moreover, women wearing jackets coincided with this period. Most women wore their husband’s jackets because they couldn’t find anything else to wear. With wearing jackets they performed masculine roles in the workplace.
How come this slim image of women created by economic conditions turned out to be the norm?
During the 1960s skinny women became fashionable because of fashion stylist Mary Quant and Twiggy. This fashion trend that dictated women be a size 36, or even a 34, caused lots of psychological problems. The reason being is that this trend is against the nature of women. We see that women can be size 34-36 up until their 20s. However, very few of them can stay ‘naturally’ 38 between their 20s and 30s. Especially after giving birth and passing into her 40s, the normal size of a woman is between 40 and 42. Therefore, we can say that a woman’s ‘real’ size is not 36, but 38-40. After a certain age it becomes 42. It is especially hard for Mediterranean woman to stay a 36.
Will the reign of the size 36 women that has been ruling since the 1960s end?
All around the world Hollywood stars are defined as idols. Most of these idols have recently appeared with their 40 or 42 sized bodies. Their outfits are designed to reveal the curved shape of their bodies. It is clear that fashion has started to take on the shape of the round-figured woman. I think this brings women together with their true selves. The ideal of 36 sized women is losing its importance.
Are we going to see well-shaped models in your fashion shows?
I like slim women on the catwalk. But I don’t want to see my designs only on them. In my coming fashion shows I want to dress up thin and plump models with garments that are appropriate for them.
It is not that easy to demolish the skinny image of women that is held on to by the million dollar diet-fitness sector. What do you think about this?
Idols constitute an important criterion in this issue. Women see the idols becoming fat. So they begin to give up their obsession with thinness. As a matter of fact being always on a diet makes women unhappy and troubled. Besides, I think fitness is crucially important and I know that the diet-fitness sector will never be destroyed. As time goes by people will indulge more in sports and give greater importance to healthy nutrition. I am sure about one thing: In the future there won’t be another period like Twiggy’s.
I want to buy the cake that’s winking at me from behind the patisserie’s window. I ask myself “Do you know how many calories there are in this cake?” The hardest thing to decide is to eat or not to eat. I am about to make my choice in favour of not eating and decide to go. But suddenly I notice the fluffy white cream of the cake adorned with large, bright red strawberries. I loiter in front of the patisserie trying to overhear the conversation between the cream and strawberries. The cream is complaining to the strawberries: “This never used to be the case. A woman, seeing us inside a cake would buy without hesitation. Here is another dithering customer! With pencil and paper in her hand she is trying to calculate calories. Presumably women just don’t like us anymore!”
Don’t tell me that it’s only cream talking. Don’t you see how good it is as an observer? It observes lots of women that come to the patisserie who just watch the variety of cakes in which it is also present and arrives at a conclusion. It even goes further and creates a motto: “Good bye Marilyn Monroe, long live Kate Moss!”
All along the way I think about what the cream has said. It seems to be right. We women are just like automatons that are programmed to eat less and less and become thinner and thinner. Automatons that can instinctively calculate the amount of calories and fat in a piece of food as soon as they see it…
The only aim of this group of automatons is to be as skinny as models. That is why they run from one sports centre to another and try every diet list they come across. But if we consider the fact that a model’s weight is 23 percent below average it seems almost impossible to reach that objective. However, what differentiates women from the rest is their desire and steadfastness to achieve the most difficult of things. Those lovely cakes are just not able to sway a woman who, with all her ambition and determination, is heading for her target of being thinner. I’m sorry cream but this is the truth. Women are ready to give up eating all cakes, chocolates and delicious food in order to stay thin. So what makes women so obsessed with slimness? Do the media, advertisement and fashion industries go hand-in-hand and create the skinny image of woman? If we consider the victory of thinness over fatness in recent decades, this is exactly what happened.
Until the 19th century plumpness was a sign of beauty and prosperity. A woman’s weight was seen as the proof of her being a good housewife and mother. That is to say, plumpness was one of the indispensable elements of the woman who fitted into the conventions of society. On the other hand, slim women were not desired since they did not have fully grown images. At the beginning of the 1900s slender waists, wide hips and the architect of this image, the corset, were on the scene. Women had the hour glass appearance that they had longed for with these corsets that squeezed their bodies into shape. While these corsets made bodies thinner they also affected the internal organs and caused women to vomit. As a reaction to this depressing ideal the first anorexia cases were encountered during this period.
During the First World War as a result of economic reasons, women’s bodies became thinner. In post war period people began to eat plentifully and enjoy life in order to forget their sufferings. The 40’s and 50’s witnessed the victory of the ‘femme fatale’ image. Thanks to Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe the fuller-figured female had a smile on her face. Men sighed at the sight of Marilyn and Rita. This meant that women could also be beautiful without being thin. Unfortunately, this belief did not last long. The world of fashion met Twiggy in the 60’s and suddenly began to get slimmer. If she had lived 100 years ago no one would have noticed Twiggy, but all of a sudden she became an icon of the worlds of fashion and pop. Women had just one aim and that was to get thin. This trend has been hugely successful right up to the present-day. To stay thin women stopped eating. They vomit if they eat. Therefore, being on a diet turns out to be a life style for women. Today individuals who are obsessed with being thin are called permaxerics. These people are always on diet to stay thin even though they are actually thin.
Notwithstanding, there are some developments that will bring relief to lachrymose strawberry cakes. Of course, diet lists and tips for being thinner are still of great importance for women. However, according to the claim that is made nowadays, women’s sizes are proceeding towards 42! Cemil Ipekci who is one of the advocates of this claim, argues that fashion has started to take on the shape of the round-figured woman. İpekci is quite sure that there won’t be an era in the future like the one that glorified Twiggy. However, if you ask us, the magazine editors, the era that equated plumpness with beauty is now left on paintings and in the history books. The world revolves around thin and fit women. And it will continue to do so.
Womanish Circumstances
Famous fashion stylist Camil Ipekci thinks that women will have a happier and more peaceful life due to the well-shaped trend.
I have heard that you were making an extensive research about women and types of women.
I have a research project in which I examine the changes that women’s body types have experienced throughout history. When we look at history, we see that women’s sizes were not 36-38 in the course of centuries. In fact, women of these sizes were not considered beautiful. But after the First World War there was a slimming of bodies. At that time economic crises, poverty and hunger affected the whole world and made women and the fashion world thinner. The female body turned out to be minimalist not because of fashion, but because of economic circumstances. Moreover, women wearing jackets coincided with this period. Most women wore their husband’s jackets because they couldn’t find anything else to wear. With wearing jackets they performed masculine roles in the workplace.
How come this slim image of women created by economic conditions turned out to be the norm?
During the 1960s skinny women became fashionable because of fashion stylist Mary Quant and Twiggy. This fashion trend that dictated women be a size 36, or even a 34, caused lots of psychological problems. The reason being is that this trend is against the nature of women. We see that women can be size 34-36 up until their 20s. However, very few of them can stay ‘naturally’ 38 between their 20s and 30s. Especially after giving birth and passing into her 40s, the normal size of a woman is between 40 and 42. Therefore, we can say that a woman’s ‘real’ size is not 36, but 38-40. After a certain age it becomes 42. It is especially hard for Mediterranean woman to stay a 36.
Will the reign of the size 36 women that has been ruling since the 1960s end?
All around the world Hollywood stars are defined as idols. Most of these idols have recently appeared with their 40 or 42 sized bodies. Their outfits are designed to reveal the curved shape of their bodies. It is clear that fashion has started to take on the shape of the round-figured woman. I think this brings women together with their true selves. The ideal of 36 sized women is losing its importance.
Are we going to see well-shaped models in your fashion shows?
I like slim women on the catwalk. But I don’t want to see my designs only on them. In my coming fashion shows I want to dress up thin and plump models with garments that are appropriate for them.
It is not that easy to demolish the skinny image of women that is held on to by the million dollar diet-fitness sector. What do you think about this?
Idols constitute an important criterion in this issue. Women see the idols becoming fat. So they begin to give up their obsession with thinness. As a matter of fact being always on a diet makes women unhappy and troubled. Besides, I think fitness is crucially important and I know that the diet-fitness sector will never be destroyed. As time goes by people will indulge more in sports and give greater importance to healthy nutrition. I am sure about one thing: In the future there won’t be another period like Twiggy’s.
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