Weight Gain On America's Next Top Model
I finally got around to watching this week’s episode of America’s Next Top Model, where contestant London Levi was eliminated. Her “shocking weight gain” of 10-15 pounds was first introduced last week, when Paulina Poritzkova told her she was wearing “unflattering” shorts, and the camera zoomed in on her thighs. This week, she cried about her weight, talked about feeling insecure about her weight and trying to get past it, and then got lectured about her weight by Jay and Miss Jay. And was eliminated.
On the one hand, this is a modeling show. The unrealistic ideal of the female body, and being judged on that ideal, is the entire point of the show. Even though Tyra Banks is supposedly so enlightened. But London, the contestant who got eliminated, used to suffer from an eating disorder. And so the lecturing and the cruelty (“there is something unique about her… all that extra weight”) seemed extraordinarily ill-advised.
In an interview, London talked about the elimination:
“When I went to the competition, I was recovering from an eating disorder, so my self-confidence was already kind of shaky because of my experience with my problem beforehand,” London tells us exclusively. “And, I’m pretty sure it did show in my photo shoots.”
On why she was eliminated instead of Aminat, who was in the bottom two with her, London says, “If you looked at the two of us, here you have someone who’s 5 feet 9 inches and who had gained, like, 15 pounds, and then you have someone [Aminat] who’s six feet and about 110 pounds,” continues London. “So in my personal opinion, it was just kind of obvious to the judges who would move on just by photographs.”
London says she has suffered from eating disorders from junior high through shortly before America’s Next Top Model started. “I never realized how long I’d had it until I talked to someone professionally,” she says. “But it never got supersevere until my senior year in high school, which was actually just this past year. This past year up until right before I went on to the show is when it got most severe.”
So you put a girl who has BARELY RECOVERED FROM AN EATING DISORDER on a modeling show? Obviously, it was London’s decision to try out and get on the show in the first place. But the eating disorder wasn’t mentioned at all, as opposed to the “challenges” of the other contestants, such as Tahlia with her burn scars and what’s-her-name with her epilepsy, which were treated in patented Tyra Banks “inspirational” fashion. So the fact that she is recovering from ED was never even mentioned, and then over the course of the show, London gained some weight. And then this happened:
Clearly, judge Jay Manuel wasn’t aware of London’s issues. On last night’s episode, during a photo shoot, Jay pulled London aside to talk about her obvious weight gain. “Where I’m really shocked, it’s not just the fact that she’s gained weight, it’s the fact that as a model you’re expected to treat your body like a temple,” he said.
“It’s a sensitive thing,” he continued, “but it’s something I have to talk about. It just really shocked me today seeing such a huge change physically. When you’re in a competition I understand there’s stress and people react to stress differently; it’s just clear that you’re not taking care of your body in a short period of time, and if this is tough, how are you going to deal with it in the modeling world?”
London’s response: “My body just keeps gaining weight, and it really is freaking me out because I don’t feel comfortable at this weight. Coming into this, I felt a lot more confident, a lot more beautiful, and I just need to lose weight in a healthy way.”
So a girl recovering from anorexia and bulimia is “freaking out” about gaining 10 or 15 pounds, which might be a natural weight for her body. And the answer is… tell her to lose weight! Kick her off the show! Shame her! What a great message.
On a related note, I made the mistake of reading one of the “editorial” articles on TWoP, which suck these days, because they are written by bad writers like Angel Cohn, who says one of her “reality pet peeves” is:
7. Models Gaining Weight
Nearly every season of Top Model or Make Me a Supermodel there’s a wannabe model who over indulges, puts on pounds, has trouble with their self esteem and cries a lot that they aren’t as skinny as all the other contestants. This is a modeling show, where entire careers are based on how well you can fit into sample-size clothing, so put down the donuts and hit the treadmill.
Yeah, fuck you, London. Put down the donut. Start binging and purging again. Clearly, that’s the only way.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: ANTM, Celebrities, Fashion, Media, TV, Tyra Banks
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I was beyond pissed when I saw her get cut!! Like BEYOND! Yes, I understand that it’s a competition. And they’re supposed to maintain their weight. A couple seasons ago, they gave…Whatshername…a hard time because she came into the competition as a “plus-size” model (I don’t really consider a size 12 plus-size, but whatev.) and had lost weight. So, I suppose, at least they’re consistent. But really, I was floored that Aminat didn’t get cut. Her photo was horrible. London was one of my favorites from early on. I hope that she goes on and does well despite her “huge” weight gain…God, what kind of message does THAT give to young girls watching the show…? WTG ANTM…
I watch ANTM a lot, but I’ve missed nearly all of this season. The whole weight thing bugs me, mostly because it has forced me to accept that, as a size 12/14, I’m “plus size” to a lot of designers and brands. That, frankly, blows. However, this is just bull. The girl shouldn’t have been put on the show if she was so early on in recovery, and even after the weight gain, she was NOT fat. Not even vaguely.
I understand why ANTM has the standards that they do – they have to have girls on the show that will fit in the designer’s clothes (Remember the episode with the awful red shirt for one of their first plus-size contestants? gosh…)- but they should THINK MORE. Maybe they need to stop and consider people’s mental health before throwing them into the tempest-in-a-teapot that is the world of micro-modeling*? On television, with constant observation, highlighted flaws and overexaggerated drama?
Wait, that would make SENSE.
*Micro-modeling: Becoming a model for a short period with a short crash-course in the business, such as for a reality show or when an actress/singer/etc. moves into modeling briefly.
On the first season (I think) of Canada’s Next Top Model, the girl who won, Andrea (?) was discovered – on camera – to have a suitcase full of candy, and then the girls discussed how she ate nothing…but candy. Then she won the show. Which was hosted by Jay Manuel – that useless piece of fuck.
After winning, she spoke out that everyone on the show, including Jay and the producers, knew she had an eating disorder and didn’t offer to get her any help.
Now, again, I recognize that maybe it’s not their problem that she’s sick, but seriously? Just ignore that the girl lives on candy and give her a modelling contract?
Sad, sad, sad.
Also, I saw the episode where Paulina told London she should not wear shorts. It was painful.
So, Tyra knew about the eating disorder and chose to hide it? London wasn’t keeping it private until now?
I watched the episode, and while I do think they were unfair about their weight, they also criticized a plus-size model for losing too much weight a few seasons ago. While I don’t agree with some of the harsh comments they made about her weight, I do think that it’s just a sad truth of the modeling industry that their bodies are the product they’re trying to market, and they’re required to look a particular way. I’m not advocating the super-skinny look, but the point of the show is to find a model, and in the industry right now that means thin.
As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder myself, however, I feel like it is up to London to do what’s best for her. The judges shouldn’t have been as harsh but it’s also not their responsibility to make sure she doesn’t engage in eating disordered behavior. If they did know about it beforehand, shame on them for casting her. But if they didn’t, she’s the one who needs to take responsibility for her recovery.
This is why I don’t watch ANTM or Make me a Supermodel or any of that.
My guilty reality TV pleasure is Project Runway. At least there they usually do at least one “real woman” (i.e. not a stick-thin model) challenge per season and the models’ weight is never mentioned. Of course you could argue that they are all tiny thin models as well as the fact that they win or lose with the designers, but I think it’s generally more friendly…as much as a fashion-oriented show will ever be, at least.
At least, as long as competition shows are concerned.
Actually, in my opinion I don’t think it matters either way whether they knew about her ED beforehand or not. Saying that it’s only a horrible thing to do only because she only gained 15 lbs and because she had an eating disorder in my opinion denotes that it’s not okay to pick on a 5’8 110 lb girl who’s gained 15 lbs and had an ED but it’s totally ok to humiliate someone who heaven forbid dares to be bigger and gain weight. I realize that that’s not the intent of anyone commenting here, but I think saying that is where people who WOULD humiliate anyone for gaining weight get off that they’re fucking entitled to shame someone for gaining 15 or 50 lbs or heaven forbid, more, when the reality is, no one is entitled to shame someone about their weight. The fact that she had an eating disorder makes it worse, but if she hadn’t had one, it would still be unacceptable of them to treat her the way they did.
Not to mention that I’ve seen the way Tyra handles known of disordered eating on the show. I think it was two seasons ago a model on the show was at least somewhat of a binge and purge type and all Tyra did was tell her to pretty much suck it up and deal. While, ultimately ED’s do need to be dealt with by the person with the ED, telling someone to “just get over it” is like telling someone with post traumatic stress syndrome to “just let the past go”. It’s really just not that easy, especially when you get penalized for NOT starving yourself.
Oh Please, grow up. They didn’t tell her she was worthless or kill her. They simply eliminated her. If she has so much trouble with self-esteem and body issues, then she should not be a model. I’m sorry but the modeling world is not going to change to accomodate one scared little girl, who refuses to take responsibility for her eating issues. “My body keeps gaining weight!” Oh my. I wonder why. This is a REALITY SHOW, not Fantasy Island!!!
JoJo Beans, the problem isn’t just about “one scared little girl.” The problem, as Mo points out, is in the industry itself, and in a VERY popular show that glamorizes that industry. This show is watched by thousands of young girls, and is hosted by a woman who, on one hand, encourages women to embrace and accept their bodies while, on the other, is the star and producer of a show that perpetuates the ultra-skinny “ideal” and punishes girls who so desperately need help.
It sends a message. A very powerful one. The young girls watching learn that skinny at all cost is acceptable, and weight gain is a fate worse than death.
I thought London was one of the most beautiful girls on the show. I’m really saddened by all this. I hope she does ok once she gets home, and hopefully seeks some therapy so she doesn’t fall back to her old ways.
While I don’t agree with the standards for beauty in the modeling industry, as I see it there are two options for those who want to be models:
1. Actively fight the status quo and expect criticism and rejection
2. Accept the status quo and conform to it
They’re not a great set of choices, but that is the reality and she knew that going in.
That said, I do strongly feel that there should be some sort of mental health evaluation for potential “reality” show contestants. (I’ve actually been wondering for a long time what the reaction would be if there was a bulimic contestant on Biggest Loser.) It does seem incredibly unethical to put someone with a known ED history on a show that focuses on critiquing bodies.
“So you put a girl who has BARELY RECOVERED FROM AN EATING DISORDER on a modeling show? Obviously, it was London’s decision to try out and get on the show in the first place. But the eating disorder wasn’t mentioned at all, as opposed to the “challenges†of the other contestants, such as Tahlia with her burn scars and what’s-her-name with her epilepsy, which were treated in patented Tyra Banks “inspirational†fashion.”
Ah, but here’s my very favorite part: “Obviously, it was London’s decision to try out and get on the show in the first place.”
Wha….?!?! Having someone take respondsibility of their own self?? Not in this generation!
Even I, the plump-yet-funny-gal-because-I’ll-never-be-pretty-enough-to-be-a-model knows that modeling=eating disorder. London knew it too, but she just couldn’t keep her eating disorder together enough to keep her skinny for the competition. So now all the heavy women in the country are pissed at the “way she was treated”. She knew what she was getting into and still decided to be on the show. She got to “fat” to be a mainstream model.
What’s wrong with judging her on the truth?
@jeanie: I agree that it was perhaps irresponsible for a person with ED history to put herself in an environment so focused on weight and keeping at a low weight, but that doesn’t excuse the judges’ harsh treatment of her, nor the way the program has (seemingly) swept her ED issues under the rug whilst giving airtime to the challenges faced by other contestants.
One thing I bridled at here was the equation of “treating your body like a temple” with “staying very thin”. An eating and activity pattern that isn’t healthy for your body can cause you to gain weight, yes, but so can one that IS healthy.
Y’know, I do *sort of* agree that if you’re a model it’s your job to keep your body in a particular way, and that someone with an eating disorder really shouldn’t have gone on the show in the first place (although the show screeners shouldn’t have LET her on either – they both should have known better).
OTOH, ‘put down the donuts’??? WTF? There’s this ridiculous idea that the only way anyone gains weight is through eating five boxes of donuts a day, and for the vast majority of people that’s just not accurate.
I was actually sort of relieved that London’s ED wasn’t discussed on the show. I’m not convinced it would have given a more sympathetic angle to London’s weight gain. I mean, have you seen the way ANTM has done ED storylines in the past? They always make a point to show the girl with the ED eating, with the implication that she’s eating “too much,” or eating “wrong;” invariably the camera cuts to the other contestants shooting questionable looks at the ED girl; sometimes there’s an awkward confrontation with denials and defensiveness. I think for all their clumsy attempts to give light to this issue, and for all of Tyra’s lectures, they haven’t done much more than portray women with eating disorders as shifty types who can’t keep themselves from pigging out.
I bet that meanwhile there are at least a few other contestants on the show whose eating disorders are of a much less visible nature and contribute to their success as models instead of “causing problems” like weight gain. I don’t doubt that the modeling industry really struggles with the eating disorder issue–that they feel genuine sympathy for the girls who suffer because of it, but also probably choose to look the other way a lot rather than second-guess every very skinny model. Whether they intended to or not, ANTM seems to pretty accurately reflect those mixed feelings.
I just hope that the insensitive things that get said–and yes, Jay’s “temple” remark was really awful–are seen for what they are, ugly and thoughtless.
Me again!
Wendy, while I agree with a lot of what you say, the fact is that the modeling and entertainment industries ENCOURAGE girls to have eating disorders. They often supply these girls not only with alcohol and cigarettes (in lieu of food) at shoots and fashion shows. In many cases, agents and managers will supply their clients with drugs. They pressure them to eat very little. These girls, particularly the younger ones, who are not “supermodels” have almost no control over their lives.
The thing that got me was that asshole Jay saying that London is supposed to be treating her body as a temple. Because clearly a stick-thin model gaining 10 or 15 pounds is her NOT treating her body as a temple, right? It’s not possible that she started actually eating real food, or recovering further from that eating disorder and getting to a healthy weight, or lifting weights and working out every day?
Not that I know she *was* doing any of that, but certainly she could have been — the point is that Jay would have no idea. It’s all about the fat = unhealthy, no matter what you’re doing or not doing. I’m so sick of the whole “be healthy! all we care about is your health!” explanation that the whole world seems to want to use as an excuse to “feel concern for” (i.e., discriminate against) overweight people.
I agree with everything Mo said… but those shorts were horrible.
TWOP has gone downhill considerably since Bravo took it over.
I could not agree more. There are still some great recaps and recappers hanging on for dear life (M. Giant and Potes, I love you!), and I enjoy the forums. But there are some new writers who really can’t write.
But seriously… putting a girl with an eating disorder on a television show aimed at eating disorders (aka the modeling industry) is kinda like putting a mouse in with the cat and expecting the mouse to come out alive.
To some degree, you have to have a hard outer skin if you want to have a career in the entertainment business. Mr. Jay is an asshole, but that’s the way 99.9% of the entertainment business is. Do I agree with it? Nope. But then again, I am not a model (and thank God for that).
But when you choose that path, you have to expect some ridicule, even if it is undeserved.
I remember one season when a “plus size model” dropped like 5 pounds and they kicked her off because she wasn’t being true to herself. WTF was that all about? There is no happy medium on that show apparently.
Tyra Banks is a hypocrite.
TWOP used to have wonderful articles but more often than not the articles suck. So I stick with the forums.
I personally don’t most of the models that are on ANTM attractive (the only reason I watch is because my wife loves the show and we only have one tv). London was the only girl I really found attractive and thought she was a very healthy weight shen she left the show and probably at the weight her body was meant to be at. I don’t understand the modeling world’s obsession with really skinny and unattractive woman since they are using those women to try and attract people and sell their items…
o you put a girl who has BARELY RECOVERED FROM AN EATING DISORDER on a modeling show?
Well… they’ve put an actively struggling anorexic on Britain’s Next Top Model, so why not? I’d wager that more contestants than London have/had eating disorders and just haven’t admitted it. It seems to be the one topic that isn’t discussed on the show, even though the eating disorders are rife in the modeling world. Tyra wouldn’t want the world to know how these girls really maintain their (under)weights.
Everyone’s pretty much said what I think, but speaking of models, you know who uses beautiful women? Gourmet magazine. They simply can’t be too slim, it’s a food magazine!
(I think Gourmet has a stick up their rear for other reasons – such as referring to a raw mushroom salad as “mushroom carpaccio” which struck me as particularly ludicrous – but promoting unrealistic BMI’s certainly isn’t one of them.)
Ok, here’s what I think, and most of it is on the unpopular end of the spectrum.
ANTM is not about modeling or the modeling industry anymore. It hasn’t been since Cycle 3 or 4. Tyra basically picks her favorites early on and eliminates accordingly. The rest is drama for TV.
In reference to London, she only made it on the show because the producers expected a sequel to Holy Rolling Pageant Queen Robin from Cycle 1. They didn’t want to play the ED angle because they already had a burn victim and an epileptic to be the “issue girls”.
As for London’s weight gain, they didn’t need to go overboard with the editing like they did. She’s pear-shaped, we get it! Gaining 10-15 pounds over the course of a month when recovering from an ED is perfectly normal. That’s her body telling her that she shouldn’t be that small, and thus not a model.
Although, her weight was the “official” reason for cutting her. But that’s not really why. They cut her because she didn’t deliver the religion drama they though she was going to bring to the table.
After all, ANTM is a reality show first, and a modeling boot camp second(or third). If you need proof, go to the TWoP forum and look under the Past Seasons section to see the quality and quantity of work the “winners” get in contrast to the girls who got booted. It’s not like American Idol where the winners actually do well in the industry, and the rest fade into obscurity(except Jennifer Hudson, Clay Aiken, and Chris Daughtry).
Now if you want to talk about the plus-sized models on the show, the only one that should have won was Toccara back in Season 3. Even Whitney(who won Cycle 10) was out-modeled by girls like Robin(C1) or Diane(C5).
Anyway, the bottom line is that London should never have been on the show. She’s a cute girl, but modeling(or acting to an extent) is not for people who are recovering from an ED. That, and I didn’t think her pictures were all that good. Of course, only three girls this season actually are that good, which is why they won’t win, Thank God.
I think Teyona is clearly the designated winner, and I completely agree about Tyra just picking her favorite and running with it. My guess for the three girls this season you’re referring to are Celia, Allison, and Fo. I think they’re all fantastic, and none of them will win. I have nothing against Teyona, though. I just find her kind of bland.
OMG, you’re good! That’s exactly who I was talking about.
I think we pretty much agree on Teyona, but her lack of eyebrows drives me up one wall and down the other.
I guess the thing that bothers me about picking girls recovering from EDs to be on ANTM (Cassie from C3) is that there are thousands of tall-ass girls aged 17-25 who are that size naturally. I went to school with two of them, and one was a dead ringer for Shandi (ears and all). The thing is, a lot of these girls are hundreds of miles away from 1) an agency of any kind and 2) ANTM auditions.
I know that I’m being a bad fattie for not raging against the modeling industry for not using more diversely-sized models and insisting on an hourglass shape, but I guess 11 1/2 ANTM cycles, 5 seasons of Project Runway, and 3 years as a fashion major have done me in.
Reguardless of what some of you are saying london is by definition FAT. She as carrying excess weight under her chin and her thighs would chaff from toughing they got so big. The american ideal of what is fat has become stretched due to the obesity rate. People need to realize that if your body is busting out, or sagging and swinging you are over weight, and problably unable to run down the road without becoming winded. Theres a huge difference between being fit and thin aswell, however most fat people claim that ideal weight is far from what it should be, i think its all about making themselves feel good.
My friend for example weights 210 pounds at 5’9 she told me her doctor said her ideal weight is 170, thats rediculous. For a dreamy fat american maybe.
Lonter magtiff you are an ass and it is people like you who helped me into my anorexia/bulimia. I’m 5’7″ and 153lbs right now-and I could probably out run and out lift you. I was bulimic and anorexic for 3 years because people kept telling me that at my height I should be 110-125 lbs, even though I was an avid athlete. I couldn’t drop past 135 (even at my smallest) and almost died because I was literally skin and bones-at 135!!!! Doctor after doctor told me the same thing-I actually do have a large bone structure (yes, apparently they do exist and it’s not just a cop out) and my body type would always be “bigger” and that my ideal size would be to be around 150 lbs and an 10/12. I rebelled against this notion-after all, people like you would say it’s not possible-everyone can be a size 0 (yes I have heard this insane comment more than once). This type of thinking landed me in the hospital hooked up to machines. I can still remember a doctor measuring my hips (skin and bone literally mind you) and telling me that the measurement was 33″ without anything on them and I cried because I still didn’t fit a size 2. This is what “thin thinking” has done. I was healthy (before I began my ED I had a body fat test done and was 19% body fat) and yet people kept telling me “how could I be so fat when I worked out so much” Just because I’m not a size 0-4. I work out 6 days a week now, have a body fat average of 20% and am a size 10/12. I agree that there are a lot of women out there saying they “have curves” or are just “voluptuous” that are, in fact, unhealthy. But what I want this society to realize is that there are girls out there who can not be that small and still be healthy. I want variety d****it. Just because you’re a bigger size doesn’t automatically mean you have fat hanging out. Cause get ready for when size 6 become plus size-oh, just a moment-I think we are here.
Honestly, as much as I think ANTM is living on a fine line between pretending that it’s all about giving girls self-esteem and delighting in reality show voyeurism, the truth is that modelling, particularly runway modelling, is basically about being a clotheshorse. The point is to show off the clothes. So I don’t really think it’s unreasonable to look at someone whose body changed that much during the time she was on the show, and figure she’s not a good candidate for a career in modelling.
Was it not particularly well handled? Sure. Is it worse because London has an eating disorder? Absolutely. Should London have been allowed on the show in the first place? Probably not. Most importantly, was it a bad idea for London to even apply? Absolutely.
So I don’t really think it’s unreasonable to look at someone whose body changed that much during the time she was on the show, and figure she’s not a good candidate for a career in modelling.
And just to clarify, because it occurs to me that this could be read multiple ways, I don’t mean she’s not a good candidate because of her weight, whether you want to argue that she’s fat or not. It’s because of the *change*. How can you model if you can’t keep a consistent shape, whatever that shape may be?
I really think London is the type that wants to be the center of attention! First she tried the religious street hippy thing and no one cared. Then she came to panel every week looking like she sucked a lemon and squirted some in her eyes at the same time. I think she was channelling Rene Zellweirder.
I think she gained the weight on purpose, because she knew she wasn’t going to win and this way she would get her 15 minutes, but really does anyone care!
Yes it’s a terrible issue and eating disorders are horrible, but you know what, most people with eating disorders don’t have the self-confidence to go on a show so huge and say they want to be America’s next top model…they just don’t have the self-esteem and that’s a fact!!!
Come on London, move on and try something else to get attention…none of your antics feel real!!!
P.S. Alison was robbed, this was the worst blatent Tyra favourtism I have ever seen on this show, but I knew Alison wouldn’t win, Tyra wanted the new top model to fall in line with the new president, sad but true, she made that obvious with the final three…especially by including A. who should have been elimanated because of her nasty pictures. Hmmm is that discrimination?
Darn, made spelling mistakes above and can’t get on to fix them…no I’m not a bad speller…just typed too fast! Sorry :(
I am a pear, even at my thinest I was. Barely any fat on my hips, thighs, whatever. But, I was a pear. I just had rounded hips and a striaghter upper half. Now I’ve gained about 10 pounds since last summer. And yes, with a pear body, it dosen’t look good. But it didn’t look any better when I was thin. It just looks more like I could have a perfect body if I excercised more. Which people tell me all the time. But it’s not true. But I feel better this way. I have a more hourglass figure, even if it’s heavier. Oh yeah, and i’m 5’4 , age fourteen, 128 lbs. I never expected to obsses over my body so much, but I do.
Oh yeah, and even though I’m heavier now, my hips are wider as well, and you can definitly feel my hip bones, even though I’ve gained weight, but I still look like it’s all fat below. But it’s now.
Michelle, you make a good point about people’s builds impacting on their weight, it is also dependent on how much muscle mass you carry. However, I felt that it was really sad at the end of your (very good) point that you said “Just because you’re a bigger size doesn’t automatically mean you have fat hanging out.”
Is that really the point? To be worried about a bit of fat hanging out?
Women’s bodies are there to do a whole variety of activites: physical exercise; nourish a baby; for sexual needs; to get you from a to b – and they manifest what people think about themselves – you show your feelings about yourself on your body. It is easy to judge someone’s personality by how well they treat themselves physically. A bit of fat acts as a cushion in a time of need – it’s great to have something to rely on, and it’s essential to be able to be a “woman”.
I guess the key thing is that ANTM isn’t really dealing with “women” because very few of them fit into that category – and this is reflected in their androgynous, childlike bodies which are sure as hell not representative of normal women.
Not a reality show, but a fantasy one. But still incredibly enjoyable.
By the way, I meant the comment Michelle made on 2nd May, not the one immediately above my last post. But I have something to add. Michelle – you are short and you’re not fat if you weigh only 128 pounds. Being a pear is better than having a big stomach like an apple. Big bums are great, unfortunately you wont realise this until you’re in your 30s. Men may think skinny girls are pretty, but they look ridiculous in sexy underwear, unlike pearshaped girls. Everyone has their thing that makes them feel sexy – at 14 you’re a bit young for that yet, but stop obsessing about your weight and get outside for a game of something fun. Please.
I’m an apple with big boobs, I wish I was a pear shape :) but anyway, i guess it makes sense she was kicked off. but obviously there is a lot of lack of compassion in the modeling industry. heavy used to be beautiful but now that there are more heavy people the thing that it is harder to be becomes the more idolized thing. to be honest, i dont even think ‘models’ per say are very attractive. its just their job to wear clothes well, but I dont think they are as beautiful as some women are. infact i think tyra used to be made fun of for looking like a giraffe. where as i dont find her by any means not pretty, that look really isnt in my mind the definition of beauty.
I take issue with “I…London Levi was eliminated. Her ‘shocking weight gain’ of 10-15 pounds was first introduced last week…” Gaining 10-15 lbs in 5 weeks IS shocking. I get that this is a body acceptance site, but gaining 15 lbs in 5 weeks is not healthy, and going from under-eating as an anorexic, to over-eating while “recovering” from an eating disorder is not healthy. Just because you’re gaining weight, does not mean you’re healthy – it might just mean her bad relationship with food has morphed into a new eating disorder.