When I was smaller, I got a lot of attention from white guys and some attention from Latino and Black guys. Interestingly enough, when I gained they all came around in larger numbers, but a larger proportion of Black guys popped up.
There were a couple of things at work. I did not stop getting carded until 28 or 29. Friends called me jail bait for the longest. At twenty six one guy would not date me until I showed him my drivers license. To put it bluntly, I got breasts and hips around thirty. Those to factors had a lot to do with it. Add the very tall, in shape, over-protective father and you get the picture. Finally there is a catch 22. Out of make-up I looked like a kid, in it, I was gorgeous. I am not being arrogant. I’m amazed at how they transformed my face. My face was a palette for them to recreate. So if I left a photoshoot and did not take off the paint say to go to a party, most men would look but never come near me- unless it was an entertainment industry party. A few guys, I got to know later in life told me they thought I was out of their league back then if they met me while made up. So if you saw me in my twenties, you got either an underaged skinny kid or and unapproachable statue. So, I met less “normal” guys until I was around thirty For me, Dax and Theron are as thin as I would want to go. I think they are hot. I hate it when some of the pretty normal ones turn into sticks. Unless you are naturally thin, the weigh tloss looks like concentration camp victims. I start worrying for their mental and physical well being. One of the worse is when they lose all that weight and then stick silicon breasts on those stick figure bodies From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Keith Johnson Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:50 PM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Was the photoshopped Ralph Lauren model fired for being overweight? Tracey, I'm not surprised at all. Just out of curiosity, was the attention you started getting more from black, Latino, or white guys? I'm always fascinated at how men of different cultures and ethnicities view beauty. The old wisdom was that black and Latino men definitely tend to prefer curvier women. That is by no means the truth all the time, but I just wonder. I notice that when my wife and I are out (she's very curvy, and would kill me for saying that!) she gets more looks from black and Mexican men. Quite a few from white men, but not as much. Almost always from European guys--at least, I've caught a few Spaniards and Italians trying to mack her in the diary case while I was around the corner. The sad thing is, it's not even about slim or thin women not being attractive. Beauty comes in all sizes, and slim women can be as beautiful as anyone else. Charlize Theron is very slim, and gorgeous. Same for Rosalyn Sanchez, Terry Ferrell (Dax from DS9). It's just the push to make dangerously thin women the standard of beauty in the fashion and movie industries that bothers me. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tracey de Morsella" <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 8:44:53 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] OT: Was the photoshopped Ralph Lauren model fired for being overweight? Here something weird, I was 115 at 5’7’ for years when I modeled back in the day. I attracted guys, but not that much—unless I had my makeup articles, and hair stylist on hand, which was not often J. I quit modeling and over the years I gained until I I was about 135 – 140. I thought I was fat, but guys started stopping me on the street and trying to get my attention. I very odd experience. Something is definitively wrong. Guys like that monster Lagerfeld, should not be defining female beauty From: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Adrianne Brennan Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:21 PM To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Was the photoshopped Ralph Lauren model fired for being overweight? Okay, I'm going to give some stats here for a sake of comparison. At 5'4" at 120 lbs, I wear a size 2--size 0 in some clothing if the hips run loose because my waist is significantly smaller than my hips. I am also rather small-boned. For someone at 5'10" to be "too fat" at 120 is fucking insane. I actually will deliberately gain weight if I go below 120 because at that point I start to look unhealthy. At my height, 5 lbs goes a LONG way. ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 7:21 PM, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net> wrote: I don't know what's more disturbing: that they think this model in her current true form is overweight, or that anyone in any country in the world thought that doctored photo of her was either realistic or attractive. I have tried over and over to understand the American obsession with thin models and actresses. My wife always explains to me that clothing looks better when hung on a thin frame, since designers feel a woman's curves detract from the dress, and a thin woman's body doesn't do that. (she doesn't agree with the philosophy, but understands it). Assuming I bought that--I don't--why then do even actresses, who ostensibly aren't modeling clothing, get told to lose weight? Why are so many makeup models thin when all we should be looking at are their faces (the Queen Latifah's of the world notwithstanding) As a black man over 40, raised to think a good body was represented by the likes of Nichele Nichols, Chaka Khan, Pam Grier, Sophia Loren, or Racquel Welch, i guess I'll never understand how "voluptuous" can either be a dirty word, or applied to someone as relatively slim as Cindy Crawford or Claudia Schiffer. I do know it must be crazy to be a woman trying to survive in the fashion or movie industries as long as this skewed view of beauty persists. No wonder so many models are anorexic and addicted to amphetamines! Remember back when TV Guide grafted Oprah Winfrey's head onto Ann Margaret's body? Man, do we ever see anyone as they really are anymore? ************************************** http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/was-the-photoshopped-ralph-lauren-model-fired-for-being-overweight-525248/ Was the photoshopped Ralph Lauren model fired for being overweight? photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com <http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/vu7vD17UuinS/photos/597ce10efef7ea981abcc5e023c89874/mr_b5fda2fd46300c.jpg?ug_____D.b5bBnGG> photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com Last week Ralph Lauren came under fire for (what looked to be) an <http://shine.yahoo.com/event/fallbeauty/image-of-ultra-thin-ralph-lauren-model-sparks-outrage-521480/> extremely altered photo of a model in one of its ads. Bloggers at the website BoingBoing.net posted the image online, and lawyers for Ralph Lauren attempted to sue them for copyright infringement. Unfortunately for Ralph Lauren, this only furthered public interest and outrage over the dangerously thin looking model and, eventually, the clothing company released this apology: "For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately." Unfortunately,"addressing the problem" may have included firing the model, 23-year-old Filippa Hamilton. She is 5'10" and weighs 120 pounds--clearly more full-bodied than the photoshopped girl we see in the advertisement. Though Hamilton has modeled for Ralph Lauren since she was 15, the company let her go "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us." But the story gets worse: Hamilton says she was let go because she'd become too fat to model for them. "They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn't fit in their clothes anymore," she explained. "I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face...It's very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that." Filippa Hamilton in a past Ralph Lauren ad <http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/QnN_NrSbXFLk/photos/434d36deb4d4d3a146f7af8eb1e62295/mr_83d94ea74bc024.jpg?ug_____D_al.SAiq> Filippa Hamilton in a past Ralph Lauren ad Most of us know that a tall, young woman who weighs 120 pounds is not overweight. But Hamilton claims Ralph Lauren was dissatisfied with her body, and therefore fired her six months ago. However, the company continued to use her image, whittling down her arms, waist, thighs, and possibly several other body parts in the above ad. If they were so unhappy with how she looked, why not get another model for the campaign? Why use the photos and alter and distort them? Today, Ralph Lauren himself is distancing himself from the ad, claiming, "The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S." So we're confused. They say the photoshopping was an error, that Hamilton is "beautiful and healthy," yet they allegedly fired her for her size? With all these apologies and statements it sounds like the brand still has yet to accept responsibility for their actions. Hamilton in Italian Elle <http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/tyRmeitRuDZ8/photos/0bf10ce9af91f3ee02489cc9d95b2829/mr_3bc0213fb69037.jpg?ug_____DUlAvOtOv> Hamilton in Italian Elle Hamilton in French Vogue <http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/KBKmMDTbRBDx/photos/9a27b5a64f0b19f97661c0042464a8ed/mr_82aa0567a5e8ae.jpg?ug_____DAdusG7RO> Hamilton in French Vogue When I searched for more images of Filippa Hamilton, I instantly remembered her—she was the face of Ralph Lauren's fragrance, Romance, has been featured on the cover of international editions of Vogue and Elle, and has appeared in many ads. She's a gorgeous woman. "I think they [Ralph Lauren] owe American women an apology, a big apology," says Hamilton. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy." The truth is, models get fired or overlooked all the time for being what the industry considers overweight, we just rarely see or hear about it. Eating disorders are not only common among models, but they're also common among the women and young girls who emulate them. We're happy to see that Hamilton has come forward, and wish more models and celebrities would do the same. It's awesome and empowering when stars admit they've been photoshopped for an ad or movie poster and say how dissatisfied they are about it. With foreign countries banning underweight models from their fashion weeks, and the increasing presence of "plus size" models in women's magazines, we wish the unhealthy representation and falsified depiction of models—and women—would come to an end entirely. Do you think the day will ever come? Sources: [NYDN <http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2009/10/14/2009-10-14_model_fired_for_being_too_fat.html> ] [Extra <http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/10/blog_and_ralph_lauren_fight_over_skinny_model_ad.php> ] [Hulu <http://www.hulu.com/watch/102044/nbc-today-show-model-i-was-fired-for-being-%E2%80%98too-large%E2%80%99#s-p3-sr-i0> ]
