Is this woman beauty queen material?
April 7th, 2008 by Kim
Chloe Marshall, the first plus-size model ever to make it to the Miss England finals, is creating a stir.
The 17-year-old beauty student from Surrey county has been publicly singled out from the other contestants, but not necessarily because of her good looks, glowing personality, great skin or winning smile. Instead, folks are gawking at the fact that she is 5 ft. 10 in. and 176 lbs. (a size 16), with a 38DD bustline -- details that set her decidedly apart from her skinnier competitors.
Oh, and then there was the bikini shoot...
But here's what's really got folks buzzing: she loves her body.
What?! A woman larger than a size 7 expressing content with her curves? I did a double-take.
The average woman in the United States today is about 5 ft. 4 in. and about 163 lbs. (the averages vary with different studies). It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a good number of us are unsatisfied with our bodies, whatever shape they may be.
Nearly every woman I know, from a size 2 to a size 12, has had issues with her figure at some point in her life. I've seen friends begin compulsive exercise routines coupled with meals consisting of just energy bars or drinks. I've seen friends go on freak diets, obsessively doing the low-carb thing, or even eating nothing but low-fat yogurt for several months. I've seen many of these routines result in stress, health problems and tears. And -- yes -- I've even seen a Size 4 talk about her "love handles" with dismay.
Whatever has happened to women -- blame it on society, anorexic models, the media, whatever -- the state of body self-esteem in America is abysmal. So, when Chloe Marshall says: "I want to show other teenagers, younger than me, that it's OK to be a bit curvy, because you can still be beautiful," I want to give the girl a high-five and a huge hug and invite her across the Atlantic for a cup of tea with lemon.
Not everyone feels the same way, though. Marshall was recently criticized in London's Daily Mail for sending the message to young women that it is OK to be overweight and invite a host of health problems. In a biting April 4 column, former Miss England judge Monica Grenfell called Marshall "a terrible role model" and said her promotion of her body image is "dangerous nonsense."
"Feted and fawned over for her courage in daring to break the mould, Chloe boasts she wants to be an 'ambassador for curves,'" Grenwell wrote:
Who on earth does she think she's kidding? What she's demonstrating isn't bravery but a shocking lack of self-control. Instead of flaunting her figure, Chloe ought to own up to the truth. She is fat and she got that way by over-eating.
No public figure should be an advocate for poor health. But -- at least in America -- does the average woman really have a "healthy" outlook if she is constantly obsessing about her weight, eating nothing but energy bars and hitting the gym five times a day?
I think Marshall isn't so much a poster girl for being a size 12, but for having healthy self-esteem -- something all women need to work on once in a while. And for that, I say more power to her.
photo: www.dailymail.co.uk
April 7th, 2008 at 7:20 am
Kudos to her for not acquiescing to the pressure to pursue anorexia or bulimia to be a beauty queen. Beauty and confidence should grow from within and not without. That being said...
From a medical standpoint she is overweight. Though her listed weight and height gives her a BMI of 25.2, just looking at her you can tell that she is overweight. Like NBA rosters released to the media that are generous in listing the heights of its team members, her official weight listed in the media guide is probably generously *lower* than her actual weight.
It doesn't bother me that she is in a beauty contest, but what bothers me is celebrating a body type that gives her a higher risk of developing hypertension, diabetes and, therefore, kidney disease.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:24 am
She would look more batta if she would lose a little more weight. I'm glad that she did enter the contest and glad that she has good self esteem... I prefer to look at women with naturally curvy and not skinny like a rail bodies... If you feel good about yourself, noi shame...
April 7th, 2008 at 9:27 am
For serious, BMI is a crock, and every medical professional I've encountered readily admits this. BF% is a much more reliable indicator of obesity.
...
There's a balance struggle that needs to be addressed. On one hand, having sat in my therapist father's waiting room five days a week for seven years, I'm more aware than the average bear of just how many women (and men) are affected by eating disorders and body dysmorphia and where these problems appear to originate. We've projected an increasingly unrealistic ideal onto our women, and it's causing a lot of problems.
On the other hand, frank is right: while there are certainly some people who are genetically predisposed to be larger, and others who have any of a number of conditions that either make it difficult for them to maintain a healthy weight or difficult to exercise, the (possibly overwhelming) majority of overweight people in the nation do not have such an excuse, and we should be doing everything possible to discourage unhealthy lifestyle choices.
I'm not sure where the balance is. It's difficult to encourage a healthy lifestyle without confusing the issue on an aesthetic level: the number of Hawaii dancer girls I knew on the "dancer's diet" of coffee and cigarettes in high school were likely no healthier than the overweight ones, and certainly less healthy than girls who were on two varsity sports and ate healthily but were still a size 12.
I think it only gets worse as we get older, and many of us have less time to dedicate not only to being physically active, but even to planning and eating nutritious meals at a healthy pace. It's a lot easier to find an hour to hit the gym every day when your only other responsibilities are classes and a few clubs; trade classes for an 8 hour work day and throw in a kid or two and suddenly, that extra hour becomes impossible to find. It's great to talk about eating healthy, spending time on a large, healthy breakfast, and avoiding eating meals too late, all while controlling for carbs and eight kinds of polysupersaturdaymonoxylatedmenstrual fats, but the reality of it is it's a lot easier to grab and nuke a hot pocket.
Honestly, I don't think there's a happy medium: the health & beauty aspects of the issue will remain forever entangled in the minds of the masses. Although my opinion on the matter changes pretty frequently, these days I agree that helping women feel okay with who they are is a fundamentally good idea that will ultimately help promote both physical and mental health, and I encourage people like Miss Surrey 08 to continue as they are.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Oh man not good...a waifish hapa hunny is much more beautiful.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Oh, and a mini-rant on the use of language when talking about weight:
I really hate how people defending the idea of curvy women misuse the word "average" as though it's an acceptable goal or standard. Average =! healthy. Let's all say it again:
Average =! healthy.
This is especially true in the U.S., where the average weight is well into obesity.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
as an overweight woman i'm really disgusted at the attitude that many have towards not only this one woman but overweight people in general. granted she may be a few pounds over the "ideal" weight, she's not exactly a candidate for gastrobypass or anything. i don't believe she's advocating poor health habits, rather i think she's trying to teach girls to love who you are. i've been battling a weight problem my entire life and finally i decided that if i'm gonna lose the weight i should do it for myself and no one else. yes obesity can and normally does lead to further health complications, but there are also skinny people who die of heart failure or suffer from diabetes. rather than criticizing people for being too fat or skinny...we need to focus on educating everyone about safe and healthy lifestyle habits.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Regarding JuSaMee's comment --- There was an article that appeared on ABCNews.com recently about weight discrimination in the United States. A Yale University study found that is a bigger problem than racism in some places. There is no federal law that says you cannot discriminate on the basis on weight, and among the states, only Michigan has such a law. According to the study, women are twice as likely to face discrimination than are men:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/BeautySecrets/story?id=4568813&page=1
April 7th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Interesting and provocative subject, Kim, especially with the number of large-sized women in Hawaii. I once had a friend who preferred bigger gals, although he was an exception. It's a matter of culture, too. In American Samoa, where I used to live, a woman who weighed, say 150 pounds, would be thought of as "skinny", and not very attractive at all.
April 7th, 2008 at 11:31 am
"5'10 and 176 lbs" -- she's bigger than most men.
a beauty queen indeed...disgusting!
April 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Unlike age, race and (in most cases) gender, we perceive weight as something that can be changed--because, in most cases, it can be.
We're struggling to find a balance between understanding (because, as I mentioned in my first response, there are any number of reasons why a person may be literally unable to lose weight, or may be overweight but healthy) and encouraging health (because the aforementioned understanding is making it easier and easier to hide behind excuses and remain unhealthy, and the aforementioned health/beauty dichotomy).
April 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I lived in England. It's slim pickings over there. This chick would probably look good after 5 pints of lager
April 7th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
good for her. it hard to find people with high self-esteem. i mean, look at all the celebrities drowing their sorrows in drugs and alcohol. you'd think they'd have the highest self-esteem being all popular and rich but they don't.
April 7th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
I think she looks hawt!
April 7th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
She should be entitled to do whatever she wants. She is not entering Miss fitness USA, so who cares if she is healthy or not. Just because you are a model, or a "traditional" beauty padgent contestant, it doesn't mean you are healthy. You can be a size 2, have a eating disorder, and still have a high body fat percentage because your body is constantly in starvation mode. That would expose you to the same amount of risks as being overweight. Would I vote for her in a padgent...no. But that doesn't mean she doesn't belong there if the judges did vote for her. She is no worse a role model or an example than many of the other contestants.
Fact is, she made it to the finals one way or another. So she earned it. If you don't think she should be there because she isn't beautiful...we'll obviously you weren't one of the judges, so you are entitled to your opinion, but your opinion doesn't count.
But if you think that she is sending a bad message to young girls...then I sure hope you take a look at your body in the mirror first. Because if you don't have a rock hard body worthy of competeing in a padgent, then your sending the exact same message to everyone who see's you everyday.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I have never been accused of being skinny. I've always been more fat than phat. In fact, during childhood, when my sisters and I would run around Niu Valley we looked like 3 roses and a cactus. I haven't been capable of lateral movement on the dance floor for 10 years.
Losing weight is not easy and never has been, partly because with some individuals you have to unlearn and overcome prior lifestyle choices. (True medical conditions resulting in unavoidable obesity are rare.) And it is unfortunate that many overweight people are treated with disdain and written off as being lazy. Nevertheless, it is an honest fact of life that being overweight increases certain health risks, and from my experience can interfere with physical exams and make certain imaging studies more difficult to interpret, not to mention higher rates of surgical complications. People who are overweight should not be subject to prejudice, but at the same time they should not sit back and not accept responsibility for their health.
It is easy to throw a hot pocket into the microwave, but in the same time it takes to wait for the *ding* to open the door, one can easily throw together a salad or turkey sandwich (hold the mayo, please). I tell patients to avoid fad diets (atkins, all cabbage diet, all kim chi diet...altho I heard the all kim chi diet is useful in promoting celibacy among your teenage daughters) because they are difficult to sustain and may be harmful. They should just be more sensible with their food selection and increase their exercise. Most think that you have to join a gym, but if one finds a way to add just 10 minutes of walking a day (park on the other side of the lot, walk around the block at lunch), that's over an hour of walking a week.
On another note, the BMI, like all medical tools, has its limitations. The Governator of Cahleeefooorneeah probably had a disgusting BMI when he was at the height of his bodybuilding career, while sustaining a body fat % less than 7%. You'd be surprised how many 100 lbs. wahines have body fat % higher than 30. However, body fat % has its limitations as well, and in large research studies is not a practical measure of body weight or composition. If anyone wants me to quote some studies regarding BMI in the medical literature they can contact me through my blog to avoid unnecessary comments cluttering Kim's site.
Jusamee, please forgive me if I offended you in any way in my original comment, that was not my intent. Aloha.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
hey franksabunch i wasn't necessarily offended by your earlier post and i do appreciate your comments in both posts. i'm more annoyed with the fact that this woman's weight is such a big issue because she happens to be in a beauty pageant! in all honesty, at this point, i'd love to just make it to her weight! but i find it interesting that there are some who don't think she should even be considered for a beauty pageant. i've seen other contestants who in my opinion aren't exactly miss universe, but have an awesome body (this without knowing if there are eating disorders), yet no problems with those candidates. i remember my senior year of high school, they did a full work up on us, which included taking a BMI measurement. i was surprised to see that two sisters, one who was a bit chunkier, had a lower BMI than the visually skinnier one, the answer i assumed was the heavier looking one might've had a higher muscle mass. in any case i think the bigger point should be that we focus on an entire package of healthy living and lifestyle not just the number on a scale.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
If she loves the look and feel of her body that's her perogative. As for other people's tastes, that's there perogative also. First of all, based on that pic, she looks over 200 lbs if she is indeed 5'10". If she is 176 lbs., she must have very high body fat, as fat weighs less than muscle in terms of density. I've seen 5'10" 176 lbs. on FIT men and women, and it doesn't take up close to the amount of space as her's does. Come to think of it, even if she is 'very soft', I still doubt the 176 lb. figure. As for a beauty queen, again 'in the eyes of the beholder'. Beauty queens aren't judged on health standards like cholesterol, standing heart rate, body fat%, 1-mile run, push-ups, etc. So for a beauty contest, why not? For a look to follow if you want to be fit and attain long-term health? Unlikely.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I eat what I like. And my parking structure's far from my office biru, so, I get my walking in. And I don't drink or smoke. And I realize I gotta die of SOMET'ing, bwwaaaaaaaaaaaaahha.
This gal's all right! She gonna be OK. 'Slong as everything's in moderation, no?
And have some tea and fruit every once in a while. Makes my bill of health come out clean e'ry year o' my physical results.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I commend her for trying to promote a healthy self esteem. For that alone, I think she's a better role model than Paris Hilton or Britney Spears!!
I do understand other people's points about health, but I still think it's great that she is confident about herself and is not succumbing to the pressure to be thin. I had a few friends with eating disorders in high school. I see celebrities (Kate Bosworth, Tara ...oooh I forget her name already, the one in American Pie) who could stand to gain 10-20 pounds and they don't look happy even though they are thin. Kudos to Chloe!
April 24th, 2008 at 4:55 am
What bothers me most is how some people think it's so easy to lose weight. Personally, I have no problem, and I eat all sorts of the wrong food, and plenty of it. I exercise to keep the joints moving and heart pumping. When I was younger, I had to work out to gain weight.
But my wife is a "plus size". She eats much less than I do, and used to exercise before arthritis slowed her down. She just happens to gain and hold weight much more than I do.
Our bodies evolved to gain weight easily. In earlier times, food was tougher to find, and not very fatty, so we developed the ability to store as many calories we could to use during lean, or sick, times. That ability is not going to go away soon. Some people, like myself, have lost some of that ability. Others, like my wife have not.
It would so great if everyone were just like you, wouldn't it? But we're not, so lay off. Why can't people let people be the way they like? Some people like food and that's the way they are. Some people obsess about their health and live in misery to obtain that "perfect" shape. That's their business, too.
I happen to like the way Chloe looks. She's a very attractive girl physically, at least to me. But, more importantly, her self confidence speaks more about the type of person she is than any ridiculous size 1 bikini would. That makes her truly beautiful.