Curvy Column - Curvy Supermodel Dream

Hello my dears,

Today, I want to share my thoughts with you on a topic that is important to me – namely, how women with curves are portrayed in the media and, accordingly, how they are perceived. And how the media and fashion industries use our natural psychological reactions and behaviors regarding beauty ideals, body culture, and belonging to their advantage.
As many now know, not everything that glitters is gold, and behind most images lies a different reality. And even though body positivity and body acceptance are on the rise, it is unfortunately already a fact that these terms are now being marketed and misused.

We absorb images and imposed illusions every day without always being able to look behind the respective facade. The fashion and media industries take advantage of this. By placing advertisements and such “Oh, I wish I looked like that too” images, trends and role models are automatically created, which we accept as such, even if we don’t really want to. Even those who critically view these idealized images cannot escape their omnipresence and are unintentionally influenced by them.

And once the trend really takes hold, many of us jump on board – myself included. From a purely human perspective, it is quite natural to orient ourselves to role models or already proven or lived ideas. And exactly this behavior is exploited by large companies by placing products accordingly and setting prices. Depending on the way communication is handled, we are guided in a very specific direction desired by companies and even the state, without realizing it.

What we really want or what actually makes us feel good is often forgotten because we are conditioned otherwise.
And that is where a huge psychological influence lies, which especially affects us women with curves and often makes us unhappy.
Therefore, I find it all the more important to draw attention to women and men who actually share their real thoughts and experiences on the topic of body positivity with us, want to free people from mistaken prejudices, and, very importantly, are a mental support for many fellow human beings.

It would be nice to create more space in the media landscape to represent our diverse society. Since the advent of social media, I have followed many people on the World Wide Web and oriented myself to inspiring examples. Maybe some of you know that too. Social media was initially a true revelation for me in that respect.

But now I know that caution is also needed here because the temptation to fall for false realities and ideals is huge and seductive here as well. Just as there are influencers who boost self-confidence and acceptance, there are also many people who jump on the “body positivity” bandwagon and sell us lucratively fake content or deliberately mispackage real content.

One example for me is the casting show “Curvy Supermodel” on the RTL II channel. I think the show cleverly flirts with the body positivity trend, yet it still fulfills its typical TV format. The girls are sometimes portrayed differently than they want and certainly differently than they really are; situations are invented, or unflattering snapshots are exploited for the amusement and entertainment of the audience. Of course, that’s show business and partly contractually regulated, but that influences the masses. And instead of continuing to convey the same clichés of unhappy, overweight women or hypersexualized curve stars to the audience, it would be nice to also show the other sides, both the positive and the negative.

With famous models like Ashley Graham, Candice Huffine, or Tara Lynn, only the tip of the iceberg is visible, and only what pleases the eye. And even what the ladies themselves share about their lives is too good to be true. The path to that point is the hardest and actually the most interesting. For example, I would be interested in how one can simultaneously manage being a mother, supermodel, businesswoman, and friend. Only the happy ending is shown because it attracts and holds us consumers.

That’s the way things go, but I think diversity should be more than just a buzzword or a campaign name...! It should be genuinely lived and shown! Because whose life is always just rosy and runs smoothly?!
With these words, I will leave you for now and wish you a pleasant evening.
I hope to hear from some of you, because if you have similar thoughts or other experiences, I would love to hear them.
So until the next article, my dears,
Viviana