Comments on: I am real.

By: Naked

Naked — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:03:45 +0000

[...] share. Perhaps my blogging friend Jennine from The Coveted inspired me with her post called I am real., but I’m totally as comfortable with my face sans makeup as I am with it fully made [...]

By: e

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:31:16 +0000

well put!
by most standards i am considered “thin” but i can point out something “wrong” about just about every part of my body. the idea that “real women have curves” is meant to be a positive message, but for someone as uncurvy as myself it sends the message that i need to pad my bras or get implants to be a “real” woman. i am looking forward to a new way of thinking, where we put health (and we can be a healthy at many sizes) first.

By: Kelley

Kelley — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:52:19 +0000

Thank you for writing this.

I am at a healthy weight and I’m happy with it. But I’m a little too boyish to be described as having “curves.” Does that make me less real?
.-= Kelley´s last blog ..Awesome Etsy Item =-.

By: enc

enc — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:09:38 +0000

This has always been a big issue for me, as a fashion fan, a blogger, and someone who works in the fitness industry. Those three facets of my personality are at odds with each other. For me, it’s impossible not to be drawn one way, then the other.

I’ve heard women in my classes say “fat” and “diet” and “dislike” more in the last year than in my whole lifetime. It’s true that some of us are not sure if we like our bodies, and the media are not helping when they imply that we are not good enough if we’re not “telephone poles.” But when I really take a look at the telephone poles from a fitness standpoint, and from a human being standpoint, I wonder if we could just back off and be kinder to ourselves.

I see all shapes and sizes in my work, and they’re ALL beautiful to me. I tell them that every day.
.-= enc´s last blog ..Poll #48 Yes, No, or Maybe? =-.

By: Winona

Winona — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:50:20 +0000

Jennine, this post is smart, beautiful, and perfect–just like you!

By: catherine_sr

catherine_sr — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:00:27 +0000

I totally agree with you… I don’t understand why the media has to coach it in terms of “real women have curves/are a size 10 and up” instead of “real women come in all sizes, period.”
Only you and your doctor know what size range is the healthiest for you. Since hitting puberty, my own range has been all over the place from size 6 to size 12, and I think size 8 is probably my “optimal” size because it’s what I naturally hit when I’m eating healthily and active.
My husband and I often talk about how our weight affected us when we were growing up. As a second-generation Asian American, I often received explicit messages from my mom, aunts and female friends that I was FAT, starting from when I was just 4. Looking back at old photos, I only now see that I was never fat — simply bigger because I grew up with different nutritional standards than they did. On the other hand, my husband comes from a family with speedy metabolism, and as a teenage boy growing up in Texas, he got picked up relentlessly for his thin frame — never mind that he was probably a lot stronger and more athletic than most of the people picking on him. If someone is giving you crap about your body, it probably reflects more on them than it does on you — but of course that often doesn’t mitigate the pain it causes.
.-= catherine_sr´s last blog ..Groovilicious Taiwan =-.

By: Goody

Goody — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:02:42 +0000

As a woman who blogs a lot about being plus size, while i believe that women need to work more to define themselves for themselves and not be dictated to by the media, etc, i am in some ways happy that plus size women are getting more positive focused attention in the media, as opposed to the constant slamming that usually takes place.

whether this attention is pro women or just viewed as good PR on the part of the companies is of course up for debate.

i also think that the reference to “real” women meant women who you do not normally see modeling, etc, not that women who are not plus size identified are not “real”.
.-= Goody´s last blog ..Wrap it up! Scarves Under $25 =-.

By: Sana

Sana — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:11:54 +0000

I have alwys hated that in order to be a real women, you had to be plus-sized! It’s almost being anything smaller means your fake. I have met my fair share of real and fake women and I assure you, they come in all sizes.

By: Misss Glitzy [from Singapore!]

Misss Glitzy [from Singapore!] — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:08:49 +0000

Great post, Jennine! I agree that the concept of "real" women has been somewhat misconstrued. I am tall and real, proportionate with some flabs but I wear UK 12-14. Under Mark Fast's definition, I am plus size. .-= Misss Glitzy [from Singapore!]´s last blog ..The Kimono Runway Show =-.

By: StyleScrybe (StyleScrybe Says)

StyleScrybe (StyleScrybe Says) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 04:06:48 +0000

I applaud this post… Do I smell a blogger campaign to inform the brands we promote that there are PLENTY of REAL women who fall somewhere between size 0 and plus size? Even if not, I agree… We are all REAL, and many of us have our own body battles. Brands and designers bastardizing need to stop bastardizing the issue.