When I saw this story, it took me a moment to remember who Cheryl Tiegs was. That's not meant as an insult. Once I saw her face, I remembered her. She's a svelte blond who had a pretty face and a rail thin body. She wasn't of the "heroine" models of the Kate Moss generation. She was a Sports Illustrated Swim Suit model in the 70s or 80s I believe. I know it wasn't the 90s.
She said the following about Ashley Graham, the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim suit issue:
And I suppose that's where the issue comes in. It's something that all "plus size" girls have heard at one time or another. "You have such a pretty face." "Your face is beautiful." Which, while it's meant as a compliment, I think, it's also sort of like there is a part of the sentence that's missing. "You have such a pretty face...for a fat girl." "Your face is beautiful...it's the rest of you that's ugly."
Now, I'm not saying she meant it that way at all. But that's how I read it. "Her face is beautiful." Dr. Phil always says that the most important word he finds in a statement is the word "but". It basically means disregard everything I just said, cause here's what I really think.
Again, I don't think Cheryl meant to hurt anyone. I think she spoke her mind and didn't think of the ramifications of what she was saying. This all goes back to that Nicole Arbour stuff where she said that "Fat Shaming" wasn't a real thing. Unfortunately, it is. You can be shamed about anything. If you think that Fat Shaming isn't real, do you also think Slut shaming isn't real? Do you think that religious shaming isn't real? Shame is a feeling. It occurs whether or not someone meant that as the intention.
She said the following about Ashley Graham, the first plus-size model to appear on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim suit issue:
"I don't like that we're talking about full-figured women because it's glamorizing them because your waist should be smaller than 35 [inches]. That's what Dr. Oz said, and I'm sticking to it," she explained. "No, I don't think it's healthy. Her face is beautiful. Beautiful. But I don't think it's healthy in the long run." Link to article here.First off, let me say that I don't think she meant to say anything to maliciously hurt someone's feelings. The truth is, when was the last time you heard of Cheryl Tiegs? And I think with the fact that Ashley is getting all this publicity for being plus size and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated is great. She's gorgeous. All of her. Not just her face.
And I suppose that's where the issue comes in. It's something that all "plus size" girls have heard at one time or another. "You have such a pretty face." "Your face is beautiful." Which, while it's meant as a compliment, I think, it's also sort of like there is a part of the sentence that's missing. "You have such a pretty face...for a fat girl." "Your face is beautiful...it's the rest of you that's ugly."
Now, I'm not saying she meant it that way at all. But that's how I read it. "Her face is beautiful." Dr. Phil always says that the most important word he finds in a statement is the word "but". It basically means disregard everything I just said, cause here's what I really think.
Again, I don't think Cheryl meant to hurt anyone. I think she spoke her mind and didn't think of the ramifications of what she was saying. This all goes back to that Nicole Arbour stuff where she said that "Fat Shaming" wasn't a real thing. Unfortunately, it is. You can be shamed about anything. If you think that Fat Shaming isn't real, do you also think Slut shaming isn't real? Do you think that religious shaming isn't real? Shame is a feeling. It occurs whether or not someone meant that as the intention.
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