“Poster girl… for obesity?”

by Sam Hooper

Chloe Marshall, a British plus-size model made headlines when she beat out 23 other contestants to be crowned Miss Surrey last month. In July, she will compete for the crown of Miss England. Marshall is 5’10, 176 lbs and a size 16 has been praised for her plus size figure by being called the “ambassador for curves.”
But not everyone is praising Marshall for her size. Former Miss England, Monica Grenfell lambastes Marshall for what she calls “a shocking lack of self-control.” She believes that Marshall is not an example of a beautiful larger lady but a poster girl for diabetes, over-eating, strokes and heart attacks.
I think that plus-size woman should be proud of their figure. It gives hope to girls that may not have the smallest waist and boosts their self esteem. Not every model should have to be a size 0. Regular everyday woman are rarely a size 0. Models should be all shapes and sizes because that is what young girls can relate to. So many girls develop eating disorders because of the pressure that society puts on young stars to be thin. We flip through gossip magazines daily that show unflattering pictures of stars in bathing suits. Recently, Jennifer Love Hewitt, who is a size 2, was called “fat” in a magazine. She was outraged about the statement because she, along with people all over the United States, believes that her body is healthy and normal. The average size for a woman in the United States is actually a size 14.
Monica Grenfell recently said, “Levels of bulimia are actually falling. Instead our high streets are packed with young girls -- just like Chloe -- with 'muffin tops' of fat spilling over their jeans.”
Our high streets are actually packed with woman of all shapes and sizes as well as different races. If the streets were full of woman of the same size, everyone would look the same.