I’ve never had any problems with how much I weigh, or what the label in my favourite jeans says. Numbers are meaningless to me – what matters is how I look and how I feel. And for the most part, I’m happy with who I am and how much space I inhabit. I’ve never felt particularly influenced by the slender physiques of models and actresses either. As regular readers will know, I’m much more interested in real people with real figures. Real people, like bloggers.
Bloggers often discuss the supportive community that surrounds them, but fashion blogging in particular is a breeding ground for insecurity. That daily slew of posts showcasing beautiful girls with slender size 8 figures, styled to perfection with blindingly white teeth and cascading waves, can have a profound affect on others.
I was shocked to read the beautiful Lily from LLYMLRS had been described as a ‘plus size blogger’. She’s a petite size 10 and utterly stunning. And if she’s plus size, I’m morbidly obese. The fabulous Jazmine from Jazzabelle’s Diary is a supermodel in the making, yet she tells me blogging can make her feel ugly. Again, if Jazmine is ugly, I’m a troll in lipstick. Could our exposure to these perfect ‘real people’, who blog just like us and who aren’t models or celebs, lead us to feel less than enamoured with our own ‘real person’ bodies? Could blogging tempt us to judge others because they don’t live up to the standards being set?
There was an article in Marie Claire this week about healthy living bloggers and the levels of perfection they present to their readers. I don’t read any of the blogs mentioned and judging by the comments, most disagree with the notion that they may be pressured into dieting or exercising after reading a blog. But there are a few who admit to striving for perfection so they can blog about their slim figure/zero calorie meal/intense running regime.
There’s a difference between people who model clothing in magazines and those who wear clothing on blogs. Magazines make a huge fuss about ‘real women’ (a term I despise), but this term should not exist in the blogsphere, because we’re all real women. We exist; we walk and talk and breathe, and that makes us real. No matter what size we are.
Have you ever felt the niggles of insecurity when reading blogs, or when writing your own? Have you ever acted on them?
