I Hope We Will Follow...

No, the urge to go out on an evening jog/walk disappeared somewhere between work and the apartment and was replaced by nausea and freezing... Much nicer, don't you think? Well, as long as I go out tomorrow and on Saturday, I haven't messed up my schedule and that's what's important. So instead we'll make tea and watch an episode of The X-Files, then making it an early night I think.

In today's Metro (Swedish edition) there is a great column by Hillevi Wahl, following the debacle about the emaciated mannequin at Gina Tricot, and you can read it here!
I was so glad to read that Israel will lead the way to a healthier and brighter future for all of us, no matter what we may look like, by being the first country in the world to ban the usage of models with a BMI below 18,5. The ban means that magazines aren't allowed to use models that skinny and neither are they welcome on the runway, of course this has caused an uproar amongst the models themselves! They claim that many of them are that skinny by nature and can't help it and though it may very well be so and there's nothing wrong with that--only 5 % of the population belong to that group and Israel have chosen to legislate for the greater part of their population in this case.
This is one step, and as small as it may be, it gives me hope. Hope that we can start to make something good, to turn a bad trend around and open up for new possibilities. I hope we'll find ourselves in a world where the majority of women (and men of course) can feel good about themselves, a world were fashion-designers make clothes that actually fit normal people and a more forgiving and accepting world.
As Hillevi says--we are often praised for our beautiful women in Sweden and I agree fully, I just wish that they all could see it themselves.

It is often said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and though that may be true--it would be much better if it didn't. If we all were able to feel beautiful regardless of what others think or say, maybe a foolish hope? But a fool's hope is still better than no hope at all, don't you think?

It Hurts To See...

This mannequin was displayed in the window of Gina Tricot's store at Sergelgatan in Stockholm

It makes me furious and so freaking sad that this is what young girls have to see when shopping for clothes on a daily basis!!! I mean--the ribs??? Give me a show of hands all of you who think this looks seriously good! No wonder so many of us feel bad about our weight or looks! I might be just a wee bit biased (or some might think: jealous...), but this is wrong. All the guys I've talked to say they think it looks disgusting, but it might still affect young girls negatively and the CEO says it's supposed to be a size 36 EU/6 US. Why does it always have to be a size 6? What's wrong with size 8 or 10? When will we accept the fact that we all look different and be "allowed" to feel good about ourselves just the way we are? I'm trying to loose weight due to health-issues and because I want to, not because I want to look like a skeleton mannequin... Not that I ever could, my bone-structure won't allow it!

I know several women who have suffered from eating disorders and though I strongly feel that we all are responsible for taking care of ourselves and our bodies--this is not the way to teach us that we are perfect just the way we are. And I do believe that we aren't more than humans and we do get affected by what we see, what we read, what we hear. I for one hate shopping! I was never a huge fan of it, but since my weight-gain 5 years back--it's gone from a lack of interest to some small kind of phobia for me. I know that the clothes I think look great won't fit, they never make them in my size. Let's not even get started on jeans. I love jeans, but Levi's and Diesel have never made jeans for girls with lots of jelly... =) Just saying'. Kim Kardashian has not changed that fact and maybe she and J.Lo can get their jeans custom-fit, but most of us can't and therefore we have to settle for old ladies "jeans" at KappAhl... Not a lot of fun I can tell you... 

A few years back, Lindex (read an article here) launched a collection of clothes called "Affordable Luxury" by designer Ewa Larsson--this collection was only made in sizes Small and Medium with the explanation that for larger sizes they would have had to make totally different clothes!!! Since then, I have never sat my foot in a Lindex store. My silent protest which will now expand to Gina Tricot. I think it's so tragic, I'm lacking words for how I feel, but for the 13-year old me who cried herself to sleep after days of mockery at school--I have to do something!

I dream of creating my own collection of clothes one day, one where all sizes are available, where the right to look fantastic isn't limited to a number. I've already thought up a name for it: Wicked Beauty by Wallin Bååth, how's that for a name?!?