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MEGHAN MCCAIN: As a woman who has been fat shamed, I welcome new beauty standards. Why don’t others?

For a long time, the tastes of an extremely small minority of fashion editors and trend setters dictated to the American public, and particularly to women, what is and is not beautiful.

That has obviously changed.

This month, Australian Fashion Week attracted attention from around the world when its’ The Curve Edit show featured ‘size inclusive’ models.

And of course, plus sized model Yumi Nu – in all her glory – was recently featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.

Some of the backlash has been vicious – and my question is: Why?

What is so threatening about presenting women as they are and not as some unrealistic ideal?

At one time, emaciated ‘heroin chic’ was elevated in both fashion and entertainment as the highest standard in beauty.

I grew up in the 1990s during the height of show like ‘Ally McBeal.’ A time when female stars looked like the cast of ‘Friends’ and the supermodel Kate Moss.

The message sent to my generation of girls was very clear — the thinner, the better.

The ‘heroin chic’ look was such the rage that even President Bill Clinton publicly denounced fashion ads asserting that ‘you do not need to glamorize addiction to sell clothes.’

I am not blaming one person, one show, or fashion outlet — it was a cultural movement. But this era and the people who perpetuated it have not aged well.

Jordan Peterson tweeted a picture of the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Yumi Nu (above) writing, 'Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.'

Jordan Peterson (above)) tweeted a picture of the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Yumi Nu writing, 'Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.'

Two days ago, Jordan Peterson (right) tweeted a picture of the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Yumi Nu (left) writing, ‘Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.’

Brands like Abercrombie and Fitch, which almost went out of business, actively discouraged overweight people from wearing their clothes.

‘A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong,’ said Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries in a 2006 interview. ‘Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny.’

Take a look at their website today. The company completely has rebranded and now offers extended sizing and my personal favorite ‘the curvy jean.’

Fashion trends began to evolve in the early 2000s, but only in the last decade has the emaciated look almost completely fallen out of fashion.

I am grateful, as I raise a young daughter, that beauty standards have evolved with modern times.

Plus-size clothing is much easier to find and high-end labels such as Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Carolina Herrera, DVF, Bagley Mishka, Reem Acra, Christian Siriano and Roland Mouret (just to name a few) sell clothing well into plus sizes.

So do less expensive stores such as Target, Good American, Torrid, and Eloquii.

I know all of this, because I myself am plus size. A size 12/14 depending on what’s going on in my life to be exact and I shop at all of these places.

I have spent my entire career, and I literally mean my entire career, being fat shamed.

I’ve been subjected to this by the media, by people I have worked with, by ‘image consultants,’ people in positions of power and stylists at photo shoots. 

Sometimes I believe the most radical thing I have ever done was not diet and exercise to morph my body into their archaic expectations of beauty.

There is a market for plus size clothing and inclusive designers will make more money than the designers that refuse to accept this reality.

This month, Australian Fashion Week (above) attracted attention from around the world when its' The Curve Edit show featured 'size inclusive' models.

I grew up in the 1990s during the height of show like 'Ally McBeal.' A time when female stars looked like the cast of 'Friends' and the supermodel Kate Moss (above).

(Left) Australian Fashion Week attracted attention from around the world when its’ The Curve Edit show featured ‘size inclusive’ models. (Right) I grew up in the 1990s, a time when female stars looked like the cast of ‘Friends’ and the supermodel Kate Moss.

Of course, there is still work to be done so that every woman (or man) can walk into a store and find their size. But as a generalization, fashion is a much healthier place today than it was when I was coming of age.

Which leads me to Jordan Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist, who has garnered a huge cult following in the past decade as a sort of conservative philosopher with over 2.7 million Twitter followers and an audience who hangs on his every word.

He has never appealed to me personally, but I am aware of his work and frequent appearances on the Joe Rogan podcast. He also toured the country with my friend, host of The Rubin Report, Dave Rubin.

There are things I may be interested in hearing Peterson talk about, but the absolute last thing I am interested in hearing him talk about is a woman’s body or what he considers beautiful.

Which is why I was shocked that someone so intelligent would do something so completely stupid as to ‘fat shame’ the model on the cover of the newly released Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.

Two days ago, he tweeted a picture of the Sports Illustrated cover featuring Yumi Nu writing, ‘Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.’

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What one person finds aesthetically pleasing, attractive or a source of inspiration can repulse another.

There is no universal logic to beauty. Not even esteemed philosopher Jordan Peterson can claim to fully grasp the mysteries of attraction.

Yumi Nu’s body has nothing to do with authoritarianism. But as they say, when you’re a hammer, everything is a nail.

What has happened is that the American fashion and beauty industry has evolved.

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is produced to sell copies and I’m sure the editors are aware that red-blooded American men are attracted to lots of different types of women and shockingly, didn’t consult Peterson before picking their cover models.

The other cover models chosen — by the way — are Kim Kardashian, Ciara and Maye Musk.

All women everywhere deserve to feel represented in fashion and embraced for all different standards of beauty instead of the painfully outdated — white, tall and emaciated.

I grew up in the 1990s during the height of show like 'Ally McBeal.' A time when female stars looked like the cast of 'Friends' and the supermodel Kate Moss. (Above) Promotion image for the late 1990's comedy/drama television series 'Ally McBeal' starring Calista Flockhart (right) and Gil Bellows (left)

I grew up in the 1990s during the height of show like ‘Ally McBeal.’ A time when female stars looked like the cast of ‘Friends’ and the supermodel Kate Moss. (Above) Promotion image for the late 1990’s comedy/drama television series ‘Ally McBeal’ starring Calista Flockhart (right) and Gil Bellows (left)

As for Yumi Nu, before the controversy I had never heard of her, and she is now a household name. I am sure with a giant career ahead of her.

She gets the last laugh in all of this as millions of men and women across the country think her cover is beautiful and inspiring.

As for Jordan, grow up and get a life.

There’s not a single woman in America who cares at all what you think of how women look.

Why don’t you just stick to telling men that they should be making their beds every morning.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10837665/MEGHAN-MCCAIN-woman-fat-shamed-welcome-new-beauty-standards-dont-others.html