Styleite.com
Very nice! Glad to see the unhinged-jaw chicken photo is gaining momentum. That’s one of my favorites.
The Daily Mail Did Their Homework!
Major thank you to The Daily Mail. Very well researched article.
“intent and context are relevant.”
nicolechatThu 08 Sep 2011 4:03 PM
“Ok, this might be a little unpopular. But I find myself feeling kind of concerned for the other women who have entered the contest, if Nancy wins. If the person who’s making a mockery of the contest wins the contest, what does that say about the women - some of whom are aspiring career models - who actually cared about the contest? I get it, it’s all a joke on AA, and they fucking deserve it, but the joke can turn around on this and be mean to the people she’s trying to speak for.
I’m not even saying that she’s doing something bad, either - the photos are brilliant and she’s so, so awesome for doing this. But even she is suggesting on her blog that people should vote for the girls who’re really trying to win, and I hope that people take her words to heart. It’s important to remember that she’s making fun of AA here, NOT the people who’ve chosen to participate in their game. Because AA are the asshats, not the competitors.”
Awesome debate and discussion over in the Jezebel forums. Excellent point, Nicolechat!
And the title was taken from a great comment by Grive @lapaginahueon.
http://jezebel.com/5838386/size-12-woman-savors-mocking-american-apparels-distasteful-plus+size-model-search
Getting to speak with Dodai Stewart today and do an interview with Jezebel.com was an absolutely dream come true. I’ve loved and respected these women for four years. Thank you so much!
Bloginity
Exactly. Exactly, exactly, exactly.
Leah Winkler
Very well spoken and thought provoking blog entry about the relationship to weight, fashion, food and advertising. Always was and always will be a Leah Winkler fan.
"In short, Nancy is the dirty porn-sauce American Apparel."
For the record, I cannot speak French, so I can’t read the article itself. However, the Google translation makes me really, really happy. Merci beaucoup, Madmoizelle!
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Laid in joy and gladness by Emilie. September 8, 2011“Nancy Upton denounces American Apparel Contest
In addition to her profile, she created a tumblr: ExtraWiggleRoom . Instead of asking so glamorous, Nancy slice of liquid chocolate in panties, takes a bath mayo, nibbling chicken drumsticks in the pool and thinks he’s a pig. In short, Nancy is the dirty porn-sauce American Apparel. She said the competition is just an excuse to hide the curves for girls in dressing.
In any case, his little Trojan seems to work, Nancy is already fourth in the table to vote .”
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Laid in joy and gladness by Nancy. September 8 2011.
Happy Thursday! I’m trying to include a cross-section of where real discussion is going on, whether people have a positive or negative outlook on the photos and the AA contest. Please email/tweet/post any original content I seem to be missing. I’d love to add any to the list, ESPECIALLY if they offer good counterpoints to my actions.
Lively and objective debates on the internet, FTW!
Also, you can still Vote here for one more day.
Or, instead of voting me up, send an email to the editor of your favorite fashion magazine/blog and request to see more of the talented models from the “contest!” Or, you know, do both. Really entirely up to you.
PS. Fashion Week starts tomorrow, right? Supposedly Dov Charney will be out and about in NYC. Just sayin’, if somebody wants to run into him and ask about the contest and mention me by name or photo and maybe capture it all on video I’d maybe possibly send them something cool in the mail or dosomethingcrazyIdunnojustathought. :)
HuffPo Totally Gets It!
I’m very happy (and grateful) to see an article that so well articulates the fact that my entrance into this “contest” is me voicing my disapproval of American Apparel policy and NOT in any way a statement about the life of the plus-sized woman or the women who have submitted photos.
I very much appreciate the votes I’ve received- I thank everyone who took time out of their lives to do so.
It seems like a good time to answer a question on peoples’ minds:
I most certainly would not model for American Apparel, because (pretty obviously) I don’t agree with their business practices. I also would not expect to be asked to do so, even if I receive a majority of the votes (something I never planned on).
That being said, someone will. While I disagree with the message American Apparel is sending in the way they handled this competition, other people do not. They feel very passionately that it is an EXCELLENT opportunity either for their careers, or for plus-sized women in general.
And I respect that opinion. If you feel the same way- either sharing those opinions, or supporting the people that have them, I encourage you to go vote for the women who are currently occupying the top voting slots, like Brittney W. of San Antonio or Tine S. from Belgium. Both are beautiful, talented, professional models who deserve a mainstream campaign, as are many MANY other women in the competition.
And I don’t just consider them to be beautiful, talented and professional for, you know, plus-sized women. I consider them to be beautiful, talented and professional PEOPLE. Size and beauty are not mutually exclusive.
Thank you again so much for all of your support and your extremely thought-provoking comments and emails. A lot of people have been asking why I did this, what I was trying to prove, if I meant to hurt other models by taking these photos, etc.
I’ll clarify two things:
1. I have nothing but the utmost respect for anyone who chooses to display their body to other people, be they plus-sized, petite or anywhere in between. I believe the women who entered the American Apparel “contest” are beautiful, brave people, and my attempt here to respond to the company’s course of action is JUST that- it is in no way a comment or critique of the women who have submitted photos.
2. I don’t believe that beauty should be qualified as BECAUSE of someone’s size or IN SPITE of someone’s size. Beauty is beauty, it’s fluid, it’s objective and it doesn’t need to be justified to or by anyone.
