Victoria’s Secret Angel Could Be Fired Over Her “Too-Thin” Frame

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Sarah Arboleda

Candice Swanepoel, the South African Angel — featured on the left from a runway a while back and on the right (sandwiched between Adriana Lima and Alessandra Ambrosio) from a current Victoria’s Secret swimwear launch – caused concern this past week because of her much-thinner physique. Perhaps more importantly for Swanepoel, this dramatic change could result in the loss of her Angel wings. According to a Victoria’s Secret “insider”:

Like all Angels, Swanepoel, 22, is expected to be “healthy and muscular. There is a really clear criteria for both Angels and the catalogue. Their career path is Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue then to Angel, it’s the highest paying contract there is, period. The image is about being voluptuous, it’s not fat, but it’s curvy. But if you start to look skinny and ‘editorial print-like’ like fashion mag models, like undernourished, it gives the image the company does not want. Their shopper is older, their target is the Macy’s shopper. These are …

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Little Horse, Big Repercussions?

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Katie Loud

A miniature horse from New Hampshire is becoming a huge media sensation … and raising issues about both judging on size and ostracizing differences along the way. The horse, named Einstein and the foal of two champion miniature horses Painted Feather and Finesse, is small even for a “mini.”

From WMUR:

He’s currently 15 inches tall and weighs just 20 pounds. Even those who have experience with miniature horses said he’s something special.

“He is definitely my smallest mini foal, and we do see minis and we do see mini foals, but he’s definitely the smallest,” said Dr. Jacqueline Bartol of the New England Equine Medical and Surgical Center. “Still is. He’s growing, but he’s not very big yet.”

Einstein’s co-owners Charlie Cantrell and Rachel Wagner seem taken with the little guy … but a cynical part of me wonders if the paycheck and notoriety of having a so-called freak of nature in their possession means even more. They certainly talk the talk:

“We thought Einstein was special when we first saw him,” Cantrell said. “We fell in love with him. He was so small and so delicate, and we really felt he needed a couple people to take care of him. To give him everything, he needed to give him a good jump start.”

On the heels of that, though, WMUR points out:

His size has turned him into a celebrity of sorts in the horse world. He has been on TV shows like “Good Morning America,” English newspapers searched for their own Einstein, and his owners have fielded media requests from across the world.

Yeah, I bet they have. That’s about when this started to go sour for me, but here’s the real kicker:

The owners have now petitioned the Guinness Book of World Records to have Einstein bump Thumbelina as the current title holder of smallest horse.

“We did make an application to put in for Einstein because Einstein is 15 inches. Thumbelina is 17. He’s 20 pounds. She’s like 57 pounds,” Cantrell said.

Sucks to be Thumbelina, I guess. Uh, wish I could say I didn’t see that one coming, but I can’t. When you’re contacting the Guinness Book of World Records about the size of your horse and how it’s smaller than the one they currently have listed, you’re making a media play. The sad thing is, it’s working. There are articles about Einstein everywhere from The Huffington Post to Mail Online out of the U.K. to Fox News.

Many people show their miniature horses, but that probably won’t be the case with Einstein. His owners said that more likely, he’ll just be kept as a pet. When fully grown, Einstein will be the size of a regular baby horse.

You don’t see media reports on the smallest human midget. There are no international outcries when a model starves herself to death to the point where her corpse is “the average weight of a seven-year-old child”. The same holds true for those of larger sizes—the only place you see reports on exceptionally large human babies is supermarket tabloids, and models considered plus-size actually weigh less than the average for American woman.

All right, I know I might be turning a cute little (pun wasn’t intended when I wrote it, but I’m leaving it there because it made me smile) horse story into something bigger … but is it?

Lifestyles Condoms Go Crazy With Their Selections: This is Big!

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Katie Loud

LifeStyles has just announced the release of its new KYNG condom for, uh, bigger deals. Or something.

Inflatable Bounce House

According to press release distribution site PRNewswire, the company that brought us THYN and SKYN is now moving on to larger things:

The new KYNG™ condom is designed for the man who needs a fit larger than the standard condom size. KYNG is extra long and extra wide, featuring the brand’s most popular flared shape, and allowing for a more personalized fit. Lubricated for maximum pleasure with a reservoir tip providing extra safety and comfort, KYNG highlights the features and benefits that are most important to consumers. The dynamic gold and black packaging features a subtle crown design, with a contemporary look that will stand out among the competition.

Wow, I can remember when Trojan Magnums were it if you were dealing with something larger than the average bear!

On 2008’s SKYN:

The makers of LifeStyles® Condoms (“LifeStyles”) changed the condom aisle for good in 2008 with the release of SKYN™, the first-of-its-kind, non-latex, polyisoprene condom. “The closest thing to wearing nothing,” SKYN has received rave reviews since its first day on shelves.

And THYN, also brand new along with KYNG:

While KYNG focuses on size, THYN™ is a breakthrough in sensitivity, boasting a condom “so THYN you’ll forget you’re wearing it.” 21% thinner than LifeStyles’ standard latex condoms, the release of THYN also launches a packaging transformation for the LifeStyles brand, featuring a state-of-the-art transparent plastic box that reflects the nature of the product inside.

Condoms have certainly come up in the world since the days when they were one-size-fits-all (and allegedly occasionally “ribbed for her pleasure”, which in my humble opinion didn’t make a bit of difference). Companies like LifeStyles, Durex, Trojan, and Playsafe are clearly making an effort to address the needs of the many, whether it’s a sensitivity concern, a possible latex allergy, or … well, size.

I dated a very well-endowed young man at one point. After we parted ways, I had a few Magnums left in my bathroom cabinet (they sat dormant next to the “classic” Trojan-ENZ for quite awhile). Some time later, I was entertaining another gentleman and the need for a prophylactic reared its head.

I grabbed a couple of rubbers, not even paying attention to the different-colored wrappers. The man in question, a very analytical person — and a virgin, if you can believe it — became very inquisitive about the difference between the white and green wrapper and the yellow one (I can’t believe I remember the colors). I hesitantly tried to explain, and it got very awkward as we proceeded to have a conversation about what constituted the need for a Magnum versus the regular … Is there a particular measurement requirement? Should guys even measure? What happens if you use a Magnum when you should be using the regular (and, I suppose, vice versa)?

Well, according to PRNewswire:

Fresh on the heels of recent studies showing that condom users are more likely to report breakage, slippage, and a decrease in pleasure due to improper fit, LifeStyles is increasing size options with the KYNG condom, expanding the LifeStyles size-range from Snugger Fit™ to KYNG™.

As a woman, I’m all for a reduction in breaks and slipping (not to mention that decrease in pleasure mentioned above). I just wonder if this is opening a can of worms that might be better left closed …

I mean, realistically, what man is going to choose a Snugger Fit™ over a KYNG™ … and what woman is going to want to be in the position of saying, “Dude, you’re really sweet, but you’re more a Beyond Seven than a Magnum?”

V Magazine Upgrades Models For an Issue

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Dharma

This is awesome. Next week we will be blessed with a “size issue” of V Magazine, to be released Jan. 14. The photos posted for the preview on Models.com are pretty phenomenal.

And I am ashamed to admit that when I first saw these pictures, I wondered whether these women are within or over the recommended body-mass index range for women. Apparently, against my will, the constant barrage of stick-thin models in the world have sunk their claws into my brain and skewed my perception of what’s healthy. These women are built like me, and I am healthy, but seeing them in print my knee-jerk reaction to them is probably exactly what the fashion industry/media fears: mild shock at their size.

But after my momentarily lapse, I saw the beauty. For me, this really made the classic argument about media affecting women’s body images hit home. Here I am, a feminist woman aware of the influence the media has on us, and yet still involuntarily susceptible. But the awesome thing is our ability to adjust our perceptions. Give us a string of photos of normal weight women, and we have a whole new reference point. This is one trend in the media that I hope continues.

However, these women are exceptionally beautiful and fairly flawless. They appear to have perfect skin tone with zero cellulite. There are still plenty of ways in which readers may find they don’t measure up compared to the models. So the question is: where do we draw the line of seeking realistic models? Is this taking it far enough, or should the photos be un-retouched and include a wider array of body shapes, or ages, or wrinkles?