Many people in our country are focused on health, weight, and overall physical image. I think we would all agree that this can be a good thing or a bad thing. I firmly believe that myself and my fellow Americans need to pay more attention to how we treat our bodies and what we put into them. We generally don't take care of ourselves the way we should and we often sell ourselves short when it comes to what we're physically capable of.
On the other hand, many of us are far too obsessed with what that means in terms of clothing size or how gross/weird/strange our [insert obsession here] looks in a dressing room. We are all supposed to be different in shape, size, and proportion. What we need to be focused on is our health. You might be "fluffier" than you'd like to be, but I think the important measures are whether you are healthy, strong, and can physically sustain (or excel at) both what you need to do and what you like to do.
Much of my time spent studying mass media in college involved the unrealistic physical expectations of women, and unfortunately that is the reality of our situation. However, I thought I knew who to expect this from: fashion magazines, celebrity "news" shows, the usual suspects. Who I did not expect to glorify this image are the "normal people" retailers gearing up for the holiday season. I've even surprised myself with how worked up I've gotten over this kohl's commercial:
A quick scan of Kohl's facebook page tells me that I'm not the only one who's upset. In my opinion, the kudos goes to companies like Marshalls that pull off a commercial (complete with runway theme) that happens to include real women with real body parts:
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