I went out to the mall yesterday to purchase a shirt. I haven’t been to a mall in well over a year. Things looked the same and I was lost as usual. Many of the stores were for fashion and I kept looking at the mannequins. They seemed more muscular and toned. For the first time I noticed the legs of the females mannequins had muscles and definition; in my memory they were shapely only. They looked great but I had to wonder if the change was a reflection of what is actually out there or is it the magazine ideal. Part of why the mannequins stood out was because they were displayed in groups. I have seen groups of women but I can’t recall ever seeing all of them with the same body type. There are individuals who could more colourfully take the place of the mannequins but I have seen and met more women with a body type that differs. I’m not sure why we advertise to the majority using the minority.
Brett Batten
Author. Advocate. Educator
Brett Batten 
Yes, we’re supposed to look like mannequins….what’s silly is on some of them they’ve tied the clothes cause the clothes don’t fit the fake body….
My clothes often don’t fit my body either. Some months I need a tighter belt and other times I need more material. I think if you can make people believe they can be like someone else through purchase, it perpetuates sales. I will never be a model but I could spend a fortune trying to look like one. No one cares if I am successful, they’re just interested in my fortune.
Exactly. I’m actually “lucky” that I fit in majority of clothing off the rack or can pass it off (might be a little too big or a little too small) but there is a pressure to always maintain that look the same way there is pressure to attain that look. We should all be naked! 😛
I tried the naked thing in the Hole. The guards didn’t like it. I must have reminded them of their own humanity. I think they find comfort in a person being in orange, it’s easier to view a person as “them”.