Not a String Bean
Pear Shape?
Apple Shape?
Sweet,
Delicious
Woman shape!
from More to Love, © Elizabeth Patch, all rights reserved
I discovered apple-shaped & pear-shaped bodies in a teen magazine when I was about eleven years old.
At the time, I hadn’t really thought much about my future body and what shape I might become.
Like most girls, I was very curious about growing up,
so I read the article with deep interest.
The magazine offered helpful tips for choosing the right clothes for your shape.
However, I was a bit confused as I read.
The glamorous older girls who modeled the clothes
didn’t look like pears or apples at all!
But what really bothered me about this new information
was that both shapes seemed to have
terrible problems I had never considered before:
Pears had big thighs to cover up!
Apples had a round belly to hide!
Suddenly, I began to worry about the shape of my body.
Could I be please, please, PLEASE be lucky enough to become Barbie-shaped?
Or was I doomed to be a dreaded Apple or Pear?
And what if I didn’t have the right clothes to disguise my “problem areas”?
Growing up didn’t seem like it was going to be as much fun as I had hoped…
We are truly grown up when we understand
that the round bellies of “Apples” and the full thighs of “Pears”
are not problems at all, and there is nothing to disguise.
In all of our wonderful variety, we are shaped like women!
Now, I must admit, this illustration of Ms. Apple and Ms. Pear may be a bit silly for such serious topics
as negative body image, self-esteem and eating disorders,
but my goal as an artist is quite simple:
Maybe I can help heal with a smile.
So here they are, women actually celebrating their shapes,
in the most outrageous, happy Carnival like fashion I could think of.
(PS: Hats off to Carmen Miranda and her fabulous fruity outfits!)
some serious thoughts about body size and shape:
What have we done as a culture when girls as young as 5 or 6 years old begin to worry about the size and shape of their bodies?
A recent study by researcher Abigail Natenshon found that as early as first grade,
children are reporting concerns about their weight and body shape.
A U.S. Dept of Health and Human services task force reports that 80% of girls in grades 3-6 have bad feelings about their bodies, an issue diverting attention from schoolwork and friendships. 80%!
read the full article here
PS: Have some fun designing clothes for Ms. Apple & Ms. Pear!
I am giving away printable plus-size croquis, along with a guide to basic clothing shapes to help you sketch.
Speaking of the influence of fashion magazines:
Glamour has made a commitment to featuring a wider range of models, based on reader feedback. So maybe, just maybe, all our small voices are making a change in this thin-centric culture!
You're so right about what we're doing, but note the WE. Until WE stop it will continue. Maybe if WE started doing a little like you, such as click away from movies, sitcoms when a young child is present and demand real people as actors it will happen. I mean look at other cultures and their movies, they have real people and good movies and TV sitcoms. Dear me, I got off on my soapbox, huh. Good article!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Elizabeth Patch, Abigail Nussey. Abigail Nussey said: RT @elizabethpatch: She's No String Bean: Pear Shape?Apple Shape? Sweet, Delicious Woman shape! fun illustrated blog post http://ow.ly/2jK6c [...]
Love your article here. I can’t imagine the pressure on little girls these days. It was bad enough when I was a teen 15 years ago!
I love your piece too. I still look like a string bean. Stopping from SITS!
Great article!
I agree with Judy, it’s WE, women, consumers who are supporting this!
If consumers don’t buy or subscribe there would be no business.
But change would mean strong individual who are not so easily fooled by media!
Greetings from Casablanca and SITS!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by pmduo, Dorlee M. Dorlee M said: Apple or Pear? Sweet..Woman Shape! @elizabethpatch http://bit.ly/altcsf we r influenced by a lifetime of TV, movies…#bodyimage [...]
I have had an eating disorder ever since I started developing hips and could no longer wear boys’ size 9 jeans. That happened when I was 12. I’m now 45. I’ve always struggled with my weight–and my weight has always won.
I know you can’t go back in time (wouldn’t we all love that!) but wouldn’t your teens years have been so much happier if you could replace all those moments you hated your hips with a proud feeling of having womanly curves?…hopefully your “struggle” can turn from a battle with weight into a relationship with your body that focuses on being healthy, happy (and attractive!) regardless what size jeans you wear.
Eating disorders can be healed, so that eating becomes one of the pleasures of life, instead of a “problem”.
Here is a resource if you need it http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/