Did you ever notice that the overwhelming majority of female anchors and news personalities are never more than a size 6 with a certain look—i.e. hair, makeup, and even the style of clothes worn. I’m sick of it.
Why aren’t there more full-sized women in media?
I’d love to be able to see myself on television, not simply in terms of the raw numbers—but in terms of more realistic images of women in those leadership roles. We come in all shapes and sizes. Many, if not most, women struggle with our weight and spend inordinate amounts of time obsessing about how we look in this or that outfit. Why?
Partly because we are fed an unending dosage of portraits of what the ‘average’ woman must look like. I’m not average. I’m me. Most of my skirts and pants need some form of adjusting given the uniqueness of my figure. As a mother of 3, I need to keep a close eye on my mid-section, especially now that I’m officially a middle-ager. What if there were more women anchors in high-visibility roles that didn’t look as if they had it all together?
My suspicion is that we’d be freer to accept our flaws—perhaps even embrace them as simply parts of our anatomies. This clearly doesn’t begin or end with news anchors. These societal and cultural biases have deep roots, and women are often the biggest culprits of harsh scrutiny directed at each other. That said, these anchors could have a real impact on this dialogue if only the top media executives would see the benefits of hiring more of the truly ‘average’ woman in the media industry.
Authenticity sets us apart from each other and presents an opportunity for our individuality to shine. It removes all requirements of pretense and propels us to a place of honesty. In many ways, that authenticity starts with what we see in the mirror, and what we are willing to let others see once we step out in public.
One size absolutely does not fit all—literally or figuratively. We need to reject all notions that it does.