What is it with womens' clothing sizes? I watched "The Devil Wears Prada" last night, an enjoyable film that pokes fun at the fashion industry. Despite the obvious satire, I was still appalled at the main character being ridiculed for her "large" dress size. The "offending" size was 6. As far as I can tell, the Australian equivalent to a 6 is a 10 or perhaps an 8. The average size of a model in Australia is size 8-10. They are often 5' 8" to 6' however there is no way on God's Green Earth that a size 10 or a size 8 is "big". Not even a little bit. Unless perhaps you are three foot nothing.
Later on in the film the main character is applauded for her "weight" loss to a size 4. She was small at the beginning of the film. The man who applauded her weight loss was not slim, nor did he have any hair of note. Again, the film uncovers rather than celebrates this obvious double standard, but it does make me wonder when things are going to change.
This begs the question: Why is it that women are applauded for getting smaller? The sizes in the US are insane. In Australia, sizes 0 and 00 are the sizes you buy for your newborn baby. In the US, these are the sizes that women must aspire to for their adult lives. It makes no sense. Are we to be the incredible shrinking women? Will we get approval only when we resemble little girls? Or is the size 0 more sinister, indicating that women will get the ultimate approval when they disappear altogether?
