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plus size model crystal renn trying to zip her dressDon't look now, but Glamour's at it again, "championing" the plus-size model. And, in theory, we're all for it, but this photo on page 147 of the February issue made us do more than a double-take. Hear us out.

In the issue, plus-size model du jour Crystal Renn, shown in the image at left, stars in a multi-page fashion spread, modeling sheer, lacy clothing and lingerie in neutrals and pastels.

The shoot itself is beautiful. The problem? The fact that, if you look closely, Renn may simply be zipping or unzipping her dress, but judging by the lack of droopy fabric on either side of the zipper, the image seems to suggest that said dress is too small to fit her -- that, in fact, she's a size 12 straining to fit into a size four.

And, all in all, the photo sends a majorly mixed message.

The first contradiction is this: The model really isn't all that large. In fact, none of the "plus-size" models Glamour has been promoting recently seem any different from, well, normal women. Doesn't it strike you as slightly insulting that the average American woman is being represented by "plus-size models," while real-life plus-size women aren't being represented at all?

The whole plus-size hullaballoo started back in September 2009, when Glamour ran a small, nearly nude photograph of a plus-size model seated sideways, wearing a thong. Mere hours after the magazine hit newsstands, Glamour.com received thousands of comments on the photo -- and upwards of one million page views.

Newsflash: Woman in women's mag actually looks like one of us! The response was so rabid, "the woman on page 194" appeared on CNN, "Access Hollywood" and the "Today" show to discuss the photograph. It also spurred a November Glamour feature on plus-size models, promising "a continued commitment to showing a wide range of body types ... [and] enthusiastic support for any designer who manufactures chic clothes we can photograph on full-bodied models."

Apparently the designers aren't quite on board yet.

Now we have what will soon be known as "the photo on page 147," which sure makes it look like Crystal Renn would have to slim down to fit into the clothes she's been asked to model. And it begs the question: Why put "plus-size" models in your pages, then portray them in a way that suggests their clothes don't -- or won't -- fit?

Even more interesting are the clothing sizes in question at all.

Plus-size models clock in, on average, as an eight or 10. The average American woman is a size 14. So, by Glamour's standards, most of us wouldn't even be able to get the zipper up that far. And we're still a long way from seeing images in a magazine that celebrate a wide variety of female bodies -- tall and skinny, small and voluptuous, whatever the curves may be -- represented fairly.

Back in that September issue, Glamour did concede that "plus-size models aren't all that 'plus.'" What they meant by plus size, the magazine said, was "plus size" in the modeling industry, where norms can range from zero to four, and any model over that size is quickly and unceremoniously put on a diet.

Of course, part of the problem is the consistently small sample sizes that designers send to photo shoots, but why does that practice have to persist? Is a Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein marketing exclusively to models and Kate Moss? Last we checked, everyone from the Gap to Saks Fifth Avenue sold a diverse range of sizes.

But that quirky fact may go a long way in explaining why plus-size models are nearly always depicted naked in the pages of fashion magazines: Anyone over a size four literally doesn't fit into Glamour's "new definition of gorgeous."

Is the magazine to be congratulated? In our opinion, not yet. Are the editors' hearts in the right place? Of course. But until the acceptable norms surrounding women's bodies are let out yet again, we're here to give Ms. Renn a little help with that zipper.

Our friend Lauren at College Candy, a plus-size girl herself, is torn about the whole trend: "If their goal, as they state, is to change the way we view beauty and really represent the real women living and shopping in this country, they're going about it all wrong." Click here to read her thoughts.

Liz FunkLiz Funk is a freelance writer, author, and speaker who focuses on young women's wellness. Her first book, "Supergirls Speak Out: Inside the Secret Crisis of Overachieving Girls" was published last year by Simon and Schuster.







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