Fat or Curvy? - The Dove Campaign

When does a curvy woman become a fat woman?

I grew up in Peru, thinking that real women have curves. Real women have breasts and hips, and round bottoms. And if you do not have them, you do anything from exercises to plastic surgery to have some curves. This is specially true in Brasil where every year hundreds of women decide to go for the Brasilian' butt treatment.

In Latin America curves are not fat. It's not natural to have models who resemble hangers just to please untalented designers who seem to forget that hangers don't buy clothes, but women do. And I say untalented because I believe it is easier to design for shapeless sticks than for real curvy women. Women would like to see how clothes would look on real women and not just hanging onto breastbones.
Before this week I had never heard of Tyra Banks but it caught my attention that in this week's cover story of PEOPLE magazine she was defending herself against her critics about her recent-weight gain. Weight that has been seen by some as disgusting for a former model. Tyra was the first African-american model on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At the time she thought that she was looking bigger but when the pictures came out she liked them and felt insane at thinking that she had too much boobs or butt. So what is the limit? When do we stop being curvy and become fat?. New photos of Tyra show her new figure in a one-piece bathing suit in Sydney. The headlines are abusive. But is she really fat now? At 161 lbs. today, Banks is 30 lbs. heavier than when she was modelling, but she says it's important to her to tell girls that this photo "is not ugly." She is not a model anymore, she is a real woman with a real body. Is that bad?
Another screen star who is risking her career by refusing to lose weight is Liv Tyler. The 26-year-old has been told by movie bosses that she risks missing out on top film roles unless she reduces the size of her shapely figure. Liv at 5ft 10ins and 9st - insists that she is happy with her weight and doesn't want to diet.
Also, going against Holywood trends Salma Hayek gained weight for one of her latest movies. Unlike 99% of all actresses, Hayek gained weight for her nude scenes. She thought the character, a1930s Mexican lady, should be curvy. For this, she put on weight and she says that she has not been able to lose all of it. But she says that it is okay, she likes her new shape and she is happy with it. So, maybe this "stars" on their own way are paving the way to a new body image, where natural curves are again accepted and seen as beautiful. I hope so!!