There was a period 2-3 years ago, when I was more involved in online body positivity discussions, where Allie Weber was the face of a “big girl who actually models for real brands.”
She was a proud plus size woman, at least a size 18+, yet was chosen to model for brands like Savage X Fenty, SKIMS, and Target. Of course, she resembled what a mainstream plus size model should look like: bigger in the hips, more slender up top, a natural curvy hourglass shape, but her size alone was making women like myself stand up and think wow, barriers are now being swept away.
Then, we enter “The Ozempic Era.”
I was surprised, though perhaps these days, I shouldn’t be, to recently stumble on Allie’s Instagram. Instead of seeing the beautiful round, plump face and alluring eyes I’d grown accustomed to with her, her face looks now quite literally gaunt, and it is clear to me she’s lost at least 50lbs since her introduction to the scene.
Do Models Lose Power and Femininity When They Lose Weight?
I am biased, but I also feel when models lose some of their size, they look less striking in the frame of photos. They occupy less space. They seem less powerful. More, dare I say it, submissive, leaning into familiar tropes of women and modeling throughout history.
But this what the Ozempic Era is doing. It seems to be stripping women not only of their beautiful curves and assets (Allie barely had a belly or waist at her heaviest anyway), but also of their femininity. Her shoulders look bony, her face equally so. She still has her exceptional hourglass figure, but it has been reduced to what people consider a more “manageable” and “appealing” form.
As I constantly reiterate, let women do what they want with their bodies. But as an advocate for plus size women, this disappointed me a lot.
I just keep feeling a lot of bigger women are being let down day by day.