Fashion can be a truly divisive subject, even among those of us who aren’t all that much into style (or like to wear sandals with white socks, yuck). Whenever you bring up the words ‘weight,’ ‘beauty,’ and ‘health,’ it suddenly becomes apparent that nearly everyone in the whole wide world has an opinion on esthetics.
When Calvin Klein featured plus-sized indie rapper Chika wearing the fashion brand’s underwear on a massive billboard in Soho, the company sparked a fierce and fiery discussion online.
Some lauded the company for being inclusive and for breaking ‘harmful’ beauty standards. Others criticized Calvin Klein for promoting an unhealthy lifestyle because of the health concerns associated with obesity. While a third group of people expressed the opinion that Calvin Klein was only pretending to accept ‘progressive’ values in order to shore up its finances. Read on for Bored Panda's interview and be sure to express your opinion on the topic in the comments, dear Pandas. Just remember to keep the discussion civilized and well-mannered because it’s such a sensitive and delicate subject.
Rapper Chika promoted Calvin Klein's underwear, however...
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...she and the fashion brand came under fire for promoting 'unhealthy living'
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Some Twitter users thought the advertisement was doing more harm than good
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The rapper hit back at her critics
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Rapper Chika hit back at one of her critics, Dominique Samuels, who called Calvin Klein out for promoting ‘unhealthy living.’ According to Chika, Dominique was simply ‘mad’ and jealous that she didn’t get on the billboard. The rapper went on to explain how she is a real role model and a loving person, and shouldn’t be judged based on her weight.
Bored Panda talked to Dominique Samuels to discuss what happened on Twitter between her and Chika. “I think Chika’s “comeback” to my tweet purposely ignored the point I was making. The things we see on billboards and promoted in fashion are the things that will impact and influence our future generations. If she’s confident enough to be put on a billboard, she’s confident enough to take some legitimate criticism. I knew when I made the post that I would get abuse, but the amount of people who have been threatening me, abusing me for simply having an opinion is very telling.”
“I definitely think the way we view the female body at least has changed in a positive way. The average size of a woman is around 14-16 in the UK, and I encourage that to be shown in fashion, because it isn’t a life-threatening size to be, and is relatively normal. I myself am a size 12,” Dominique revealed.
“The problem I’m having is the new trend of promoting the obese and trying to normalize it when obesity is becoming a global, growing problem. It’s not only irresponsible but dangerous. Tess Holiday is another example of this, as are the obese women being put on Fashion Nova. It isn’t representing women or even empowering women, it’s encouraging bad health,” Dominique shared her opinion on the matter.
“I’m no health expert or fitness freak, but I do try and watch what I eat and exercise when I can when I notice I’m putting on weight, that I feel more uncomfortable in my clothes or that I’m getting out of breath more frequently,” she said. “I’d say everything in moderation. Too much of anything (including food!) is a bad thing.”
We completely agree that nobody should be the subject of abuse because of how they look. However, those Twitter users, who exclaim that weight has ‘nothing’ to do with health problems, should really do a little bit more studying. According to the Centers for Disease Control, being overweight or obese leads to huge health risks. Obesity can lead to high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, can also lead to Type 2 diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, breathing problems, and some cancers.
The CDC also adds that obesity is linked to low quality of life and mental illness “such as clinical depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.” Can you have a good life if you’re overweight? Of course. But the quality of life increases when you do move and exercise a lot, eat and sleep well, have an active social life.
However, that’s no reason to verbally attack people for their size: be supportive, not hateful.
People had very different opinions about the advertisement, health, and beauty
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This was far from the first time that Chika had to defend herself from critics
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