Vanity and the Facts

In the age of heroic chic and strung out beauty (early 90's) size 0 was introduced into the retail fashion market. The sizes told a story of a shrinking mass majority. The decreasing sizes flattered the market and woman shopped happily in the belief that they were actually shrinking and fitting into the coveted teeny tiny sizes of whimsical ideals. 

When Size 0 entered the market it was seen as ridiculous. Now Double and Triple 0's stock warehouses. Sizes are getting smaller. And on the contraire, we as a society are not getting any thinner. Vanity sizing is the act of cutting roomier petite sizes  to trick the general public into feeling giddy about how tiny a size they are. 

In 1937 a woman with a 32" inch bust would have worn a size 14, in 1967 that same woman would have worn a size 8, and today she would wear a size 0.  Marilyn Monroe, Today is praised for her plus sized beauty, the starlet wore a size 12-16. However, Marilyn's waist was only 25,"  today she would easily fit a size 2.

Vanity sizing fools us, it is an optical illusion. The question though is:

Do we want to be fooled, into believing we are something that we are not?

Pant sizes are based on inches. I wear a size 25 jean. When I take a measuring tap to the waist of my jeans the inch sizing does not match up. My jeans have a waist of 29" a 4 inch size difference. Now I understand that my jeans are fashioned to be worn low, but all other measurements aside; inches are not suggestions they are units of measurement. 

For many woman who don't keep a scale in the house or take measurements the tags on clothing is how we keep track of our waist. Vanity sizing is a dangerous illusion that can easily trick the mind into believing falsified facts. 

We as a society are not thinner, and we are not healthier in 2009 it was estimated that 1/4 of all North American woman are over weight. Vanity sizes nicely conceal the flaws in our physique with a discrete complement. As a society we are in denial, it is hard to place blame on retailers, who in truth are just meeting customer demands.  Vanity sizing works, because it woos us into believing fantasized facts. 

The numbers on the tags of our clothing define us, and impact our ego. We are glamorous and beautiful in sizes 4's, 2's,and 0's. Sizes may lie, and hold no truth, however a measuring tap does. Fitness guru Tracy Anderson advises clients to take weekly measurements of their body to help track progress. Witnessing your body transform and shrink through measurements is a motivating and honest achievement. Style advisers are now insisting to clients to rip out the size tags, wear what fits and flatters and to only believe actual measurements.  

Fitness Prodigy- CJ Senter

The masking of a childhood prodigy is pretty easy to spot. The child genius excels in area of concentration weather it be music; like Wesley chew, art; like Marla Omstead, theater like Dakota Fanning, or whats his face that super brainy science guy. 

A child Prodigy, is some force from another universe They typically don't make sense, nor fit in confines of our limited understanding, they speak of knowledge gained from sheer osmosis or... I don't know. Child Prodigies are born adults with super active minds; they do, they speak, they focus like a high function aspergers would, only with a greater understanding of social norms and niceties. 

When we think of child prodigies, a fitness guru would not likely come to mind. However ten year old  CJ Senter; is just that, he has been taking the fitness world by storm. CJ, caught his fitness inspiration at  age 5, when he was playing for a Pee-wee football league. His Coach recommended that the kids, "Go out and get some exercise."

CJ, saw an ad for P90x, and begged his family to let him make a workout video of his own; marketed toward children. The National Center for Health Statistics  reports that nearly 1/3 of all American children and adolescents are overweight, or obese. Childhood obesity puts children at risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, lymphatic infections and a wide variety of other ailments. CJ, is a kid, who just wants to have fun and play with other kids. He could very well be the right role model for preventing childhood obesity as he is relatable to the demographic. 

There is criticism towards CJ, and his program. Because of the growth patterns and unfused bones children under the age of 15 are not supposed to lift weights, or overdo it. The spinal alignment of a child is more susceptible to impact than an adults. CJ, says that he does not lift weights. Instead he focuses on using his own body mass, and incorporates stretching into each workout. 

CJ currently teaches a work out class, and his DVD is high demand. He hopes to be able to inspire other children to take care of their body and shoot for their dreams.