Recently, I received an e-mail from Lucy, who wanted to comment on the June survey results, which asked whether you thought that the media purposely ignore petite women. Here's what she said:
I was not surprised with the results of June's survey. My response most closely fitted with 'Yes, we don't matter because we lack the "presence."' I think that this is true of the fashion industry, but I am not so sure about the media. I think there are plenty of petite actresses and singers out there, but nobody knows (or cares) about their height and simply assumes they are average (or tall based on how slim they are. I find a lot of people today link slimness with being extremely tall). As for why I think the fashion industry ignores petite women on purpose... I think it is because they assume it is easy for petite women to find clothes. There are common assumptions that we can just buy everything in the children's section (despite owning breasts and hips), buy a pair of high-heels to wear every day, or that it is very easy to get things altered. Many people do not realise ordinary clothes cannot be made to fit a petite person with a few simple length adjustments. With tops you can get a 'bubble' on the back and have the waist too low on your body because they assumed your torso would be longer. When the top is made to fit a petite person it makes an enormous difference in how good or bad the top looks! I also think they believe a short person will not make others stop and think, 'Wow!' because they are below many people's eye levels, even though many people have had that reaction towards beautiful petite celebrities such as Salma Hayek (and I am sure the same would happen if they saw her in the mall or supermarket in a decent outfit). I believe that even if a person does not have the height, they can still be stunning and have an amazing presence. You don't have to be tall to walk down the street and have everyone looking your way.
Do you agree with Lucy? What do you think the fashion industry should do? I know that there are some of you who don't think we should have a petite celeb spokesperson, because that actress or singer should be valued for her talents, but if we don't have one, who is going to speak for us, other than us bloggers? We don't seem to be given the same footing as those who are plus sized (though I *DO* realize that there are plenty of you who are both plus and petite). Do you think we should be given the same kind of attention?
