Body Drama, Huge Leap toward Body Acceptance

Nancy Amanda Redd, former Miss Virginia 2003, has published a warts-and-all manual aimed at teen and preteen girls, addressing many of the body image issues that confront girls of any age (probably including some of us teens in our 50s!) and providing frankly honest discussions on accepting our selves. Here's a wonderful video that explains much more.

Sizing Up the Situation - Part 3

Day three of the investigative process on plus size confusion. The more steps I take, spiraling out into the industry, the more confused i get. BUT I am finding some -very- interesting information about how sizes are set, what standards exist, and just who's driving that bus.

The questions I'm trying to answer:
What size are you? And how do you KNOW you're that size?

The hunt has taken me to ASTM International, the keeper of and setter of all things standard, and reveals a listing for ASTM Standard D6960-04 "Standard Table of Body Measurements Relating to Women's Plus Size Figure Type, Sizes 14W-32W," ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA. www.astm.org. I teeter on the edge of the Holy Grail, finger hovering over the Buy button, and then stop. Would I, a mere mortal and neophyte of fashionista knowledge, have anything resembling a CLUE of what I was reading, if I did order it?

Further prodding of other buttons reveals a stern license agreement that makes me believe that, even if I did manage to get my hands on a copy of this standard, I couldn't tell anyone about it anyway, much less mention what's inside. I put away my checkbook, and trudge onward into the barely lit darkness.