Because I am so sick of those Gok Wan programmes

It only recently occurred to me that the media’s representation of the female form may be a little sizest. I haven’t been living under a rock for my whole life. This is just the start of the controversy.

We don’t all conform to the ideal size seen in magazines and on television. The curvy actresses and voluptuous footballers’ wives the media saturates us with present an image unachievable to many women. But unfortunately, I’m not talking about those who find themselves on the heavier side of the enviable figure.

Women who consider themselves overweight have endless resources designed specifically to help them lose those excess pounds. Celebrity endorsed diet plans and advice columns, television programmes that teach you to dress yourself thinner or extreme cosmetic surgery makeovers. All geared towards slimming you down to the socially acceptable average.

But what if you’re not over weight? What if you look at those glamorous footballers’ wives and long for a curvy body like theirs? Instead you look in the mirror at your non-existent curves and wonder why no one ever assumes you’d rather not have to. It might not be a problem of epic proportions, but there are some women out there who have just as much trouble gaining weight as others do losing it.

Often labelled as anorexic or frowned upon for their slender limbs, skinny women aren’t allowed to complain about their body shape. But long gone are the days when Twiggy was lusted after by men and women alike. Skinny is no longer fashionable and an alarming number of young women are going to great lengths to achieve a more rounded figure.

I am one of these ‘lucky’ skinny women. I can eat as much pizza and cake as I like and not put on a single pound. How easy my life must be, I hear you all say. However, the reality is much less perfect. Protruding collar and hip bones certainly aren’t sexy and the ability to fit through railings is a party trick best kept quiet. Many of my clothes have had to be altered accordingly. Despite the occasional identity crisis caused by the pages of glossy magazines, I’ve learned to live with my shape. I’m never going to have a curvy, womanly figure and this is something I’ve had to learn to accept, however grudgingly. I find myself reasoning, if Keira Knightley can work with it, so can I.

On Thursday 31st August, 2006, iconic supermodel Kate Moss appeared on page 3 of British gutter press, The Sun. The launch pad for every cheap glamour model since the late seventies, page 3 has become synonymous with the vulgar busty blonde topless shot, ogled by workmen in white vans across the nation. Kate’s appearance here, however out of place, was a landmark. Small breasted and slender, Kate’s poise and natural beauty proved that being a curves in all the right places shape was not the be all and end all of what it takes to be happy and sexy.