Designer Ralph Lauren is making model-related headlines again . The last time this happened , it was when the iconic American brand digitally altered model Filippa Hamilton into a biologically impossible state , rendering her waist and pelvis in miniature and leaving the rest of her body normal-sized . Astute critics noticed and spoke up . It did n't help matters when Hamilton herself stated that she was allegedly fired by the brand for being `` too fat '' by fashion world metrics . More recently , however , the Ralph Lauren brand has made attempts to improve its image and hired Australian plus-size model Robyn Lawley , who stands 6-foot-2 and wears a size 12 , for a print campaign . After the public relations nightmare with Hamilton , many have heralded this choice as a positive sign of improvement in a fashion industry that overwhelmingly hires and promotes models who are far thinner than the average American woman . We asked , you answered : Are we really ready to take a look at 'real women ' ? As is often the case when any plus-size model makes news , many are eager to hold this up as a victory for `` real women , '' that anonymous majority who so rarely get to see themselves portrayed in fashion images . But do n't get too enthusiastic with the back-patting just yet . This is not a revolutionary moment , any more than it has been any other time a mainstream designer has plucked a nonwaifish model from the depths of the plus-size-modeling dungeon and made her , however briefly , a public curiosity . Fashion is famously fickle , and if Ralph Lauren has chosen to showcase this particular model at this particular moment , it may have nothing to do with making some grand political statement or a significant change of heart and everything to do with generating buzz . Of course , I ca n't know the brand 's intentions for certain . But in the larger context , even widespread use of plus-size models does n't signal the evolution of a movement away from the impossible feminine physical ideal ; it 's just taking that ideal and making it a tiny bit bigger . It is the business of both fashion and its models to represent fantasy , and even plus-size versions are regularly digitally altered . Like their smaller peers , these models also have their skin smoothed , their waists and thighs whittled and their many human imperfections , from cellulite to flyaways , fully erased long before their image ever hits the side of a bus or the page of a magazine . Even plus-size models are still perfectly proportional and almost impossibly beautiful . They still present an aspirational standard that is unattainable if only because the resulting image does n't resemble the real-life model . 'Fatshion ' bloggers find beauty in all sizes . So Lawley is slightly more accessible than Hamilton . This is like observing that it would be easier for us to flap our arms and fly to the moon than it would be to fly to Mars ; the moon might be closer , but we 're still not going to get there . And neither are the vast majority of American women . There 's nothing wrong with fantasy . Fantasy is fun , and the fashion industry does it as well as Hollywood . Why ca n't we relate to fashion images for what they are -- imaginary worlds with beautiful people who do n't really exist ? Why insist that they represent reality in some way ? Why are we so in love with the idea of seeing `` real women , '' whatever that represents ? We 've all seen what happens when actual `` real '' bodies make news . The most recent whipping girl for the crime of failing to be perfect is Lady Gaga , whose recent photos from a concert in Paris have had practically everyone on the planet hypothesizing how she could allow herself to suffer such a horrible fate as to put on a few pounds . Critics and fans have suggested everything from drug abuse to pregnancy . Gaga , for her part , simply credits eating a lot of tasty food at her father 's restaurant . 'Half ' : One woman 's struggle with weight loss . Lady Gaga has unashamedly shown off her body onstage in spite of her changing weight , refusing to apologize , and the response has ranged from shock , to disgust , to `` concern , '' to schadenfreude-driven laughter . Gaga has since responded by launching a new section on her website entitled `` Body Revolution , '' kicking things off by sharing pictures of her own body ( and acknowledging the eating disorders that have shaped her ) while soliciting fans to share their own insecurities . It is telling that the initial public response was not to applaud Gaga for being `` real , '' but to shame her for being imperfect . We do n't like to be reminded of how much effort it sometimes takes to meet the ideal , even for those whose profession hinges on maintaining a certain appearance . We like to think it 's easy and natural ; we like to think anyone who fails at it just did n't try hard enough . But real bodies , like reality itself , are complicated and diverse , as well as unpredictably changeable . For all our vocal support in favor of seeing so-called `` real women , '' we forget that all women are real , no matter their size or their shape or their age or whether they are conventionally attractive . Real women are everywhere . The biggest problem with this nebulous concept of `` real women '' and our desire to see more of them is that it is intrinsically hypocritical . The truth is , we want to see `` real women '' when they look like Robyn Lawley in a Ralph Lauren ad , coiffed and digitally altered into that brand 's iconic and immaculate horse-riding fantasy world . We do n't want to see `` real women '' when they look like us . Maybe that 's the disconnect we ought to be working on , instead of applauding Ralph Lauren 's choice of models on one side while condemning Lady Gaga for being , well , `` real '' on the other . Do you think the public really wants to see non-model types in ads and entertainment ? Share your thoughts in the comments section below .
The Ralph Lauren brand is attracting attention for hiring a `` plus-size '' model . Lauren 's company previously drew attention for digitally altering bodies . Lady Gaga 's weight gain has been the subject of much scrutiny . Comment: