Why doesn’t body inclusivity in the modeling world extend to faces?
White, black or Asian, runway models including plus-size have the same face.
What Facial Inclusivity Is NOT
• Different races and ethnicities
• Different skin colors
• Pigment disorders
• Excessive moles or freckling
What Facial Inclusivity IS
• Non-prominent cheekbones
• Thin lips
• Small mouth
• Small receding chin
• Mama June chin
• Large crooked nose
• Plump face
• Small narrowly-spaced eyes
No matter how diverse the body types are in any given fashion show or advertisement for a major brand, one thing is predictable: the models’ faces.
At first glance, you may think there is diversity, but do not let different hair colors, hair textures and skin tones trick you into seeing truly diverse facial structures.
The SAME mask fits snuggly on virtually every single model’s face in all of those body inclusivity fashion shows.
The “beauty mask,” created by Stephen R. Marquardt, MD, a plastic surgeon.
This “beauty mask” is based on the “Golden Ratio” of 1:1.618 and was created by Stephen R. Marquardt, MD, a plastic surgeon and expert on facial beauty analysis.
As you can see, racial diversity is not relevant to fitting the mask.
Is facial beauty mathematical?
The Golden Ratio (1:0.618) is seen extensively in nature including the spirals of galaxies, bands of hurricanes, arrangement of flower petals, number of tree branches as they split off the trunk higher and higher, and the dimensions of a single human DNA molecule.
It also comes up in classic ancient architecture plus modern architecture, classic and modern paintings and even the dimensions of a credit and gift card!
Divide the length (vertical) by the width (horizontal) and you’ll get close to 0.618.
Golden Rectangle — i.e., bank card
Architects, artists and designers know that the ratio yields more visual appeal than any other.
So if this ratio repeatedly comes up with various facial measurements such as width of the nose relative to width between the outer nostril and outer cheek, it only stands to reason that the most attractive faces closely fit the mask.
You’ll never find a “supermodel,” plus-size or not, who doesn’t have a Golden Ratio face.
Though such a face isn’t necessarily gorgeous (e.g., Giselle Bündchen and Kate Moss — and that’s when she was much younger), it has a distinct appearance that modeling agencies and runway casters just love. Below are two faces that look very typical of models even plus-size.
Why aren’t body inclusive influencers challenging the absence of the following types of faces in the modeling world?
• Whoopi Goldberg
• Sara Gilbert
• Ann Coulter
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Rumer Willis
• Susan Boyle
• Rosie O’Donnell
• Rhea Perlman
• Sandra Bernhard
• Tori Spelling
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• Chelsea Clinton
Not surprisingly, the mask snuggly fits the faces of women who were famous for iconic beauty:
• Marilyn Monroe
• Vivien Leigh
• Lana Turner
• Hedy Lamarr
• Elizabeth Taylor
• Ingrid Bergman
• Catherine Deneuve
• Brooke Shields
• ANY “screen siren” from the 1930s to 1960s.
Marilyn Monroe
Grace Kelly
Though a Victoria’s Secret model’s face may not stun to the level that the above screen sirens do, a major-league model’s face always has that certain look – those features for which the mask fits so well.
Average Face (not model material) Digitally Revised to Conform to the Mask
Unattractive Face Completely out of Synch with the Mask
The vast majority of models for runways and print work (major gigs) have the following features:
• High and defined cheekbones
• Eyes spaced slightly further apart than the average woman’s
• Eyes often (but not always) “doe” sized
• Full lips
• Mouth usually (not always) longer than average
• Absence of: double chin, small receding chin, short scrunchy face, “honker” nose
Why the Fixation on Only the Neck Down?
I fully understand why only those models with Golden Ratio faces are chosen for work.
After all, as a blogger and writer, I use only attractive faces to accompany my articles, though I occasionally make exceptions based on topic and availability of images that match the topic.
So what is my beef then?
It’s my observation of plus-size models and influencers who push for body inclusivity but focus only on the neck down.
This is very odd. Is it because they don’t think women who look like Ann Coulter or Sandra Oh should strut down a catwalk?
If so, they are just as exclusive as the folks who cast only size 4 models or the voluptuous hour-glass shapes like Ashley Graham and Hunter McGrady for catwalk work and ignore the women who have big block-shaped bodies like Rosie O’Donnell and Roseanne Barr.
An inclusivity influencer might say, “Well gee, who wants to see a model strutting down the runway with a face like Tori Spelling’s?”
But by the same token, the people who cast the models might be thinking, “Who wants to see a model who has a waistline and ass like Rosie O’Donnell’s?”
It’s Human Nature to Be Drawn to Visually Appealing Things
• We choose the prettiest or most attractive pictures to hang on walls.
• We plant pretty flowers, not ugly weeds.
• Would you ever present a cake at your dinner party with frosting put on by your clumsy five-year-old?
• What about curtains, vases and necklaces? Only the most attractive will do.
Again, I’m not asking why women with homely faces aren’t given modeling jobs.
My question is directed to the plus-size and “fat acceptance” influencers who’ve created an uproar over why there’s not more “body diversity,” “body inclusivity” and “fat acceptance” in the modeling world – yet at the same time, they’re perfectly content with ALL the models having that same kind of face!
In fact, why don’t Ashley Graham and Tess Holliday admit that if they had faces like Sandra Bernhard or Rosie O’Donnell, they would have never landed any modeling gigs?
With that all said, there are a handful of agency-signed models whose faces do, indeed, deviate from the Golden Ratio — such as Tin Gao’s. But this novel movement currently equates to spitballs on a battleship.
