Lizzi Miller: Plus Size Model Bares All

A picture of the 180-pound model Lizzi Miller in the September's issue of Glamour has recently created a buzz on the internet, and more significantly, shaken up the fashion industry that has always been claimed by slender, leggy supermodels only.

Meet Lizzi Miller: a 20-year-old, 180-pound, 5-foot-11, size-12-to-14 woman with a bit of a tummy but also a smile oh-so charming. A 3 in. x 3 in. photo of her, shot by fashion photographer Walter Chin, was printed on page 194 of the September issue of Glamour alongside an article on women's body confidence. The photo shows Miller with a confident smile and also a bit of an un-airbrushed belly hanging over her thong bikini.

Cindi Leive, the editor-in-chief of Glamour magaizne, decided to feature the photo because she believed that "[women] are looking for a little bit more authenticity and a little bit less artifice in every part of their lives."

She talked about the photo in her blog:

Hours after the issue hit stands, Leive started receiving letters and emails filled with overwhelmingly positive comments that said how seeing Miller's photo has made them feel good about their own bodies.

Competing in a model industry which considers any size over 6 a "plus size," Miller admitted that she had been frustrated, although she has a BMI index of 25.1, still lower than the BMI of the average American female, which is 26.5.

Back in March 2009, Glamour did a body-image survey which revealed that 75% of women felt they were too fat, and more than 40% of women were unhappy with their bodies. When comparing the numbers with the result of the same poll that was done in 1984, Glamour found that the numbers have been virtually unchanged for a quarter of a century.

It is certainly a delight to see that Glamour has taken a step to help with women's body-image distortion, and hopefully with other similar efforts done in the fashion world, more and more women will start feeling comfortable in their own skin.