When I was surfing the CNN website today, a headline caught my attention: 176-lb beauty squashes stereotypes. Chloe Marshall is a 17 year old who lives in England and is 5'10". So what's all the fuss about? Despite the fact that 176 pounds is apparently plus sized, Chloe is in the final rounds of the Miss England beauty pageant. This is the first time that a plus size woman has done so well. In an interview, Chloe said "I wanted to go through to the Miss England finals to break through the stereotype that you have to be tall and skinny." That sounds great, right? Certainly other bloggers support Chloe in this endeavor, even if they are not normally supporters of beauty pageants.

My Boob Site wrote, "And, despite my not being a fan of beauty pageants, I thought that if Chloe’s success in the contest circuit could help boost the self-confidence of just one other girl who didn’t fit into the ultra-thin mass media model mold, then it would prove to be a most valuable exercise." I have to agree with her.

Of course not everyone feels that this is a good thing. The Unfat Blog writes " For those of you who don’t know, Chloe is a 17 year old plus sized model who is 5′ 10″ and weighs a 176 lbs. None are prouder and more defensive of her success than the members of the Fat Acceptance crowd. With Miss Marshall’s pictures in the news the Fatosphere has once again begun crowing about the virtues of Real Women.

"This Real Woman nomenclature begs a whole host of questions. First what exactly is a Real Woman? Does this make all other women inferior? Finally, if there are Real Women, what is a Real Man? Even though the answers can’t be found spelled out concisely in thousands and thousands of Fat Acceptance Blogs some hints can be found. Reading them, as I dreadfully have to do, some clues can be found in subtle innuendo, and others through intentional omission." This post generated a number of comments that were all over the map.

However, another blogger really made me think. Skinny Mommy Losing Weight on Weight Watchers said "BTW, she is only 3.5 lbs overweight according to her BMI. So all you haters out there, read before you start mouthing off!" When I checked this out this on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI calculator, I got a different number. It claimed that she was only 2.5 pounds overweight.

The-F-Word.org concurs. She also points out that British clothing sizes are not the same as American clothing sizes, so cheering her on based on her dress size may be misleading. She wrote "Although Marshall wears a size 16, American audiences must keep in mind that she wears a British size 16. In the U.S., this size would translate into a women’s size 12/14. A size 14 is generally the starting point of plus-sizes, but can also indicate the high-end of misses sizes."

There was no shortage of blog posts on Chloe. Bloggers seem to have some pretty strong opinions. Their commenters did as well. A couple of additional points captivated me. I can't remember ever seeing a headline mention a beauty contestant's weight before. I know headlines are meant to jump out at you. While some may argue it's clever, and the post was mostly supportive, use of the word "squashed" was a little bit harsh. In her interview on CNN, Chloe said that her talent is waxing. It was humerous to me because I suspect that many people who support her are not a big fan of waxing.

Alex also blogs at Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting.