A photo of fuller-figured mannequins reportedly on display in a store in Sweden has sparked Internet debate about obesity.
That question is swirling around the Web in the wake of a photograph of fuller-figured mannequins modeling lingerie in a store in Sweden. "For comparison, most mannequins in the U.S. are between a svelte size 4 or 6—a departure from the average American woman who is a size 14," Yahoo Shine reported.
A photograph of the mannequin was shared by Women's Rights News on Facebook with the caption: "Store mannequins in Sweden. They look like real women. The US should invest in some of these." As of Friday afternoon, more than 54,000 people had "liked" the photograph, more than 16,500 had shared it and more than 2,800 had left comments. The image has since showed up on other social sharing sites.
Some of the comments were positive, like one from Nathalie Negron: "I love these! Healthy, but curvy. It is about time the media and society loved curves again. Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and the world loved her. Power to real women with curves! Love it!"
Others, however, took jabs at the models for representing overweight women and endorsing obesity. Kareem Golmez began his comment with "Its got to stop, When will fat girls stop misidentifying themselves as curvy/thick/voluptuous. Who told these pigs they look good? I wouldn't mind so much if they went back to their traditional Muumuu outfits instead of the tight jeans/spandex they're now wearing."
Internet buzz suggested the mannequins were from an H&M store in Sweden, but a spokesperson for the company told Shine that the image was not taken at H&M. "At this time, we are not using this type of mannequin, but we do not rule of the possibility of doing so in the future."
