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Monday, Aug 24, 2009 9:01 PM UTC

Making a mountain out of a … belly roll

A plus-size model is hailed for posing near-nude in Glamour, but will she have a lasting impact?

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Topics: Broadsheet, Love and Sex,

Call it the belly that launched a thousand blog posts. Lizzi Miller, a 180-pound plus-size model, inspired such an overwhelmingly positive online response by posing in a G-string in Glamour magazine’s September issue that even NBC’s “Today” show has taken note.

The size 12 model sat down Monday morning with Matt Lauer and Glamour editor Cindi Leive to chat about the cultural significance of her wee bit of stomach fat (which, by the way, was shown in a 3-by-3-inch photo tucked away on page 194). For so long, it’s been true that “larger ladies rarely make the cut in the fashion world,” says Lauer, but more recently, we’ve seen mold-breaking campaigns like Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty and the backlash against Self magazine for airbrushing Kelly Clarkson on its cover, he points out. Lauer’s setup certainly makes for some compelling questions: Does this mean that bones are out and flesh is in? Will Glamour suddenly begin featuring women who look more like their average reader? Will I no longer shudder every time I take a gander at a magazine stand?

Anyone else out there shaking their head skeptically? This strikes me as yet another faux body empowerment blip on the fashion radar — and to his credit, Lauer implies as much in the clip below.

Tracy Clark-Flory

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkflory on Twitter and Facebook. More Tracy Clark-Flory.

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