Upton's controversial curves

Model Kate Upton's va-va-voom physique has been in the news since she lit up the cover of Sports Illustrated in February. She isn't your typical model--at least not your typical rail thin millennial cat walker. The voluptuous twenty-year-old is more of a throwback to the late 1980s early '90s when glamazons like Cindy Crawford dominated the fashion pages and Anna Nicole Smith first posed for Guess.



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Not everyone in the world of fashion and beauty approves. "She's like a Page 3 girl," Sophia Neophitou, who books Victoria's Secret Shows, told the New York Times earlier this year referring to the half-naked women featured in British tabloids. "She's like a footballer's wife, with the too-blond hair and that kind of face that anyone with enough money can go out and buy."

The blogger, "Skinny Gurl," who critiqued Upton's curves as "lardy" last week went even farther. Skinny Gurl's blog, SkinnyGossip, is one of many so-called "thinspiration" sites that promote extreme diets and worship the bodies of extra-lean celebrities. In her June post on Upton, Skinny Gurl compared her to a cow, a "piggie," and described the young beauty as: "Huge thighs, NO waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition--she looks like a squishy brick."

Upton seems to take it in stride. Although she hasn't responded directly to haters like Skinny Gurl (contrary to some news reports), in a recent interview with the Sunday Times UK, she said, "My body is something that you have to work out and eat healthily for. I'm not doing drugs or not eating. I want to enjoy life and I can't be enjoying life if I'm not eating and miserable."

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The irony is, Upton doesn't look out of place in magazines such as Vogue where she recently posed in demure autumn attire, and she's certainly not overweight. According to the New York Times, she is 5'11", and her measurements are 36'-25'-34'. You can argue that the model has been overexposed (both literally and figuratively)--"We apologize in advance for your decreased productivity" tweeted GQ annoyingly after publishing its July issue which featured Upton licking a popsicle in a tiny bikini--but describing as her fat represents a twisted view of the female form. Her rep says, "Its absurd. Kate's gorgeous and very healthy."

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And Upton fans aren't buying it either. A backlash against the post has pushed Skinny Gurl to remove features such as her "Starving Tips of the Day" from the website and add links to resources on "depression, eating disorders, and self harm."

As for Upton, we suspect she's enjoying a burger from Carl's Jr., (which she represents) and scheduling a wax appointment for her next bikini shoot.

"She's laughing all the way to the bank," supermodel and author Carol Alt told Good Morning America. "I would just say keep your end up and keep moving forward."

Also on Shine:

Celebrities as Real People. Not a Pretty Picture

Why Do Men Love Flag Bikinis?

Our Culture's Celebrity Weight Obsession. It's Scarier Than You Think



