Of Sports Illustrated and a plus-sized model

 My Facebook "Trending" column was lit up with headlines of a plus-sized model appearing in the latest swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. Much like picking a scab, a topic on the internet that cries that loudly for fact checking must be fully uncovered.

So here's the deal: Yes. There is a plus-sized model appearing in the latest swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, but she appears in a paid advertisement for a swimsuit company. She is not one of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models, so Sports Illustrated hasn't suddenly become an advocate of all shapes and sizes.

Having said that, they approved the ad, and to be sure, they are reaping the publicity.

But they still approved the ad and a plus-sized girl is still in the magazine and she's still in a bikini.

It's a start.

It's a start because it's not the continuation of the same impossible standard of the other "one per cent", those of us who can be fashion models. It's a genetics thing. Either you have it or you don't.

It's a start because it shows diversity. While it is true that there is a definite call to demonstrate ethnic diversity when encouraging people to buy things, and to a lesser and lip-service-y extent, a call to age diversity, everyone is still beautiful, and decidedly, everyone is still thin.

But the human race isn't made up of perfect human beings. We come in all heights, all colours, and all shapes; and in some way each and every one of us aspires to be completely different than we are.

So perhaps if we embrace that diversity, if we expand our definition of beauty to include the not perfect, well then maybe we can see ourselves in that definition of beauty and stop wishing for the impossible.

Because it is impossible to beat a genetically-gifted, photo-shopped model. Even Marilyn Monroe, a longstanding model of female perfection, would not measure up to today's body ideals.

I watched this video of Ashley Graham, the model in the #SwimsuitsForAll advertisement a number of times. She is unquestionably more than a standard deviation away from a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. She is even further away from a runway model.

She looks absolutely luscious.

It's delightfully refreshing.