Vogue has been criticized for demanding more fat characters appear in Sally Rooney’s novels. Many are calling this idea hypocritical for the fashion publication.
The Irish author has made literary strides worldwide with her popular novels, including Conversations With Friends, Normal People and her latest work Intermezzo, an Amazon bestseller.
A Fashion Op-ed by Emma Specter published on Tuesday criticized Rooney’s stories, specifically questioning the beloved characters she creates and their body shape.
Under the heading ‘Why are all the characters in Sally Rooney’s novels so thin?’ she wrote, “There’s something about the emphatic physicality of Rooney’s characters that makes you wonder if a fat Rooney heroine could ever exist.”
In a recent Vogue article, famed Irish writer Sally Rooney (pictured) was criticized for writing only thin characters
Rooney’s latest work Intermezzo was released on September 24 and is an Amazon bestseller
Specter discussed the “story” Rooney puts forward through her work, wondering why her three novels each describe the sought-after character as one of “all kinds of bones.”
She cites that Normal People character Marianne is written as a girl “wearing a dress that is low-cut in the front and shows her pale collarbones as two white hyphens,” according to the Vogue article.
In the novel Conversations With Friends, Frances is introduced as a character who looks in the mirror and “notices how her bones on either side of my pelvis still protrude unattractively.”
“Rooney’s female lead growls limply, swoons with hunger and trembles during sex, while the men react almost fetishistically to their petite shapes and perceived weakness,” Specter said.
“What exactly is Rooney communicating with her recurring descriptions of a certain kind of body?”
Emma Specter (photo) is a writer for Vogue. She wrote the opinion piece ‘Why are all the characters in Sally Rooney’s novels so thin?’
Readers quickly fired back — noting that an article centering on the idea that there are too many thin people was hypocritical — especially for Vogue, the magazine with a legacy of showcasing small-frame models.
“Consider a reversal: if a magazine populated its pages with a similar number of fat models, that stylistic choice would be interrogated in a way that Vogue does not,” one person said.
“Not interested in Rooney or her novels but sorry this is VOGUE of all publications complaining about an inordinate number of skinny women,” said another.
Others noted that an author has the freedom to write about whatever he wants.
Normal People character Frances – played by Alison Oliver in the TV show – is written with a protruding pelvis
Vogue writer Emma Specter quoted that Normal People character Marianne – played by Daisy Edgar-Jones in the TV adaptation – is described as having broken collarbones
Why would an author be obliged to represent a certain social demographic in his or her novels? It is the author’s prerogative to create the characters he or she chooses,” one person said.
“I think partly because she’s a skinny woman herself, it might be hard for her to write for others and therefore write from her own perspective, but hey, we can’t tell them,” said another.
“It’s an annoying part of this ‘validate me’ culture. ‘Why are all her female leads the same silent upper-middle-class women? Does this mean that fat people are not capable of the same depth of feeling?’ Like… no? That’s exactly what she is and what interests her,” a third person said.