Backlash Against Big Beauty Queen

April 4, 2008 — -- Chloe Marshall's tiara tumbled this week as the British press chided the size-16 Miss England model as "fat, lazy and a poster girl for ill health."

The curvaceous 17-year-old beautician trainee, who was the first plus-sized model in British history to make the July finals of the annual contest, was the butt of numerous assaults in a story in London's gossipy "Daily Mail."

"Feted and fawned over for her courage in daring to break the mould, Chloe boasts she wants to be an 'ambassador for curves'," wrote columnist and former Miss England judge Monica Grenfell. "Who does she think she's kidding?"

"What she's demonstrating isn't bravery but a shocking lack of self-control," she wrote. "Instead of flaunting her figure, Chloe ought to own up to the truth. She is fat and she got that way by over-eating."

The visceral reaction to the model's rotund bikini-clad photo underscores the confusion and complexity in the ongoing debate over weight on and off the runway.

Marshall is far outside the norm in fashion, which critics charge encourage anorexia in teens. At the same time, childhood obesity is reaching record proportions in many Western countries.

Marshall responded to Grenfell's skewer as a publicity stunt, claiming that she does, indeed, exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, having slimmed down recently to a "normal," 5-feet, 10-inches and 176 pounds.

The pretty brunette has touted herself as a role model for teens and an outspoken critic of the fashion industry's celebration of paper-thin models.

"It is a shame that this kind of criticism could give young women complexes that force them into self-hate and anorexia," Marshall said in a prepared statement.

The Miss England pageant is a welcoming platform for plus-size girls because the winner is chosen in part by the public.

"We don't deal with catwalk models, and we always encourage them to eat correctly and not to lose weight," Angie Beasley, Miss England Pageant director, told ABC News. "They are judged also on personality, confidence, beauty, and they also have to be photogenic."

The model has heralded her success on the catwalk as a vindication for all young girls who fret about their body image. But Grenfell claims she is a "terrible role model" and shouldn't win the title.