Is Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel skinny enough to lose her contract? [Poll]

Victoria's Secret model Candice Swanepoel bore some scrutiny when she debuted the upcoming swimsuit collection with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels this week at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles.

Apparently we need another reminder that swimsuit season is once again upon us.

Photos of the the South African beauty's tiny waist, slender arms and skinny legs next to the curvy Alessandra Ambrosio and Adriana Lima set off the controversy, as the 22-year-old seemed a tad plumper (a healthy plumper) in recent months.

"I am healthy and happy," Swanepoel told the New York Daily News through a rep. "I'm heartened to know how much everyone cares about me, but in this case everything is normal and good."

The 2011 swimsuit issue cover girl's most recent modeling card said she was 5-foot-9 and wore size-8 dresses, though the photos seem to tell another story. She insisted that her diet is determined by stress and traveling.

"I work out a lot. I box. I'm obsessed with it," Swanepoel told Hollyscoop.com. "It helps a lot with traveling, you know, to be strong and carry on with everything."

Victoria's Secret models are generally a little bustier and curvier than high-fashion models because, well, something has to go in those cups.

The models' contracts specifically say they are expected to be "healthy and muscular," and Swanepoel could lose her contract if she gets too thin, a source familiar with the contract told E!

"There is a really clear criteria for both Angels and the catalogue. Their career path is 'Sports Illustrated' swimsuit issue, then to Angel, it's the highest-paying contract there is, period. The image is about being voluptuous, it's not fat, but it's curvy," the source said. "But if you start to look skinny and 'editorial print-like,' like fashion mag models, like undernourished, it gives the image the company does not want."

Former Victoria's Secret model Tyra Banks also dealt with scrutiny over her weight when she gained a few pounds after retiring from the runway.

What do you think, Gossip Ministers? Is she skinny enough to lose her contract? Tell us in comments.

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-- Nardine Saad
Twitter.com / NardineSaad

Top photos, left to right, Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel and Adriana Lima pose during the launch of the 2011 Victoria's Secret Swim collection in West Hollywood on March 30, 2011. Credits: Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Right photo: Candice Swanepoel at Victoria's Secret Herald Square on Feb. 9, 2011, in New York. Credit: Joe Corrigan / Getty Images

Comments

[Leslie McArdle]

Candice is stunning just the way she is! She looks lithe and healthy. People forget we are an OBESE Nation, even childhood obesity is becoming epidemic. As a result people look at slender, lean, women as if something is wrong with them. That's the problem. I am 43, have had two children after age 35, and I remain a size 0, and have never dieted in my life. It's my genetics. I find it inappropriate to make negative comments about an individual's body (and body type). Would it ever be appropriate to put a plus size model's body up for public criticism?!

[anita]

Seeing people with bodies like hers makes me feel very insecure and not want to buy what they're wearing because I won't look as good as they do and it'll make me feel down whenever I wear it.

[natikalo]

Um. Leslie?
You missed the point.
Candace's weight is an issue because VS traditionally promotes curvy, voluptuous women. Not size 0 A cups.
This article isn't promoting obesity.
Instead, it asks - Is Candace curvy enough to fit in with the likes of Tyra, Gisele, and Alessandra?

[VS Pink Angel]

I think she looks amazing. She still has her curvy hips which is what I have admired about her most from day one. Since Candice was added as an Angel, I have felt much better bout my hourglass shape. Although thin, I had always hated my rounded hips. However, after seeing how Candice embraces her shape made me feel proud of my body type. America is an obese country and we do tend to lose track of what is normal. As long as she is physically healthy, I see no problem at all! She works hard to stay fit because of the work she does and doesn't deserve the public criticism.

And if so, why is she the only one under attack? Alessandra Ambrosio is just as thin standing right beside her and no one is threatening her contract. Why is Candice under fire? The VS fashion show always has very skinny models on the runway too..even smaller than Candice! So I really do not see a problem. I think people are just being judgmental or jealous of her. How could you not want a rockin' body like that!?!? IT IS REALISTIC. If you aren't like that genetically it is called buy a gym membership!

[Elizabeth]

She does look light in relation to the VS criteria. I always appreciate that the VS people allow their girls to eat. :|

Of more concern, however, is that completely awkward pose she exhibits in the left-hand photo. NObody ever stands like that.

[Jeff]

A Barbie doll has better legs!

[asgopt]

The thing about Candice is she is blessed with such a gorgeous figure...wide hips, small waist, and long legs, that she looks amazing whether she is underweight, overweight or in-between. That is something we average girls need to come to terms with...she is not "disgusting" or "sick," she is hot and sexy regardless.

I do think she looks better a little heavier, but I think people are making such a huge deal over something very little. The weight loss in question is less than 15 pounds. In reality, this is not that much. It's not abnormal to fluctuate 15 pounds in your life. Often times people gain or lose that much weight from stress, work, busy lifestyles, etc.

The way the public is reacting you would think she lost 50 pounds and looks like Sjenana. This is obviously not the case. Off the top of my head I could name 20 celebrities who could stand to lose 30 pounds, but here we are getting our panties in a bunch over a girl who dropped 15 pounds because she works too hard.

Remember, there is a difference between your preference and her health. Like me, you may like her fuller, but let's be honest. A 15 pound weight loss really is not as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. I would be more concerned with the millions of people who are 50 pounds overweight....somehow to me that seems more serious.

As for Candice, I wish her the best. She is a gorgeous girl and I just hope she takes it easy and learns how to cope with her busy lifestyle a little better.

[asgopt]

Natikalo,

I would argue that VS traditionally promotes beautiful women wearing lingerie.

I am not a size 0 A cup, but the way you worded your comment, it was as if there was something wrong with being a size 0 and an A cup. What is wrong with that? Some women cannot become the Tyra's of the word without unhealthy eating habits and plastic surgery. This is a fact that a lot of people seem to choose to ignore.

I have known size 0 A cup women who put Size 8 DD cup women to shame. Gorgeous women with size 0's and A cups exist as well and I don't see why they should not be celebrated for their own unique beauty.

If you like women with larger breasts and larger figures, you can find appreciation for them everywhere...SI, Maxim, Intermissi, the real world, etc. Yet the one company that chooses to embrace a more petite kind of beauty gets under attack for doing so. Sounds pretty defensive to me. "I am not size 0 or an A cup so I don't want even the single company that promotes them to do so, I don't want them to exist and be found attractive at all." Funny, because I'm sure a lot of people can say the same thing about your frame, and my frame. Our goal should be to expand beauty ideals, not limit them to a single preference, whether petite or curvy.

And just an FYI, during the times that Tyra graced the runways, some of her partner Angels were as thin as Candice. That was the great thing about VS. They chose beautiful women, whether they were hourglasses or rulers, whether they were thicker or thinner.

Candice is much, much curvier than Gisele or Alessandra. She has a naturally curvier frame, so I don't understand that comparison. I would argue that Gisele is thinner than Candice and Alessandra is the same size.

[Jane]

To CKO; Eat a sandwich, and maybe you'll feel better.

[Torkona]

Yowzer! :-)

I dont think she's tooo skinny. borderline tho...

- tork

[Annemarie]

I see *maybe* a five pound difference between the girls, tops. So I don't really understand how the two on the outside are "curvy" and the one in the middle is "shockingly skinny". Perhaps the Victoria Secret people could expand their "ideals" to include models of various sizes. Say 15 lbs over their current "ideal" and 15 lbs under their current "ideal". Seeing a parade of identical body types is, well, boring. Even IF you decorate them with feathers and glitter. What attracts us to people is their differences, not their ability to be clones of other people.