"Like I said, it really isn't that simple."
I disagree! It's as simple as that. Those kids whose esteems are low would be that way anyway even if society had a different view about weight. I have seen kids with deformities or something funny looking about them, but their esteem stays high. They would rather not live a life of being mocked, but they keep their chins up in spite of the challenges. You couldn't tell that they were affected by things like that.
I even went through the teases growing up. Standing out as the tallest girl and almost as tall as other guys in class and being skinny did get me the teases. It also got my siblings, who are just as tall and slender, jeers. But guess what? We learned to keep our chins up. And now those people who teased us are wanting to be like us. It's all about the individual. It isn't the models. The whole concept of modeling is that they aren't the average person's appearance, but they're tempting enough to make the average person want to go out and get things to look like them. Who makes society if not the average persons? They give the power to the models and media. If they chose not to make those purchases or watch those shows, it wouldn't matter what the media wants. But frankly, the truth is that clothes tend to look best on tall, shapely, slender women than it does on chubby or plump women. Plump and chubby women can look just as good, but it can't happen if they don't feel they should dress like it. As I've said in the past, I have seen beautiful chubby or plump women. Also, they have plenty of space for big women with plus size models. The market is growing. If you don't like the skinny look, then promote the plus size modelling business!