Waif
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the community radio station, see WAIF.
For the Australian band, see The Waifs.
Waif literally means a homeless, forsaken or orphaned child, similar to a ragamuffin or urchin but in recent popular culture the term has been used to described a very thin (almost unhealthily thin) looking person, usually a woman. The 'waif look' was first used to describe the 1960s model Twiggy[citation needed], who had large round eyes and a very thin body. The "gamine" look of the 1950s, associated with actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Leslie Caron and Jean Seberg, was, to some extent, a precursor.
The term "waif" was seemingly ubiquitous in the 1990s, with Heroin chic fashion and models like Kate Moss and Jaime King on the runways and advertisements. Actresses like Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Winona Ryder and singers like Fiona Apple and Celine Dion have all been pinned with the term.
Although the heroin chic look has gone out of fashion, it is still apparently popular in Hollywood. For example, Wonderbra model Eva Herzigova has dealt with negative criticism over her new waif-like figure. "Had Eva Herzigova climbed out of a coffin at a New York fashion show this week her appearance could hardly have been more shocking. The supermodel, looking like a throwback to the 'heroin chic' era of waif-like undernourished models, was an X-ray of her old self, skeletally thin with greasy hair, blue lips, a cold sore and sunken eyes. Even a Wonderbra couldn't rescue the legendary 'Hello Boys' boobs, shrunk now to oblivion" wrote Sue Carroll.
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[edit] Today
In 2005, stunned fans saw Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie become smaller and smaller, and discussed whether the women had eating disorders.
Singer Dido recently commented on the waifs of Hollywood. "If these celebrities want to starve themselves, then that's their choice. But it's not for me and it's not a good example to set for easily influenced girls."
Actress Debra Messing. star of the TV series Will and Grace, remarked that "in New York, I'm a hottie. In L.A., because I'm no longer a size zero [UK size 4], I've fallen out of favour" (Sunday Times Style, 30 July 2006).
In 2006, Madrid's fashion week turned away underweight models, based on their body mass index or BMI, after protests that eating disorders develop among young girls and women trying to copy their rail-thin looks.
[edit] In Anime
Waif in anime has a different definition that has derived from this one. They are typically quiet and passive female characters with pale hair and red eyes, often playing an extremely significant role in the plot (e.g. Rei Ayanami of Neon Genesis Evangelion).
[edit] In Literature
Waifs in The Edge Chronicles are thin, and rather weak creatures who reside in the deepwoods, however they can hear many things that other beings can't.
