Plus-sized models
By Kalikala
@Kalikala (433)
United States
April 11, 2007 2:25pm CST
How do you feel about seeing plus-sized models on ANTM?
Do you think Whitney can win?
And as Renee asked, is a plus-sized girl ever going to be on the cover of Vogue?
To me, I think it is a huge step in the right direction to see a normal sized girl doing well in the competition. It drives me crazy to look in magazines and see articles about how we shouldn't be judged by our bodies, but then turn the pages and see advertisement after advertisement showcasing girls who are so incredibly tiny.
There has been a lot in the news lately about the ban on models with an unhealthy BMI in other countries, but America hasn't set these guidelines yet. There have also been an alarming number of stories lately about models who have died from not eating.
If I plus-sized girl won ANTM, what kind of effect might it have?
Curvier stars are really making a comeback- think Jennifer Hudson, or Sarah Ramirez [sp?] on Grey's. Could now finally be when we see more variety in the modeling world?
I'm a size 12, and I would much rather see more variety in sizes of girls in advertisements. Just about any article of clothing that you put on a size 2 woman is going to look good, but that gives me no idea if it will look good on me.
6 people like this
15 responses
@milkymoon (119)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I would absolutely LOVE to see a plus-sized model win ANTM. Tyra is very supportive of curvy women, so I think Whitney still has a good chance. Personally, I'm not that fond of her. I don't think her pictures are the best out of the bunch, but I am still rooting for her!
But I think even if a plus-sized model did win, they wouldn't make it far in the modeling world. I mean, most of the ANTM winners didn't exactly "make it big" after the show, so why would Whitney be any different? I don't think just because a plus-sized model won ANTM, it would make any difference in the fashion world's SKEWED vision of beauty.
I am taking a class in fashion illustration in art school, and we are TAUGHT to purposefully elongate the human figure and make them thin and long. The average human is about 7 heads tall, while a fashion figure is anywhere from 8.5 heads to 10.5 heads. We are taught to make their bodies completely out of proportion, to shorten their torsos and lengthen their arms and legs, do the clothes will "look better."
2 people like this
@Lauraleigh99 (4718)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I love to watch this show and I thought it was cool to have 2 on one show! I think Whitney has a good chance of winning. She is a very beautiful woman. It is about time that things change and we get more plus sized models versus women who are size 0-2. Then teenage girls think they need to starve themselves to look this way
@Kalikala (433)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I also feel bad for girls who fall into the 6/8/10 size range- too small to be considered "plus-size", but too big for normal modeling standards.
I thought it was cool that there were 2 plus-sized girls- too bad Diana didn't make it very far! But I understand why she went home- her pictures weren't turning out great, and I don't know if she really had the confidence.
1 person likes this
@accioetoile (319)
• United States
11 Apr 07
actually, plus sized in the modeling industry is sizes 6-8-10. I believe Diana was a size 8, and she was considered a plus size. Tyra is somewhere around there now, also.
1 person likes this
@xbrendax (2662)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Let's face it, plus size models just don't look good! It hurts to say that but it is true! I know, because 25 years ago I was a plus size model for (LaneBryant)! Their faces and hair looks great, but their bodies don't, and no matter what they wear, they always look spongy, fat and frumpy!
@neuroticnymph (13)
• United States
12 Apr 07
No not all plus sized models look spongy fat and frumpy. You might have but not everyone is tou. You might haven problems with fat because you were fat but come on. Some people look better with meat on their bones. Besides I've seen Lane Bryant catalogs, it's the clothes that suck, not the people.
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
11 Apr 07
I see no reason why a plus size girl couldn't be on the cover of vogue and thought it was crappy that that girl said that. To me "plus size" isn't even that big! I'm around a size 6 and size 12 doesn't seem that far away so I think it's interesting that is considered "plus size".
I think if a plus sized girl won, it would have a great impact on young models who are watching. They may stop worrying about being super skinny and realize it's possible to be a model without being a size 0.
2 people like this
@slaveofsensation (348)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Sorry but size 6 is very different from a size 12 when I was a size 6 I had a much healthier body image than I do now at a size 12, but when I talk publicly about wanting to be slimmer people look at me as if I just commited murder or something saying but your so skinny so I guess "to each his own"
@sunup13 (420)
• Canada
11 Apr 07
I love America's next top model, they give a lot of girls, not just plus sized models, a chance who would never have made it otherwise. Like Jael, she's so out there that most agencies would have laughed at her, but Tyra thinks she has amazing potential. She sees personality and essence in these girls instead of the same old run of the mill pretty, skinny girls that usually model. I think Diana and Whitney are amazing, to me they were always two of the best models in the competition.
I'm also glad that curvy is making a comeback, like you say, I just had a baby girl and I would hate for her to think she has to be ultra skinny to make it in this world. I myself am a size 6, which isn't ultra skinny nor plus sized, I feel good about my body and I hope with my healthy attitude and a healthier media image, she will grow up confident.
2 people like this
@Amberluv2000 (406)
• United States
11 Apr 07
Being plus-sized myself each season I am rooting for the plus-sized model to go far. Unfortuntently, I don't think Whitney will win no matter how talented she is because the other judges on the panel are not happy with her. Tyra is consitantly the only person that we hear make postive comments about Whitney. Everyone else including the guest judges always say that she is a beautiful girl but not a model. And honestly unless Whitney is able to step up her game and be flawless she is going home because she is being judged more harshly just because of her size. It really is apalling. I am hoping that she can at least make it to the final 4 so she can go overseas. I think Tocara from a few years back was a wonderful plus size model. I can see that she is still working in the industry and I am happy for her. I think it is time for us to speak up because I would like to see models of all sizes showcased.
2 people like this
@evlo173 (434)
• United States
16 Apr 07
People are slow to embrace plus size models.There will be a time when plus size models finally be accepted.
@lafavorito (2959)
• Philippines
13 Apr 07
Hi. I love watching ANTM too bad though my schedule became too busy and I only got to watch up to episode 3. I think it will be a huge breakthrough is a plus-sized model will win, because that will be the first is any modelling contest. Tyra made a little America's Next Plus Sized Model for her Tyra show but only 3 girls competed. I'm not plus sized in fact I think I'm a size 2 but it always makes me smile to see plus size women wearing trendier clothes and looking very confident nowadays. My 2 best friends are plus sized and they would love to see more clothes modelled on the runway or a magazine for women their size.
1 person likes this
@recycledgoth (9894)
•
12 Apr 07
I really wish the fashion and media industries would wake up to the fact that most *normal* women are curvy. I admit that I am certainly no beanpole in the dress sizes, I am a plus size and when I look at the images being projected to the kids now, I am really concerned that there will be an increasing number of young girls starving themselves in order to conform to the media image of beauty. Beauty is within, not the outer shell and I really do wish moer people woudl realise this.
@Galena (9110)
•
12 Apr 07
thing is, I'm curvy, but slim.
curvy is a shape, not a volume.
I'm UK size 8. there is a 10 inch difference between my waist and my bust and hips.
but to some people, I'm not curvy because I'm not 14+
I get a bit annoyed about people making comments about "normal sized women" or "real women" when I know that they're basically saying my size isn't "normal" and I'm not a "real woman"
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
17 Jun 07
I know I'm responding to an old topic, but America's Next Top Model does a great job of trying to get plus sized models in the business. Other countries are actually worse. My wife and I have been watching Canada's Next Top Model and they are terrible. They cut one girl because they kept saying she was too fat. She was as thin as the other girls but she had a butt (something we Americans appreciate). She was actually wrapping her butt in saran wrap to make it seem smaller. The girl who won that show was like a walking corpse. I'll try to attach a picture, but for some reason it never works.
@slaveofsensation (348)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I hope a plus size model wins one soon but I don't think it is going to be this season, it's just that we have seen so many other more qualified pluse size models get booted off of the show that I just don't think she will win this one. Maybe next season.
@Chere7 (16)
• Canada
2 May 07
I guess this post is a few weeks old, and Whitney's gone :-(
I thought it was awesome to see not one but TWO plus size models! It's about time, I'd say. If you watch Tyra Banks talk show at all, she is a huge advocate for how women perceive themselves! I believe she's going to make a great impact on womens perception of their bodies and themselves as a whole. It's also nice to see the Dove commercials featuring 'regular' women as opposed to skin and bones! Things are s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to change, I think--and it's a change that's long overdue!
@cnico79 (8)
•
10 May 07
I think it would be a great start to see a plus size on the cover of a magazine or walking down someone's runway. I'm also tired of America instilling in everyone's head that it's cool to be size 0,1,2....I mean if you're a small person then you're a small person but America has made us believe that if you're not a size 0,1,2 then something's wrong with you. And it's gotten to the point where young girls (as young as 5) are starting to worry about their weight and being afraid to eat becuase they might get fat. That's just wrong. They shouldn't be worried about their size. They should be playing with dolls or something. So I think it would be good to see a plus size model win.
@huggiebear22 (2007)
• Canada
12 Apr 07
It has a lot to do with how the person feels about themselves i've met a few + size people and some were really attractive for who they were and not what they were others made me feel like i shoudl feel sorry for them as it was not there fault they were plus size. And it si true soem peopel haev no control over it.
There is line between too thin and too large. If your so thin that you look like you are dieing of starvation then you are too thin if you are so large that you cannot walk or take care of your self then you are too big. This applies to men and women.
