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In the News: The Negatives of Plus-Size

**I found this article about 30 minutes ago. Please, Please, Please leave a comment and tell Mrs. Richardson what you think about her article. I sure did. Click on the title for the link.

The negatives of plus-size
The Daily Iowan

BYGRETA HAGEN-RICHARDSON| FEBRUARY 19, 2010 7:30 AM

We are in the midst of the hottest time in fashion. February begins the Fashion Week parade that jumps from New York to London to Paris, complete with the walking pieces of art that will hit (mostly elite) stores in the spring. Implicit in your thoughts on couture designers and bright runways are the models. While the exact shape of the model changes to express the zeitgeist of the decade, the actual size has basically stayed the same. This year, however, more than one designer has chosen to include the generally dreaded (in the fashion world at least) plus-size model. Rumors abound from London and New York about the opposition to this new inclusion.

So what is all the hubbub about? Despite my very secure self-identification as a feminist, I find myself a bit out of sorts where this topic is involved. While I oppose the idea of size-0 models as the only representation of the female form on the runway, I don’t think I am a fan of the size-12 models either.

Read the rest here…

  • alethia

    Hello:
    I just read the article and left a comment for the author. I guess she did struck a nerve with a lot of folks

  • Monique

    Yes she did!

  • alissa

    ugh i just dont really get what shes even saying! and the thing about her saying that someone that eats right and exercises should automatically be a 6-8? im sure there are people who eat right and exercise and are a size 2 and size 12 – like i said, i dont get her article at all

  • Fleurtle

    Yes, I read her essay last night. I'm still wrestling with myself on whether or not to dignify such ignorance with a comment. On one hand I feel that when you acknowledge ignorance you're giving it too much publicity and unknowingly helping to spread its message. On the other hand, sometimes people say such ignorant things that you just feel forced to respond to hopefully help set them on the right track.

    With that said, I'm feeling that I'll have to make a comment on this one…Women come in all shapes and sizes and all of them should be and deserve to be embraced, acknowledged and celebrated.

  • Monique

    I totally understand what you're saying. She doesn't deserve this attention, but I think she needs to know how I feel about her opinion. Lol.

  • Chotto Coquette

    I wrote a post similar to this yesterday (http://bit.ly/di422a), which is pretty surprising. Except unlike this author I am actually educated about what is going on in the fashion industry.

    Things I agree with her on:

    1) Designers are exploiting the whole plus size angle for their own benefit. Throw a plus size model in with the rest and watch the free press role in.

    2) As much as I hate it, I know that being on the higher end of plus size means I am unhealthy. It doesn't mean that today I will have problems, but it has been proven scientifically in the future that I will have problems. It is just as bad as smoking in a way that I know it is a ticking time bomb, and at times it is a source of great anxiety. Yet we don't have article written about how smokers shouldn't be on runways, and yet the cigarette shot is part of the stock iconography of fashion shots.

    What I don't agree with:

    1) The fact that she has to bring her own weight in to justify the article's merits. The fact is no one asked for her stats and that in no way excuses her uneducated views. Has she seen the model from Glamour's medical history? Maybe a slow thyroid is to blame? It just sounds like pure jealously from my point of view. Oh this "fatty" gets to model but why not me? I'm smaller – see!

    2) The lack of understanding about the industry itself. She neglected to add any additional information about the fashion industry. Also, seeing as she is from Iowa I highly doubt she has been attending fashion week lately. So, pray tell how insightful can you be into a industry that you have seen from afar? In my posting, I talk about the multiple reasons why. In short, designers design for hangers and as such do not want to compromise their vision for a less than "perfect" female form. There is also the issue of sample sizes, which are routinely only available in sizes 0 – 2. Thus, making the supply of plus size stock for shoots practically non existent. Those clothes you see on the runways go straight out to those very shoots afterward. See the connection?

    Sorry if this is a bit long, but I just was incensed. Also, the whole thing about feminism being used a shield is complete b.s. It is the Southern equivalent of "bless her heart" but a hundred times more uncouth.

  • BBM

    she's wickity-wickity wack.

  • Monique

    You couldn't have said it better BBM!!

  • Chotto Coquette

    I did a little digging and found the author's facebook page. This is what she had to say:

    Greta Hagen-Richardson haha, no it was about plus size models and weight as a commodity. people don't like it when you tell them they are not healthy either. blissful in ignorance i guess
    Sat at 12:53pm

    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1139280267#!/profile.php?v=wall&id=1139280267

    In short, what a bitch!

  • Monique

    LOL…you're quite a detective. Oh well, what goes around comes around. Right?

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