Sorry but trading one minority for another isn't a change. Also, 100 years ago it was the ideal and people were telling women to look that way. Hence corsets to make it look as though you had a flat stomach big boobs and butt. If you really think about it we are going backwards. We are still allowing people to dictate what "beauty" means.

We are not trading anything. We are embracing ANOTHER body type. Instead of "this one" instead of "that one" - both body types are becoming more acceptable. Yes, the "new" body type we are embracing is still a minority, but it still shows beauty in another form as opposed to just the size 2 skinny model which by default includes more woman. So, instead of just 1 body type, there are now 2, so hopefully one day we will get to 3 and 4 main body types being shown on mannequins or in magazines.

I agree with you. But how do you propose to fix it? You sort of have to hope for the lesser of the evils, because its wishful thinking to think that the industry is going to change on its own. PEOPLE would have to change first. If companies sold more goods and services by using models who look like people you see every day -- they'd use them! So, whose to blame here? Is it the industry? Or is it us, the consumer? Chicken or the egg. Look at the type of TV talk shows that exist today. You see less and less of real discussions, and more exploitative garbage like Jerry Springer. Is it the media's fault for giving us these options? Or, is it OUR fault that the ratings for these shows are higher than the shows that are more hard-hitting (I meant hard-hitting topics, not guests who hit each other hard during the show).

But to get back to the topic, the reason why this all matters is because of the effect it has on impressionable young people. While it may be annoying to adults like us to see models that are not representative of us, does it really matter that much to those of us who are not impressionable? I'd say no. Its the kids that matter.

I've met Kate Moss. She's short like me and has terrible skin.

Weird and slightly off topic but what is plus-size anyways?

I mean some people here don't consider 12 plus size but I know a girl who is 5 feet tall and most definitely considers herself plus size just because the amount of weight on her frame even though she is a 12.

I just reached a size 12 (yeah me!) but I don't really consider myself plus size anymore but I am 5'7. I mean a size 12 on 5' is very different than on 5'7.

I think that is why this whole thing bothers me. I just don't even get how we can even identify plus size, normal size, too skinny, etc. Ultimately these models are just lucky that their fat (no matter how much or little they have) ultimately settles in all the right places. And that is why I have a problem with them, the plus size models simply have good genetics which makes their weight attractive while my fat makes me look pregnant. It just isn't a reality for most people.

Well, I guess my chances are out there window, then. lol




But on a serious note, I'd rather see a normal girl with a few freckles, or a gap in their teeth, rather than a person that is supposed to represent something, but don't really fully do it. And yes, if you ask me, I think I can see what the original poster meant on some of it. I mean, if you are going to advertise clothing, and supposedly put it on people that have a figure like you, it might be nice to actually see that... That's how it'll look on me? Really. OK, then ...

There's a lot of interesting research in the fields of psychology, sociology, and market research that has found that even the people who say they want to see larger and more averagely proportioned fashion models, and say they'd prefer to buy from companies that feature those models, their purchasing patterns tend to say otherwise.

I don't think the fashion industry makes their model choices based on anything but consumer preference. If customers only bought the clothes seen on 5', 300 lb models, then that's what models would look like, and the tall, thin models would all be out of work.

I do like to see and shop for clothes from catalogs that feature larger, curvier models, but I also know that I can't ever entirely escape my cultural upbringing and perhaps even an inborn physiological tendency to prefer symmetry and hourglass figures.

.... but in terms of the fashion and entertainment industries, they're going to do what ever makes them the most money... which ultimately we are driving both. Unless consumers really want (not what we say we want, but then reject when we get it).