Plus-Size Models: Should They Be Employed More?

I have heard people debate about whether plus-sized models should be given work or not. Should clothes be modelled by women that are a size 14+, as opposed to the normal size 0 waifs on the runway? Should companies use plus-sized models in their advertising?

The answer is simple. Obviously.

The media and entertainment industries are flooded with super-skinny people that are supposedly beautiful. Celebrities like Victoria Beckham reach new levels of near anorexic appearance, and are applauded as fashion icons. Catwalks show off models that are often underweight teenagers, lacking any semblance of a womanly figure.

This is outrageous. When I see clothes advertised like that, I don't want to wear them. I just think that they're ridiculous because they are completely unrelated from real life. In the real life of average, non-celebrity people, most women are not that skinny. Most women have a healthy, beautiful, curvy figure. In fact, more women wear so-called plus-sizes than the smaller sizes shown on the mannequins and in the advertisements.

Why should I try to conform to an image of beauty that is completely unrealistic and unhealthy? I want to see clothing modelled by women that look like me or the women I know. If I am buying plus-size clothes, I want to see them modelled by a plus-size woman. They would fit completely differently on a smaller woman, and so would represent the clothes inaccurately.

I would be thrilled to see more women of all shapes and sizes in the modelling world. I completely support companies who use real women to advertise their products. For example, Dove has kept my business because they advertise women of all ages and body types as beautiful.