Size does not matter. Size is just a number. This is what the recent rise of plus-size models are telling us. A multitude of women with game-changing body shapes are coming to the forefront of the modeling business and showcasing their curves. These women are inspiring, beautiful, and- most importantly- altering the way we see women in the modeling industry.
In today's society, we have so many definitions of beauty. Thin waists; large chests; big eyes; etc. In reality, these are only expectations for women. It is physically impossible for someone to fulfill each and every standard of attractiveness. However, this information seems implausible when we see supermodels everywhere we go. Most humans aren't absolute bombshells. That's just a simple fact of life. But when we see beautiful models all around us, we feel that something is wrong with us. We feel incredibly underrepresented because most of our population does no, in fact, look like a model. Now, recently, with the influx of models with more standard bodies, women are feeling better about their own bodies and much more inspired.
But why haven't we felt empowered about our bodies before? Why has "skinny" always been the norm? The fact is: it hasn't always been this way. In Greece, from the 500's to 300 B.C., the ideal body type for women was plump and full-bodied. During the Italian Renaissance, from the 1400's to the 1700's, women were expected to have a larger chest, a rounded stomach, and full hips. In Victorian England, from 1837 to 1901, plumper women were more desirable.
Only in recent years has our conception of beauty changed so much. It has transformed to such a degree that all of the requirements are basically unattainable. Plastic surgery as well as a strict regiment of dieting and exercising are the only ways that the "perfect" body type is achieved. Even then, it is difficult. Therefore, when plus-size models entered the scene, we realized that the way we view a woman's physique doesn't really matter. These models are showing us that. They are revealing that weight is just a number and it isn't stopping them from achieving their dreams.
Size 14 model, Iskra Lawrence, recently shut down a hater on Instagram by posting a picture of herself surrounded by several packets of chips. Iskra most recently started modeling for the lingerie brand Aerie. She was scouted when she was only 13 years old and was pressured into dieting and trying to lose weight. However, at eighteen she decided that she wasn't going to try to fit in and stopped trying to change her weight.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The aforementioned picture was posted because a user commented on one of her photos, calling her a "fat cow" and a multitude of other offensive words. Iskra responded in the best way possible. The hater commented that she- and people with fuller figures- ate too many "bags of crisps". So, in retaliation, Iskra surrounded herself with bags of chips and looked amazing doing it. Her over 1.3 million Instagram followers replied with supportive comments and helped prove that while one may bring you down, the many will help you up again.
Iskra is just one of the many though. Many plus-size models are making a way for themselves and have been motivating so many girls out there to accept their bodies and who they are. Robyn Lawley, a size 12 model, was the first ever plus-size model to be featured in Sport's Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and the first in a Ralph Lauren campaign. Ashley Graham, an extremely famous plus-size model, who has a campaign with Sport's Illustrated called 'SwimsuitsForAll'. Whitney Thompson was the first ever plus-size model to win America's Next Top Model. There are so many more. These women changed history by being themselves and doing what they love. Even though they may have faced controversy they overcame it with overwhelming support.
Just because you may not be a size zero or a thigh gap or a thin waist, that doesn't mean you aren't beautiful. The amount of amazing plus-size models out there is proving that. They are igniting the spark for the world to fully embrace all body types. It is incredible the amount of encouragement and bravery that has propelled these women to the forefront of society. They are proving that no matter how large or small you are, you can still accomplish your dreams.
So take a lesson from Iskra Lawrence, who taught us how to shut down haters with a simple picture. Look at Whitney Thompson, who was so incredibly talented as a model that she won ANTM. These women are strong and they fight for what they want. And, as time goes by, we realize, that they are truly: changing the scale.
Imagine that New York Fashion Week is starting this week. Imagine that you are sitting in front row and everyone is expecting a skinny model to do the catwalk down the runway. But no, instead of that, a chubby, beautiful woman, with some killer high heels and a confidence that only she has is the one coming, modelling the clothes.
"Oh my God!" "How's that possible?" "But she's fat!"
And then it's not only a chubby girl, then a skinny girl walks down the runway too, then an average sized girl, then a real fat girl. And all of them are confident and beautiful.
What would you think? Would you feel astonished? Angry? Happy? I'd be glad. What a wonderful world would it be if models could be judged, not by their size, but by their skills and, why not, brains too. (No, I'm not saying models are brainless)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I believe that it's not about showing lots of cleavage, bones, thigh gap. It's about skills. And I'm not saying either that skinny girls can't be models, because that would be skinny shaming, which would be ironical since I'm skinny. I repeat: it's about how good you are at something. About how good you pose, how good you do the catwalk, how good you are at walking in heels, how confident you are.
Wouldn't most women feel better if they saw that you don't need to be size zero to be beautiful? Beauty comes in all sizes, honey. Being fat or skinny does not make you uglier or prettier. The way people look at and judges you make them uglier or prettier.
