Last week, PLUS Model Magazine published an editorial entitled “Plus-Size Bodies: What’s Wrong With Them Anyway?” The article featured controversial photos of Plus Model Katya Zharkova’s body intertwined with the body of a very thin straight-sized model. The images were shot by photographer Victoria Janashvili. I will say this, whether you agree or disagree with the use of nude pictures to illustrate the point, this editorial has sparked a worldwide conversation that has been long
overdue! Models (plus & straight size) have DEFINITELY been getting smaller over the years! One shocking statistic in the editorial said that models now weight 23% less than the average woman (as opposed to weighing just 8% less than the average woman 20 years ago). Another statistic showed that many of today’s straight-sized models are so thin they meet the requirements for anorexia and bulimia!
This editorial has received over 300,000 views and PLUS Model Magazine’s Editor- in-Chief Madeline Figueroa-Jones has been featured on ABC News w/Diane Sawyer, Entertainment Tonight, the New York Daily News, and more! While most media outlets echo the editorial’s sentiments by begging the question “Are models too thin today?” all of the press hasn’t been good press. One article in particular has ruffled more than a few feathers. Jason Brooks, from the popular urban blog Global Grind, recently featured a post with the headline “Big Girls! I love you, but you will NEVER be a runway model!” I’m not kidding. You can read the post here.
In this article the author, Jason Brooks, uses pictures from the PLUS Model Magazine editorial so as to make no mistake that he is taking a direct swipe at the magazine’s efforts to start a revolution within the fashion industry. His attitude seems to say in so many words, “The real fashion houses will NEVER accept people your size, so stop trying to make miracles happen and get over it!” Of course I am paraphrasing, but not by much! This is what Mr. Brooks had to say to us “Big Girls” that he claims to “love”? I’d hate to hear what he has to say to someone he hates! While Brooks clearly points out the way things currently are within the fashion industry, that doesn’t mean that things will “never change.” It seems apropos to discuss the ignorance of this post during the week that the nation celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Day because Dr. King also faced circumstances that were previously thought to be etched in stone. Black people and white people would ALWAYS be segregated. That’s just the way it is. I’m sure people told Dr. King to “stop trying to make miracles happen” and just accept the way things are. Thankfully, he didn’t…and neither will we. Through our collective efforts, we as a curvy community will ensure that models and curvy civilians of present and future generations will not be treated as second class citizens in the Fashion industry, the Entertainment industry, or anywhere else. So, to any young curvy teenage girls, or young women out there who may have “I will strut my stuff on the runway in a high-fashion show” on your vision
board, don’t take it down on Jason Brooks’ account. Keep the dream alive!
~ Nikeya Young
Follow her on Twitter: @NikeyaYoung
ABOUT NIKEYA YOUNG:
Plus Model/Singer/Songwriter/Actress Nikeya Young became the Chicago Plus-Size Fashion Examiner in June 2011 and has hit the ground running! In just 6 months, 11,150 people have viewed the Chicago Plus-Size Fashion Examiner page! In September of 2011, Nikeya landed a featured article in the historic 24-page Full-Figured Fashion spread in USA Today!! Her article “Midwest Plus-Size Fashion Innovators” received GREAT reviews and highlighted some of the top plus-size designers and boutiques in the Midwest! Her “Windy City Curvy Spotlight” feature highlights one aspiring or professional model each month. Nikeya is excited about bringing you the latest curvy news from the Windy City & abroad!
