Plus-Size Women Beautiful

By Katie Deem
Beauty is undoubtedly an American obsession. Those lucky enough to be labeled “beautiful” or “glamorous” fit into the beauty margin. They enjoy wide acceptance as representatives of the ideal American beauty. However, a new woman has arrived, and declared herself beautiful despite common conceptions.

The presence of plus-size women in the media has revolutionized the way we define beauty. Larger women are now on television, runways, on the street, and in school. Beautiful women are no longer only thin, but now also voluptuous, curvy, and full.


Lane Bryant, Catherine’s, Fashion Bug, and Torrid clothing advertisements feature plus-size women, generally sizes 14w-20w. They present fashion in a variety that until recently was not readily available to larger women. Clothing could only be found in specialty shops and catalogs, and the fashion offered was generally unattractive and unfeminine. Designers seemed to assume larger women were uninterested in appearing feminine, or perhaps unable to. It seemed being larger was something shameful and shopping should be secret, kept from the mass of “normal-size” women. Now larger women can shop at the mall shamelessly next to women of all different sizes.

Beautiful women like Christian Schmidt, a young star of the Canadian television series Degrassi; Barbara Brickner, working plus-size model for over ten years; Mo’Nique, actress and comedian; and Queen Latifah, actress, appear at the forefront of this pioneering effort. Their very presence attempts to break down size barriers that keep women from realizing their full potential and worth. They are creating a world in which women of every size can coexist, and often times befriend one another.

Even at WVUP, plus-size women are numerous. By taking pride in themselves in small, everyday ways, even they are revising the status quo.

Women interested in plus-size modeling or finding out more about women in this industry can visit www.plusmodels.com for more information.