Okay, fashion industry. We need to have a little chat.
Everyone knows what it takes to be a model; you need to be tall, thin, and have interesting yet conventionally attractive features. The average female model is 5'10" and 107 pounds, measuring in at a size 0 or 2. Compare that to the average woman in the United States, who is 5'4" and 166 pounds- a size 14. Clearly, that's a significant difference. Recently, the industry has received massive backlash for promoting a nearly impossible to attain body standard. This has led to several movements to expand the world of fashion to "plus sized women."
Don't get me wrong; this progress is fantastic. But there is still a massive problem that hides behind the flash of the photographer's camera. The average "straight size," or typical model, is a size 0 or 2. The average "plus size" model is usually a size 12-16. But, what about those that fall in between, the girls from size 4-10? Dubbed "tweenie models," these women are extremely difficult to find on both the runway and in commercial print modeling.
During my brief brush with the modeling industry, I felt discouraged by how my body type was not represented in the typical agency. As a size 4/6, it was incredibly frustrating to know that I would either be told to lose or gain weight to fit into the pre-set standards of modeling, even though I am happy with my body as it is. I ultimately decided to abandon my aspirations of modeling because of this. Unfortunately, thousands of women are turned away from the modeling industry because their body frame doesn't match the typical ideals.
In my opinion, this is outrageous. Fashion is for everyone, and clothes are for everyone. There are millions of women who fall into the "tweenie" category or wear sizes above the "plus size" category who do not feel represented in the world of fashion. Many of these women would make fantastic models and role models.
So, imagine a world where you open a magazine and see models of all sizes, heights, ethnicities, sexualities, abilities, and genders represented in advertising. Wouldn't this create more profit for companies as well as boosting the collective self-esteem of a society beaten down by unrealistic beauty standards?
It's up to you, fashion industry. Everyone needs to wear clothes (gasp...even girls from size 4-10, and those above size 16.), and we all deserve to feel included. Now, it's your move.
