The Plus-Size Model Fetish Continues

There’s been a lot of debate lately about the legitimacy of some reputable fashion magazines’ interest in plus-size models.

Some welcome the development, insisting real women have been made invisible for far too long. Others argue women larger than a size zero shouldn’t just grace the covers occasionally, but should be integrated into everyday fashion and media.

What no-one really seems to be discussing is the fact that plus-size models, when they are finally given some space on our pages and screens, are fetishized and caricatured in a manner that’s anything but contemporary.

Apparently it’s not only a novelty that a voluptuous woman should appear in a magazine, but she must also be dressed in novelty clothes and shot against a novelty backdrop.

The latest example of this is Vogue Italia‘s June edition, which features only the most sought-after of curvalicious ladies.

The plus-sized special, entitled “True Beauty,” stars Candice Huffine, Tara-Lynn, Marquita Pring, and Robyn Lawley lounging around a ”baroque-inspired apartment, wearing boudoir-esque ensembles.”

It seems larger women do not symbolize modern society despite being the norm of the day; but instead are styled to take our imaginations back to a time when a fuller figure meant your husband made enough money to feed you.

When will plus-size (read, average) women stop making token appearances, clad in corsets and suspenders, and become a staple in our skinny-saturated media diet? Will there come a day when a size 12 or 14 woman appears on the cover of Vogue, and we don’t all point and stare?

Contact the author here: brianna@morningquickie.com