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#ThisIsPlus: Women And Men Call Out The Lack Of Diversity In Plus Size Fashion Advertising

#ThisIsPlus Women And Men Call Out The Lack Of Diversity In Plus Size Fashion Advertising
Ellen Wallwork
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One woman's call for greater diversity in plus size fashion advertising is stirring up a storm online, with hundreds of women and men taking to Twitter to share the cry #ThisIsPlus.

Blogger Katt Cupcake created the hashtag in response to two recent plus size campaigns: Evans’ #StyleHasNoSize and Lane Bryant’s #PlusIsEqual.

"These campaigns have left a sour taste in the mouths (and fingers) of social media users the world over," writes Cupcake on her blog A Curvy Cupcake.

"People are quite rightly asking, if style has no size, why are all of the models on the lowest end of plus size? Where is the size 24 model? The size 32?"

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"Where are the women of colour?" she continues.

"Who is representing the petite among us? Why can't we see a shorter model amongst the 5'8+ leggy ladies?

"It seems that unless you are tall, white and have and flat tummy to complement your size 16 hourglass figure, then plus is NOT equal.

"But it should be. It has to be.

"Who out there will represent my hanging belly? Who represents Sarahs 4ft 11 in frame?"

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Cupcake's campaign has had an overwhelming response and has even gained the support of Lisa Riley.

HuffPost UK Style has contacted Evans for a comment.

A Lane Bryant spokesperson told BuzzFeed Life: "Lane Bryant cast six beautiful women of various sizes, body types, and backgrounds to star in this campaign. They are in every way real women, with real bodies and we think they are beautiful and couldn’t be happier with the image results.”

SEE ALSO:

Lisa Riley Wades Into Cheryl Body-Shaming Row

Tess Holliday Is Designing Her Own Plus Size Clothing Line

Alexa Chung Joins The Campaign For More Diversity In Fashion

Some of the people who have lent their voices and Instagram pictures to the campaign so far:

"#ThisIsPlus the unrepresented, the unsung... we represent the masses. We come in all shapes and sizes and we are all worthy of fair and equal representation in the media. Shout loud ladies we will be heard. #nogimmicks #unapologetic We are all beautiful! #everyBODYisbeautiful @acurvycupcake you rock for this babygirl" wrote @Kat_V_Henry.

"I love that plus is being represented more in the media and I got mad love for the size 10-16 queens shutting it down on runways and print everywhere... As a designer I can understand why a standard size is necessary for runway presentations. But I think we can do more to represent all body shapes and sizes in print advertising and marketing to consumers. So I stand with @acurvycupcake and the #thisisplus movement!" writes @courtneeeh.

Meet Our Body Image Heroes
Adele(01 of17)
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Adele says she tries not to worry about her body image and doesn't want to be a "skinny minnie." "The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body -- only then should you try to change things about yourself." (credit:Facebook)
Lady Gaga(02 of17)
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After the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution." (credit:Facebook)
Christina Aguilera(03 of17)
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"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. (credit:Facebook)
Margaret Cho(04 of17)
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In a powerful 2012 piece for Jezebel, the comedian responded to people who criticized her appearance:
I grew up hard and am still hard and I don't care. I did not choose this face or this body and I have learned to live with it and love it and celebrate it and adorn it with tremendous drawings from the greatest artists in the world and I feel good and powerful like a nation that has never been free and now after many hard won victories is finally fucking free. I am beautiful and I am finally fucking free.
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Gina Rodriguez(05 of17)
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The Golden-Globe winner told HuffPost Live how her father shaped her perspective on beauty:
Beauty was very much on my mind. I had a father that would -- we would look up at billboards and he would say, "That's one version of beauty. You're another version of beauty. And she's a version of beauty. And that girl? She's another version of beauty." He always said that beauty came from within, and as much as you're younger and you're [sarcastically] like, "Yeah, beauty comes from within" -- no, beauty does come from within. I've met some of the most beautiful people, and sadly their heart is just not smiling, and that destroys it all. And then other people that aesthetically aren't considered as beautiful are the most gorgeous people I've ever seen in my life.
Rebel Wilson(06 of17)
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The actress took to Twitter to say, "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people." (credit:Facebook)
Ashley Judd(07 of17)
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After the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face," the actress fought back in The Daily Beast, calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others." (credit:Facebook)
Danielle Brooks(08 of17)
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The "Orange Is The New Black" actress wrote a powerful essay for Glamour about her struggles with self-esteem and journey to body love. She's now dedicated to making sure all body types are seen on-screen:"Ideally, I want to see all beauties, all shapes, all sizes, all skin tones, all backgrounds represented in my profession. Now that I am blessed to be that reflection I was once looking for, I’m making a promise to speak out for that little girl that I used to be." (credit:Getty)
Allison Tate(09 of17)
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Tate's essay about body image and motherhood not only broke the Internet; it has sparked a movement of "moms who stay in the picture." (credit:Allison Tate)
Gabourey Sidibe(10 of17)
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The "Precious" actress had the most incredible comeback to cruel comments about her weight.
Autumn Whitefield Madrano(11 of17)
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On her informed, thoughtful blog "The Beheld," Autumn writes about beauty, body image, appearance and her two -- that's right, two -- mirror fasts. (credit:Facebook)
Kjerstin Gruys(12 of17)
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Gruys went on a year-long mirror fast during which she did not study her reflection in mirrors or other reflective surfaces, or look at photographs of herself. (credit:Facebook)
Lena Dunham(13 of17)
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At the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show "Girls," why Dunham is naked in so many scenes. Dunham responded, "I realized that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. (credit:Facebook)
Alexa Chung(14 of17)
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Chung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." (credit:Facebook)
Stella Boonshoft(15 of17)
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The NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. (credit:Facebook)
Beth Ditto(16 of17)
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This 5-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to The Advocate, saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." (credit:Facebook)
Mindy Kaling(17 of17)
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In 2013 interview with Parade, Kaling said that she was tired of being discussing her appearance:"I always get asked, 'Where do you get your confidence?' I think people are well meaning, but it's pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, 'You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You're not skinny, you're not white, you're a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you're worth anything?'" (credit:Getty)
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