I have decided to participate in the weekly Friend Friday Q&A sessions, provided by ModlyChic.  I thought the topics were stimulating and opened up wonderful dialogue.  This week’s topic deals with size, which in a discussion can be polarizing in itself.  Here are my thoughts on size, the term “plus size” and my own size struggle.

4.  Should the mainstream fashion industry be showcasing more plus size models?

I think the mainstream fashion industry should showcase more models of all sizes, ethnicities and backgrounds.  The mainstream fashion industry without any varied cultural representation and instead remains hegemonic has been influential for years.  The thing is, when you start to see the same “type” displayed in magazines over and over again, it’s easy to ignore everyone else as if they don’t exist.  Only recently has fashion become democratic to allow “other” groups participate– women of color, plus-sized, etc, but still not as a regular occurrence.   I hope that instead of having a “very special issue” of some magazine, it becomes more commonplace to feature models that are plus-sized and skinny alike next to one another without creating a big hoopla.
5. For you personally, how do you view your size, the struggle with it through the years, your ideal size, etc…

Personally, I have had my own struggle with my size and working to get myself back down to a comfortable size.  I’m not ashamed of the fact that I’m larger nor do I try to hide it, but I do know that I’m not as comfortable in my skin as I used to be nor am I as healthy.  Instead, I am taking it one step at a time and not worrying about the numbers associated with my size, but the my overall health.   I can lose X number of pounds, but am I healthy?  Did I go about losing the weight in a healthy way?  Those are the concerns that I must focus on.