By Alleigh Keyes ’16

Whether you have been dubbed a “prep,” “jock,” or “geek,” let’s face it —we have all been judged. We love to use labels but loathe being labeled. These labels need to go, especially the term “plus size.”

Nowadays, there’s an increasing diversity on the runway and in magazines. Even though there has been progress in showing different body types and diversity has been made in the fashion industry, problems still exist.

When one’s favorite store includes “plus” clothes, one may think that it is great to have more diversity regarding sizes. In reality, “plus size” implies a second-rate or substandard category. Initially it was good to indicate that stores carry larger sizes, but nowadays this is expected. Why do stores still have this label? It is not revolutionary to carry larger sizes, so this label is irrelevant and outdated. Instead of having “normal” clothes and “plus size” clothes as two separate categories, women’s clothes should have a wide variety of sizes in the same section. Logically, it does not make sense to have larger women shop in a separate section because of size. In fact, it is offensive because this discriminates against larger women.

The issue regarding the “plus size” label is amplified by the fact that “plus size” models on runways and magazines tend to wear sizes that are not labeled “plus.” It is perplexing how these so-called “plus size” models generally wear size eight or ten, which happen to be common sizes. The fashion industry needs to stop being deceptive, because it has “plus size” models who would never wear “plus size” clothing in real life. What is the point in differentiating between models who are considered “normal” by default, and “plus size” models? Instead, it makes sense for models to represent different sizes, but to still be considered models regardless of size. At the end of the day, both are models.

By using the word “plus,” people are contributing to the fashion industry’s problem of unwittingly discriminating against different peoples’ body sizes and natural physique. The term “plus size” does more than hurt the impressionable and insecure, as it is offensive to establish a second-rate category for larger women. Men generally do not have a separate category with larger sizes, so women should not be subject to this. When we were children, we were taught that “beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.” Now is time that we reflect this in our culture. By getting rid of the word “plus” and keeping women’s clothing in the same section, regardless of size, we will be one step closer to changing the way our culture perceives different body types and the way the fashion industry views different sizes.