SLiNK blogged ALOT about this back last year when the whole #droptheplus thing was in full swing. The team at SLiNK HQ were pretty vocal that SLiNK were firmly in the #keeptheplus camp and we had a lot of great feedback from fellow SLiNKettes and supporters who were adamant that they were happy with the term, after all it just shows us where to shop right?
Last week the whole boring debate started to rear its head again and as much as team SLiNK love (and we really do) Ashley Graham and Melissa McCartney we shared social media’s frustration with the pair coming out again against the terminology.
While Ashley chooses to refer to herself as ‘curvisexalicious’ – just so you know if you ever call us that we might hurt you – and Melissa just wants the term gone we just wanted to once again point out why this whole thing is ridiculous. And as we are pushed for time (we have a new issue out after Easter) we thought we would break it down.
- Plus size is just a description so we know where to shop. That is basically it. It is just like saying to someone, ‘Oh the petite section, yes it is right here’. If we don’t know where sells our size how can we buy nice things?
- Ohhhh, you think everywhere should sell all sizes – yes they should but they don’t. When all clothes come in all sizes then yes we might not need the term plus size. But when plus size women can only shop a percentage of the high street, then we need a universal term that is going to point us in the right direction, besides who can fit ‘curvisexalicious’ on a swing tag? Melissa has been a rep for plus size girls for so long and she is an amazing actress. It was great that her line went across dozens of sizes – that is basically how fashion should be but it doesn’t and just because there is one or two lines that obliterate the need for terminology to describe our bodies until everyone does then we still need it.
- Stop being offended by words… Maybe just stand in front of the mirror and say plus size whilst smiling, its OK, the mirror won’t crack.
- Plus size also can be abbreviated to +, everyone likes an abbreviation.
- Plus size lines are cut differently because whether we want to admit it or not, plus size requirements physically (not necessarily fashionably) but just from a technical pattern point of view are different. So yes I want to know who took the time to grade for a plus body.
- SEO – no one understands it, but honestly what would all the brands do if we suddenly got rid of the term – see we need you plus size, don’t leave us.
- It is universal, wherever you go, wherever we search online we know that roughly around a UK 16 and up we can head to plus department and buy things.
- There is an entire movement dedicated to plus size fashion, we have plus size bloggers, a plus size community, I haven’t polled them admittedly but I’m fairly sure most have made their piece with it.
- I have never met a woman who campaigns to get rid of the term ‘petite’ is that because as a society we are ok with it because it means ‘small’ so it is culturally still meeting our beauty standards? Well shouldn’t we be saying, oy, that is not ok?
- We get it, it would be awesome if we could shop everywhere and just pick something off the rack without going, ‘does this come in my size’ but the world isn’t there yet. If you are in a position where you are privileged enough to represent plus size women don’t be embarrassed about it, because that is how it is coming off.
Change the perception of how the world sees plus size women, don’t try change the women to fit the perception of the world.