PLUS Model Magazine, April 2011 Cover
In recent weeks I have discovered an amazing outlet for plus size women and started following it religiously through social media. What was this outlet you ask? PLUS Model Magazine, a true forum of beautiful, curvy, plus sized models all gathering for the plus size woman to read and look at. Then I saw an article Refinery 29 wrote with the help of PLUS Model Magazine’s editor-in-chief Madeline Figueroa-Jones, about what a plus-size model really is. I became hooked and got in contact with whoever I could at the magazine to see if I could talk to Madeline on this topic too, just my luck I was able to!
Q: In your Refinery 29 piece you stated that brands say that “agencies don’t have high-caliber bigger models,” in your own words what is a “high-caliber bigger model” and if you could, could you name an example in the industry right now that you feel would fit this description?
MFJ: I took the term HIGH CALIBER directly from the mouth of a VP at one of the major plus size brands. This was a response to the question of “Why don’t you use plus size models that are above a size 14 for campaigns”.
A high caliber model would be a model who is fluid in front of the camera, knows how to connect and embody the look and feel of the campaign, takes great direction and can sell the garments she wears. Examples would be Ashley Graham, Laura Wells, Lizzie Miller and Marquita Pring. All these models could sell ice to an Eskimo.
An example of a high caliber “bigger” model would be someone like Fluvia Lacerda who was just featured in Vogue Curvy.
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Daily Venus Diva -- Daily Venus Diva.
If the average woman is a size 14 then plus is the norm! Not the exception! What make us plus? Our beautiful thick hips, our curvy booty! Society has tried to put us in a box! We are NOT the exception we’re the RULE! We are women with beautiful curvy bodies. I’m a mother of sons, the oldest being 24. I show them the lane Bryant catalog and then the Victoria Secret catalog and ask which woman do they like better. Guess what the curvy women win. WOMEN not girls! I think people forget that most of the models we see, are teenage girls with developing bodies! For example i’ll takeTyra Banks when she was perfect according to society straight model standers,she was a teenage girl, and then when she gained her woman weight all of a sudden it was a FAT SIN OMG! She was plus she was FAT! Not so, she was WOMAN!!!!!! and like she said “so what” What is plus a word created to make us think we’re the exception! Ladies we RULE. WE R exceptionally curvy and real! We have always been here and always will be here so, I say to all the Xceptional thick, plump, curvy ,fat beautiful women we R the RULE for me PLUS means
Pretty, Luscious, Unique, Sexy! Ladies we are the FINAL FANTASY!!!!!
Amen carmel!!!! You took the words right out of my mouth. I always felt that society made up the words plus size to make us feel like second class people, and they can feel good about themselves because they have no curves. . What in the world makes someone belive they are better than somone simply becasue they are smaller. You are right they way we are the norm and we are not going anywhere!!!
I feel like we as plus size women don’t really get put out there anymore since Mo’nique stop being on the cover of everything. I mean that was a real plus size sista over size 14. I really don’t get why they put all these women under size 14 on the cover of these full figureed magazine wow I mean can we get some real plus size women on these covers and stop being so hollywood when it comes to real plus size women. If you don’t want to represent us right then stop publishing those magazines and getting our money and then when we open them there is not one real plus size model in it. Thank you.