Guest Blogger | Supersized Supermodel

Hello everyone, we're going to be doing something a little bit different on Granite City Girl today and introduce you to a new blogger by hosting this blogs first ever guest post! So we'll just get straight into it, her name is Cristina Nika Kask, she is a fashion and lifestyle blogger and today would like to share a little something on the fashion industry and her opinions of plus size modelling, I have really enjoyed working with her and find her an absolute delight, and I think you will too hope you enjoy!

H.Elizabeth x



L- Tess Munster says #EffYourBeautyStandards. R - Robin Lawley in Sports Illustrated

I've always wondered what the range of sizes are for a plus size model. You can imagine my surprise when I Googled it and saw that plus size models are size 8 and up. It is shocking to think a girl who is a size 8 is plus size. That doesn't work in the real world. So, what is wrong with the fashion industry? They are causing unrealistic expectations that every woman should be a size 4. Are sizes 8, 10 and 12 plus size or actually average?

Plus size or average?

In fact, 20 years ago the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today she weighs 23% less. Standards for women are impossible and frustrating. There are not enough plus size models, actually, all of the models that are promoted as full figured are in fact average size. Many 'plus size' every day women are confused by the sizing boundaries used in the fashion world. Many of them would think, 'if a model that is size 12 is considered plus size, what does that make me!?' Last week, a so called plus size mode, Robin Lawley said it was 'ludicrous' to be called a plus sized model. She has called upon designers to create their samples in larger sizes, believing that this shift would effect change in the representation of body diversity. A big problem that she pointed out is that clothes today are not made to fit the woman, on the contrary, a woman is obliged to fit the clothes. Not only is the modelling industry pressuring models to be skinny, but by doing that they are pressuring girls of the world to rise up to unnatural standards.

If you were to look at different pictures of so called plus sized models, including Robin Lawley, looking gorgeous in swimwear, you want to be that girl, you see they are incredibly sexy and confident. And just that is the standard you should strive for, to be confident with your body, and to feel sexy in your skin.

Labels

What's with the 'plus size' label anyway? Why are we labeling women's bodies like that? There is no size diversity in the modelling world. There are desirable sizes for the fashion world, and there are sizes 8 and up, considered to be plus size. So there is a whole no-man's land of models who are in between the 'straight size' and the 'plus-size'. Regardless of that, even if a model is size 18 and above, I don't think anyone should be called plus size. I think it's a derogatory label to anyone. There is no label 'minus size' for extremely thin models.  I understand the need for this kind of labeling in the fashion industry when it is needed to explain diversity to a client, but the term is used in the media and in every day life. Saying that a person is 'plus' implies there is extra or an excess of something, which could be offensive if you're referring to the size of a person.

And ladies, don't forget, no matter what kind of label someone pins on you, the most important thing is that you are satisfied with your body and looks in general. That is the one thing you need so you can rock every outfit!

Christina Nika Kask