A new campaign is slowly beginning to spread thanks to Australian model Stefania Ferrario. Ferrario was tired of being “shoehorned” into the plus-size modeling market. The campaign is asking people to drop the “plus” in plus-size.
Ferrario is partnering with the host of Australia’s The Biggest Loser, Ajay Rochester, to start the #droptheplus campaign.
“I am a model FULL STOP,” Ferrario wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately in the modeling industry if you’re above a US size 4 you are considered plus size, and so I’m often labelled a ‘plus size’ model. I do NOT find this empowering. … I’m NOT proud to be called ‘plus,’ but I AM proud to be called a ‘model’, that is my profession!”
Rochester helped start the #droptheplus campaign because she feels that there is a horrible line drawn between plus-and straight-sized women.
“It’s dangerous thinking and dangerous labelling and it’s outdated,” wrote Rochester on her blog. “We don’t label anyone else that way: chef and plus sized chef, comedian and plus sized comedian, doctor and plus sized doctor, teacher and plus sized teacher. So why models and/or women? We are humans, we come in all shapes and sizes.”
However, blogger Marie Southard Ospina believes that #droptheplus “fails to account for the thousands of women who have been inspired and empowered by movements in size acceptance.”
Ospina does however hope for the day when “size descriptors are irrelevant.” She says that we are not yet at the stage, and telling women who are identifying themselves as “plus-sized” is not the way to go.
In a BuzzFeed poll on the subject, 74% of the readers voted “I support it” on the subject of the campaign #droptheplus while 7% were against it and 19% weren’t sure.
What do you think? Should the “plus” be dropped in plus-sized? Give us your opinion in the comments!