Sunday, February 1, 2015

A Real Plus

One trend you may have noticed during the rookie casting calls: plus-size models.

There were a few of them. Here we have Ashley Graham, Julie Henderson (the other one), and Marquita Pring.


You may recall that, halfway through 2014, a trio of plus-size models recreated the swimsuit issue cover for a company called “Swimsuits for All.”


The model in the middle? Her name is Robyn Lawley, who had a casting call back in May. The scuttlebutt at Bellazon is that Robyn is one of the 2015 rookies.


I think it’s great. I don’t think SI necessarily has a responsibility to change standards of beauty (they’re more in the business of harnessing those standards for profit), but Robyn would be a standout from what you’re used to seeing.


I hope she doesn’t get a lot of abuse for it.


It’s not really my place to be concerned for her, I guess. I imagine it takes buckets of self-confidence to be a plus-size model, and she must be stocked with a whole armory of “go fuck yourselves” to use as needed. But still, the reaction to Ashley Smith’s teeth the other day makes me pessimistic about the response Robyn is going to get.


On the other hand, she doesn’t look all that plus-size in the (fully clothed) photos that accompanied her casting call


As noted before, Crystal Renn was a plus-size model, but by the time she got to SI that didn’t seem to be the case.


I don’t know if Lauren Mellor was ever considered plus-size, but there are some older photos where she’s notably curvier than she was in the 2014 swimsuit issue.


Personally, I’m all for making all women feel sexy as they want to feel. When that happens, we all win. I’m looking forward to Robyn’s photos.

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