The Fashion Industry Through The Lens Of Plus-Size Models

Look down any fashion runway, flip through the pages of your favorite magazine or turn on any commercial on your television screens and we'll notice one common thread when it comes to the women portrayed.

These women are often slim, skinny and rarely represent the image of the everyday woman in our society. Every now and then, you'll see the occasional curvy model, conveniently included for "diversity purposes" but on average, the full-figured models rarely get the same mainstream publicity as their slimmer counterparts.

Now, it's no secret that society has boldly shown bias when it comes to the models they choose to promote, and it's also no secret that this ridiculous unbalanced representation has gone on for far too long. For decades, the mainstream media has placed slim models at the forefront of numerous brands and plus size models were shunned and isolated in that same process.

The lack of representation of curvy women in an industry centered around beauty promotes a message that they aren't viewed as beautiful, and this idea has lasting effects on their self-esteem. Real women come in all shades and all sizes and the media's lack of inclusion sends the wrong message to the public.

We spoke to four plus size models who are making names for themselves in the industry and diversifying our representations of beauty in media in the process. Click Next Page to read about their stories about the fashion industry: