Ending the standard: Why plus-size minimizes the average

I don’t know about you, but the phrase “plus-size” is really starting to piss me off.

When you think about it, the term is completely useless. “Plus-size” compared to what? Compared to the average model or the average person? Because such a relative measure is a great way to show how messed up American society’s standards are.

Take Robyn Lawley, a size 12, who became the first “plus-size” model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated, Swimsuit Edition — the paradigm of good taste — even though she is two sizes smaller than the average American woman. Sure, she is plus-sized in her profession, but she is still two sizes smaller than the average American woman. 

This term might upset the vast majority of American women who are still bigger than Lawley. But there is hope, because the staff at Sports Illustrated is taking an even bolder stand: a size 16. 

The magazine is running an ad by a swimsuit company featuring size-16 model Ashley Graham. There sure are some true trailblazers in the SI staff.

As frustrating as cop-outs like a “plus-size” model who is still smaller than the average American woman, they still make some progress in challenging contemporary standards of beauty. They’re still not enough, though, to address the severe levels of body hate and judgment that plague our society.

We should not simply glorify “curves” in a way that perpetuates a reciprocal concept. Songs like “Anaconda” and “All About that Bass,” while aiming to trumpet the sex appeal of above-average size, empower women at the expense of other women. 

Media shouldn’t encourage a woman to starve herself to attain some supreme body weight, only to turn around and call her a “skinny b*tch,” as Nikki Minaj does in “Anaconda.” Empowerment can never come by putting another group down.

As a man, I also feel pressure under unrealistic male body standards, too, even if the media doesn’t mention them as often.

I say this as a 270-pound guy. I am not a model in the least. But what I do, and what everyone should do, is just be the best person I can. 

Guys who feel like they need to have muscles like Chris Pratt feel an analogous pressure to what women feel when they see Beyoncé’s hourglass shape idealized in the media.

But all this goes back to the same issue: America has ridiculously unrealistic body standards.

I can’t help but think we’d be better off if we all thought about how we’d be described if everyone was blind. We can pave our own paths to recognizing worth and value that contradicts the ridiculous, unttainable physical standards plastered all over the media. 

First, let’s recognize that weight is just a number. I’ve been working out since my junior year of high school, age 16. I’ve lost 10 pounds, honest. Yeah, I still don’t have a six-pack. I never will. 

Some of this reality is out of my control — my genes shaped me to be a Polish farmer on the plains, keeping fat to last the winter. 

I also really like cooking, which paired with my DNA, is a lethal combination for someone feeling like he needs to look like Wolverine. 

But, in these past three years, I’ve gained muscle and, more importantly, respect for my body — whether the former helps to inspire the latter is an open debate. 

Anyone who wants to judge me obviously just doesn’t know me.

Power through with what you have, while being realistic about some level of effort — some mindfulness about how you live your life. This doesn’t mean dwelling solely on the reflection in the mirror. 

Being inactive and eating poorly is unhealthy. If that is your lifestyle, whether you look like a model or not, that lifestyle will come back to haunt you.

Additionally, living a healthy lifestyle is an investment in the future. You’ll be happy in a dozen years that you treated your body with care and a low dose of Ramen or Sorrento’s pizza. Being healthy is walking when you can, eating vegetables every once in a while, just being mindful of how you live, not just how you look. 

If your version of health means buy a standing desk and do P90x everyday, great. But you can be still be living a healthy life with less physical exertion.

Whatever your method to physical and mental wellness, let no one cast aspersions. 

Graham would know something about positive body image with the confidence her profession shows. In her interview with The Edit, published on January 15th, she said,“It doesn’t matter if you’re a size two or 22, you can be healthy as long as you’re taking care of your body, working out and telling yourself ‘I love you’ instead of taking in the negativity of beauty standards.”

My best suggestion? Make a plus-size sticker with that quote, and slap it on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Stephen Caruso writes on varying topics, such as economics and social issues. He is also the Layout Editor for The Pitt News.

Write to Stephen at sjc79@pitt.edu.