When you hear the phrase “plus-size” you no doubt already have an idea of the size it references, an image of a person you would deem as plus-size. When I googled “plus size shaming” Google suggested the alternative “plus-size shaping". For centuries, women’s bodies have been policed by the patriarchy and today it is no different. The creation of the term plus-size seduces its consumers with the pretense of a safe space where all curves are welcome, so long as your curves are in the right places. Although the term plus-size seems like a heartfelt attempt to include the larger-than-average person in the fashion industry, it seems more like an attempt to create revenue out of women’s bodies by censoring the flab, stretch marks, and any “unsightly abnormalities” so that they buy into the label of plus-size. It is creating a culture of false allowance where women must be in that Kardashian-like category of big lips, big butts, big boobs, flat stomachs, tiny wastes, and cellulite-free thighs. Women are not only being told that their bodies are larger than average, but they’re also being told that they need to “shape up” and have that minuscule waist and wide hips, but thin thighs and perky boobs. With more and more individuals becoming part of the plus-size community, there are little to no clothing companies marketing to this community. I have only seen plus-size bodies represented in clothing advertisements a handful of times, yet almost half of the United States is considered plus-size. Retailers are finally starting to embrace the plus size consumer and make clothes that look good on them and fit them.
The problem is due to the lack of advertisement, plus-sized consumers have no idea where to look. There is also the problem of plus-size consumers having to pay more for the clothes that they want versus what straight-sized consumers pay. They have been told the same lie for a very long time now that plus-size clothes cost more to consumers because of the extra material that it takes to make them. If this was the case then clothes should cost more for every single size there is. Clothes are priced the same from an XS to a XXL yet, once it becomes a 1X it is a completely different price. It takes more fabric to make an XXL compared to an XS than it does to make a 1X compared to a XXL. For the final intervention, I decided that I would take a few outfits that I have worn and create a small video-like catalog showing where I got the pieces from and how I put them together. Fashion merges us with our emotional needs, and it expresses our inner individual personality by external marks and symbols, brands, and status items. The symbolic nature of clothing can incorporate styles, brands, retailer outlets, uniforms, and also membership to certain subcultures. The meanings that these produce can contribute to an individual’s sense of who they actually are. Fashion affects both our self-concepts and our internal feelings (Tombs, 2010). This quote acts as reasoning for why I chose this as my project for the final intervention. Clothing acts as a form an expression, it's art. Putting outfits together, mixing, and matching colors to your unique liking is fun. The fun gets taken away when you have limited options. I wanted to create a project that would show plus-sized girls that there are some options.
The majority of my inspiration for this project came from Kimberly Drew's Black Contemporary Art blog. This was used as a space to show off art by and for Black people. For my project, I created a space for Plus-size girls to be able to have some fashion and outfit inspiration, a way for them to know there are options for us. A quote on page 40 of Kimberly's "This Is What I Know About Art" says "Of the 103 artists selected for the exhibition that year, only nine were Black (Drew, 2020).” This is how I feel when I go to a mall with 50+ stores and only about 5-6 carry plus-sized clothing.
A quote from Stephen Duncombe and Steve Lambert’s book “The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible” also inspired my project. "This sublime power of art to circumvent our rational minds and affect our emotions, bodies, and even spirit, has been recognized for millennia." (Duncombe & Lambert, 2021). Art gives people the strength and creativity to express how they feel. People do this with clothing as well. If you're not in a good mood you might not put much effort into your outfit, or wear colors such as black or grey. When your mood is up you may put more effort into your appearance and wear bright colors.
A quote from "How Memes Are Making Protest Art More Powerful" by Lizzie Fison says, "Appropriating imagery allows the artist to gain control over the content of the image (Fison, 2017)." This quote made me think about how appropriation in art provides an alternative way of expression for artists. It allows an artist to take pre-existing art and give it its own meaning and touch. The same thing with clothing, it gives a person that sense of self, that uniqueness.
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By Knesha Sneed from Kimberly Drew's Tumblr Blog
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One piece of inspirational art comes from Kimberly Drew's Black Contemporary Art Blog. As a plus-size African-American woman, I instantly fell in love with this image. Seeing this made my heart smile due to the lack of representation plus-size African-American women receive in art. The first thing that popped up in my head was white plus-sized women are usually profiting off of body positively meanwhile plus-sized black females who started the movement, starve. People tend to overlook the struggles faced being a plus-sized female. You deal with the fears of dating, being the oddball out in friends, shopping is 10 times harder, etc. I loved the representation this image brought.Video Link:
https://youtu.be/71UMk-3qSc4?si=xAcHyxW87CxvH4wz
I also created some flyers that I'll put up in multiple places around campus.
References
Drew, K. (2020). This Is What I Know About Art. Penguin.
Fison, L. (2017, February 7). How Memes Are Making Protest Art More Powerful. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-memes-making-protest-art-powerful
Lambert, S. (2021). ART OF ACTIVISM: your all-purpose guide to making the impossible possible. Or Books.
Tombs, A. (2010). Do our feelings leak through the clothes we wear? Australian & New Zealand Marking Academy.
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