#DropThePlus campaign aims to drop ‘plus’ from ‘plus-size’

Women are campaigning on social media to put pressure on fashion brands and magazines to drop the term “plus-size,” which they say is a harmful and damaging term.

The #DropThePlus campaign was spearheaded by Australian model and face of Dita Von Teese’s lingerie line, Stepfania Ferrario and actress Ajay Rochester, Huffington Post reports.

The duo, and women around the world, are saying the term plus-size is “damaging for the minds of young girls.”

Ferrario, who is a size 12, posted a photo of herself on Instagram (warning: NSFW), with “I am a model” written on her stomach. Her post included her stance against the term saying, “I do NOT find this empowering.”

“Let’s have models of ALL shapes, sizes and ethnicities, and drop the misleading labels,” she posted. “I’m NOT proud to be called ‘plus’, but I AM proud to be called a ‘model’, that is my profession! #droptheplus”

Not all are agreeing, however, that the term actually is offensive or harmful.

“But what about all the women who do find it empowering?” Marie Southard Ospina asks in an article on Bustle, “What about the many women who take inspiration from plus-size bloggers and spokespeople who have adopted the term lovingly — with actual pride after being told for so long that their bodies were flawed and unworthy?”

Ospina’s post says while Ferrario means well, the campaign is problematic.

Still, the hashtag #DropThePlus had a reach of nearly 9 million on Twitter Thursday, with tweets mostly from the U.S, as well as countries in South America and Europe.

Contact Kristen DeSilva at 702-477-3895 or kdesilva@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kristendesilva