So thousands of votes, the support of a built-in fan base, and STILL they don't see the marketing gold?

Well, if you compare normal straight-size models to Hunter, you can see why she was approached to model as "plus size".

If she wants to model, then whether the "plus" is labeling her or not, she'd still be a model. I don't really see what's wrong with that.

Except that she's a size 10! :P

Plus Sizes are not normal sizes that don't apply to size 12,14 or even 16. That's why I think it is silly to call her a plus size.

Why don't they use women that'd fit into the SIZE of the clothes to model them. If I wore size 20 I'd want to see it on a size 20 woman, not a size 12 or 10.

Well...I agree, hence that last part of my post.

Most plus-size models aren't actually plus-sized, especially in Europe.

Men who think that a nice backside and nice legs are extremely attractive.

So, just out of curiosity, are male models required to be as thin as the female models? Or are they allowed to have some muscles?

I hope so too. AS for flabby tighs, she is a REAL WOMEN, she is also a pear, meaning she has enough estrogen. High estrogen= flab. Pear shaped women can starve themselves, and still have flabby tighs. BTW, loook at old paintings, this is exactly how women used to look. No one expected women to be lean, muscular, have slim tighs and washboard stomach with six pack. But unfortunately, everything has turned upside down, and now women suppose to be lean, mean, fat burning machines while men can have flabby tighs, double chins and pot bellies But at the same time they don't hesitate to call a real women FAT
IMHO it is men that should be lean and muscular, it is called testosterone and this should keep them cellulite free. Women are prones to cellulite by nature, it is called estrogen, and there is very little we can do. I agree that not all women have flabby tighs, but the pear type have the hardest time getting rid of lower body flab.

So the sticks on the waif qualify as "nice"?

I hear you, with the lower body fat is like : first hired, last fired. I had it since puberty, and while I don't have that much cellulite, it is really hard to have very slim tighs if you were not born like this. I can lose everything on my upper body, but lower body does not budge much.
I still think it is not the size what matterrs, is how you look in your clothes and what is your body shape.
JMO.

It seems to me that the fashion industry is very insular and lives in it's own little fantasy land. They don't seem to be driven by customer demand as much as they impose customer demand. After all who sets fashion trends. Not the customer. And no matter how absurd, uncomfortable or stupid, some people will always follow fashion. That's why they don't give a rat's ass about Ms. Hunter and how popular or not she is or what the average woman thinks. Models, apart from the super-models, are rarely popular. They exist as self-effacing human clothes hanger that show off the creations of self-absorbed and narcissictic "fashion designers"

I don't know about every clothing lines, but the ones I shop at, do have plus size models for their clothing. It's hard to judge, but I'd say their models range from a 14 to a 20.

On a different note, I'd say the worse that could happen is that she is considered fat to be a "normal" model but too skinny to be a plus size.

How about "t**s on a stilck", this is how mostly models look anyway.

UCLA published some stats a while ago that were interesting....boys are subjected to similar unrealistic expectations as girls....if GI Joe extreme were lifesize, he'd have a 55" chest, 27" waist and 27" biceps - how whacked is that?

The media’s portrayal of what is “normal” keeps getting thinner and thinner for women and more muscular and ripped for men. Twenty-five years ago, the average female model weighed 8% less than the average American woman. Currently, the average female model weighs 23% below her average weight. Similar trends are seen with men. The average Playgirl centerfold man has shed about 12 lbs. of fat, while putting on approximately 27 lb. of muscle over the past 25 years.

Hmmm... I don't recall saying that.

You didn't. I was just asking.

In that case - nope.