Sizable Subject: The Plus Side Of Fashion

In Nancy Mairs’ article for The New York Times, “Disability”, published in 1987, she expresses her distaste with the media's representation of handicapped people. Mairs, who struggled with multiple sclerosis herself, clearly and sharply conveys this disgust by stating, “I’m not, for instance, Ms. MS, a walking, talking embodiment of a chronic incurable degenerative disease.” (Mairs 13), and that she is actually, “the advertisers’ dream: Ms. Great American Consumer. And yet the advertisers, who determine nowadays who will get represented publicly and who will not, deny the existence of me and my kind absolutely”(Mairs 14). Mairs is greatly upset that disabled people are defined by their disabilities and, therefore, are underrepresented in public media. This might lead to one asking themselves, but why are they? And the answer, according to Mairs, is quite simple, “To depict disabled people in the ordinary activities of daily life is to admit that there is something ordinary about disability itself, that it may enter anybody’s life”(Mairs 14). Mairs concludes by pointing out how this effacement could have dangerous consequences for both disabled people and, as she called everyone else, TAPs (Temporarily Abled Persons) alike. Treating disabilities as an abnormal characteristic (as opposed to viewing them “as a normal characteristic, one that complicates but does not ruin human existence” (Mairs 15)) can cause one of these repercussions, as it makes the

Garland-Thomson’s “The Politics of Staring: Visual Rhetorics of Disability in Popular Photography” explains that normalcy is promoted and forced through the manipulation of photographs of disabled people. Creating photographs of the disabled forces an image upon the viewer that may not be a realistic depiction of that disabled person’s daily life. Most disability photography gives an image that the reader will take as truth, and gives no room for the viewers own interpretations. This is done for many reasons, capital being at the top of the list. Producing images that are intended to be heartfelt like a March of Dimes campaign with a baby in a hospital is specifically made to raise awareness and raise money from donors who believe that their dimes will make a

Stella Young has lived with a disability all of her life, but has never let that stand in her way. While speaking at a TED conference in 2014 Young wanted to address an issue that most individuals overlook. This issue is about people with disabilities and the struggle they face every day to feel equal and part of a social norm. Stella speaks from experience and tries to make her audience see a new perspective of how individuals look at others with disabilities. Stella makes it clear that most individuals see people with disabilities as an inspiration which is widely propagated. In order for her audience to understand this view she shows a series of images to appeal both to logos and pathos. Stella wanted to show that we view these images logically

It also gets hard for Mairs and she gets angry when she feels like society makes people with disabilities seem that they aren’t normal. In the essay Mairs mentions how in today's’ society the ideal woman is a beautiful physically attractive woman with no disabilities. “She is trim and deeply tanned; she jogs, swims, plays tennis, rides a bicycle, sails, but does not bowl . . “(57). Mairs says this to say that in today's society you’ll never see a crippled person in a magazine because it isn’t attractive or amusing to others and when society sees people with disabilities; they automatically think that they should feel sorry for them.

Displayed in the media to this day are people shown with disabilities. These people are wrongly perceived by society as heroes or sensations. Instead of focusing on that, we should focus on how they are able to overcome the disability during their daily lives. A very trusted author and professor of journalism, Charles A Riley, wrote a book called “Disability and the Media: Prescriptions for Change”. After carefully analyzing this text from Everything’s an Argument, it is clear that Riley wants to adjust the way society views people with disabilities. He is against the fact that people with disabilities are not known for who they really are. I agree with Riley’s stance and can feel what he is expressing throughout his text.

In today’s society, disability is usually looked upon as a negative lifestyle, with pity, and sometimes, even disgust. Everyday we come into contact with someone around us with some sort of disability, and don’t even notice; but then why do we get so caught up in our thoughts when someone with a visible disability is a passerby? Like it or not, physical appearance has played a vital role in society. In an episode of Extraordinary People, which is a documentary series, Ben Underwood, a 14-year-old teenager, is highlighted as the main focus of the episode. Underwood, who not only lost his eyesight, but also lost his eyes due to retinal cancer, has to insert fake eyes just to be able to blend in with society.

How are people with disabilities viewed through the media? Are they viewed positively or negatively? Are they shown having real, meaningful, reciprocal relationships? For this assignment, I have chosen three very different examples to examine using these questions.

Slick hair. Cool clothes. When you envision the 1950’s, a picture of someone like this pops up in most people’s head. The 50’s in America was a time of newly found solitude and relief from the wars previous to the middle of the century. Other noteworthy things include the impacting concepts such as the rise of the television, rock’n’roll, and fashion.

A properly fitting blouse always provides a wise and appealing turn to the woman. If this involves blouses curvy girls have limited options once they search permanently types of women plus size blouses. However, they need to adjust when it comes to style and put on exactly the same boring regular blouses they enter the stores. The appearance of the internet e-commerce stores has damaged the bar of boring full figured clothing to stylish full figured clothing using the range of online plus size blouses for ladies. Using the eye stopper collection for ladies of each and every size between -36W these stores offer deals and discount rates for curvy women of USA and Canada.

Plus-size apparel becomes more popular these days and since this country’s average women size is 14, a growing number of clothing companies are trying to produce more garments of these sizes. Not only it would cater to people’s needs, but also means more profit. However, one of Gap’s divisions, Old Navy, is reported charging extra for its women’s plus-size jeans by huge margin. What more upsetting was, men’s plus-size jeans were priced in the same range as the regular ones, which contrasted from the women’s where the prices were charged higher by $10 to $15. Not only that, the men’s jeans are placed in the same section regardless size on Old Navy’s website, while the women’s are placed in two separate sections – regular section and plus-sized section. This company’s pricing transparency really made customers to question Gap’s integrity. The consumer emphasized that Old Navy was engaged in sexism and sizeism towards women.

In 2014, Calvin Klein cast a new model for their “Perfectly Fit” underwear campaign. She was a size 10, which is uncommon for a model to be in such a known label. With this knowledge the media mistook her as the new “plus-sized” model for the company, even though Calvin Klein never gave a clear statement on her casting. Recently, the campaign she participated in has resurfaced online and has caused a debate on what it means to be “plus-sized”.

1. Go to a public place and OBSERVE the community of people in that place for at least 30 minutes; perhaps as long as 60 minutes. In your report, describe the setting and note the date and time of your observation. Describe the element of “community” that you observed.

When you think of the word fashion, what do you think? Do you think about outrageous runway outfits? Cocktail dresses? Tracksuits? Whatever your impression of fashion, it is obvious that fashion plays an important role in today's society. We are judged by our clothing and appearance on an everyday basis, so why not make the most of our choices?

When people with disabilities are included in the making of media content, they are able to “debate the societal issues related to them that rarely make the mainstream press” (Haller, 2010, p.117). This means that they can bring up problems that they have personally experienced and help educate society on how those problems can be resolved. News about disabilities should be included in the media more often in order to help able-bodied people become aware of disabilities and avoid the stereotypes that have been created. If a person with a disability helps make a story about someone with a disability, they can make sure the story explains the necessary issue and disregards any stigmas. Beth Haller describes in her book Representing Disabilities in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media that “historically, articles about people with disabilities rarely made it into the news, and, when the articles were written, that they were misrepresentative and stigmatizing” (2010, p. 119). In addition, an individual with disability can

What is Fashion? Fashion is a general term used to describe a style of clothing or practice used by people around the world. Fashion refers to anything that is a trend. Self-presentation is the most direct noticeable marker of fashion. Throughout history we have seen many changes in clothing, from the color, to the material used to make it. We have also seen the style in which clothing is made change drastically. Fashion communicates meanings that have individual and social significance. Society, cultures, gender and even political authority have impacted fashion over the years. Clothing styles characterize certain designs which represent the culture that wears the clothing. Designers continue to try to direct their ideas to a transforming