by Cherise James

Created on: January 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2012

A majority of women today have a completely inaccurate body self-image. Many women feel that they are fatter than they really are, and in some this leads to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. But there are also a great many women who think of themselves as thinner than they really are, and this leads to ignoring the reality of how much weight they actually need to lose. These women are no better off than those suffering from the opposite delusion.

When shopping for plus-size clothing, it is irritating and frustrating, and potentially seriously misleading, to see all these tall, slender women wearing clothes that are obviously too big for them. It sets up an expectation of looking tall and slender if you buy this clothing, and leads to the feeling that buying this clothing will substitute for working at diet and exercise. But this is a dangerous delusion, pawned off on consumers to encourage them to buy what they probably don't even need. Consumers are not buying clothing in this case, they are buying the feeling of being tall and thin, which, in the case of most plus-size women, is a lie.

From the retailers' point of view, the important thing is to sell their product, the more the better. In so doing, they ignore their responsibility to help make society a better place. Lining their own pockets takes the primary importance in their business dealings. The reason they have their clothing modeled by women who are not plus-size in the least is that it causes consumers to feel that buying these clothes will make them look tall and slender too. Retailers are persistently selling lies for their own profit.

There are attractive women who are truly plus-size, and such women could sell clothes for these retailers without misleading consumers. Naturally they would not sell as many, because delusions do sell more than the truth. However, women who bought clothing from such advertising would not be encouraged to think of themselves as thinner than they truly are, and would have the chance to have a realistic self-image that could lead to a healthier lifestyle and a reduction in obesity.

Truth in advertising hardly exists. Consumers are misled and bamboozled every day of the week. Where is the integrity in our society? Plus-size clothing should be modeled by plus-size models because it would be true and honest. Because it would be good for the moral fabric of society. Because it is the responsible thing to do. I call on retailers everywhere to stop misleading and bamboozling consumers, and instead begin to encourage truth, integrity and honesty by their example of truthful advertising.

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