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Madeline Nichols

English 102

Mrs. Meissner

16 March 2019

Misrepresentation in the Fashion Industry and How it Impacts our Society

Introduction

As of 2018, the average American woman was a size 16. (Wessels 1) This might be

surprising to many readers, as most clothing stores only carry sizes up to 12 or 14, and most

advertisements feature a woman between size 00 and 6. (Williams 5) This gap between reality

and the representation of women in the fashion industry no doubt impacts the dynamic of our

society, and by looking at why this misrepresentation exists, how a lack of inclusion impacts

women, what these problems can lead to, and finally possible solutions the fashion industry

could adapt, I will explore how.

Rationale

Collectively, the purpose of my research is as previously explained, to explain how the

lack of representation of most women’s body type impacts our society as a whole. In order to

answer this question, I will have to answer some more specific questions (i.e how and why this

misrepresentation exists.) Although my main research question is somewhat broad, by

researching more finite points within the topic, I can provide specific and accurate answers.

When looking at how my research can address this issue within my community, I had to

consider my audience. Being in high school means that I am constantly surrounded by young
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women who are at a time of life known for insecurity. When beginning my research, I had only

plus size woman in my high school in mind, but the more that I learned, the more that I wanted

to include woman of all sizes in my audience. Although my topic focuses on a lack of

representation for plus size woman, I tried to shift my point of view a bit to include any woman

that feels left out, despite her size. I changed my approach to the topic in an attempt to connect

with more readers. I hope that this attempt will help address the lack of inclusion for woman of

all shapes and sizes that exists in retail locations within my community. In another attempt to

consider appealing to my audience, I also practiced some “field research” in which I went to my

local mall to document some examples of the issue within my community.

Discussion

After exploring how the issue of body shaming impacts my community, I began realizing

just how much more such advertising affects almost everyone. In order to begin to understand

how, I first wanted to look at why humans are affected by advertising so much. In an article

about why advertising impacts our body image so much, Todd Williams explains, “In order for

individuals to maintain a stable and secure form of self-esteem, they must be firmly embedded in

a social network of like-minded people who provide them with validation for their claims to

self-worth” (35) This means that people have a strong desire to fit in, and that a sense of social

acceptance is an important contributor to one's overall feelings of self-worth. Advertisements

featuring women of the same size, race, and age trigger a natural urge in humans to fit in. People

are exposed to the same type of person in advertising for so long that they subconsciously

believe that that is what fitting in looks like, thus getting thoughts of self degradation if they

don’t identify with the “majority”.

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Looking at why advertisements of a repetitive nature are opted for, not much of an

argument has been made as to why traditional advertising is a better choice. In 2013 a study was

conducted by Steve Sohn to ​examine how different body sizes of a female model—thin, average,

and large—influenced advertising effectiveness after controlling for social comparison, body

mass index, and facial attractiveness. Overall, the findings indicated that the use of a thin model

in advertising was not more effective than using an averaged-bodied model, and the use of an

average-sized model generated more positive brand attitude and purchase intention over the use

of thin sized models. (Sohn 44)

After discovering that advertisements that use larger women do not hurt a brand’s

business, I had to consider more possible reasons as to why the fashion industry opts for thin

models as opposed to models that are “average size”. One of the only supported reasons as to

why small clothing and models are preferred is pricing. Using a larger model and selling larger

sized clothes requires more fabric, thus requiring more money. Although this does play some

part in the selection of size range in retail, the majority of the reasoning appears to come from

simply put, laziness. In order for employees in the fashion industry to keep up with the growth in

size of the American population, they would have to be trained in the production of plus size

clothing. The reality is that most designers simply don’t know how to make quality clothing for

larger body types, and it takes time, money, and effort to implement new curriculum into design

schools. (Tomak 23) So designers choose not to expand their horizons, and the majority of

women pay for it by not having as much diversity in their clothing choices as smaller body types.

The phrase, “the majority of women pay for it” refers to more than just having a smaller

selection of clothing to shop from, as it also refers to the physiological damage that body
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shaming causes on a regular basis. In ​Jenny McQualie’s ​Straight/Curve, t​ he fact that “60% of

U.S. girls compare their bodies to fashion models” and “78% of U.S. girls at age 17 are unhappy

with their bodies” is presented to the viewer. These statements are a very real representation of

the lack of body confidence within our society, and the film explores how better representation

would aid in lowering these numbers. Looking past the surface of the issue of body shaming, and

into how self hatred can affect a person suggests that selective advertising can be more harmful

than previously predicted. In 2013 it was proven that young people who thought they were

overweight were more likely to have suicidal thoughts. (Alden 16) Although feeling overweight

does not directly descend from misrepresentation in advertising, many women feel that they are

overweight simply because the don’t see their body represented in advertising. Technically

speaking, a person is considered medically overweight if their weight is more than 20% higher

than what it should be, however it has become a norm in our society to self diagnose as

overweight, even if one’s BMI is healthy. (Medicinenet 1) Although accurate advertising will not

eliminate body based suicidal thoughts, it would aid in creating a more supportive, inclusive

environment for those struggling.

Analysis

After exploring why people are impacted by advertising, why non inclusive advertising is

used, and how body shaming can impact people everywhere, I still feel as though my original

research question isn’t fully answered. Although I addressed how such advertising impacts

individuals and their mental health, I didn’t discuss how that affects our society as a whole. I feel

that I accurately answered the smaller questions I asked within my broad research topic, but I
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need to conclude with a better answer to my original question. I can do this by researching how

mental illness affects a variety of aspects within our society, as opposed to just a single person.

I also feel that my research should go more in depth. I often pulled from different sources

to back up a point I was already making, as opposed to reading a source and basing my argument

around it. My research technique aside, I feel that my sources are strong and do an acceptable job

of explaining my point, I just need to review what I pull from each source. I was also given the

opportunity to patchwrite and didn’t use it. Moving forward, I would like to practice

patchwriting. Although I can’t use it continuing with this research, I can implement it in

appropriate assignments in the future.

Next Steps/ Additional Questions

Looking at possible revisions, I need to make many changes and continue my research

immensely for my final assignment. As explained I will begin with researching how poor mental

health impacts our society. I will then attempt to narrow my focus enough to make the

connection between non inclusive advertising and mental illness more clear to the reader. I will

do so through research, but also by interviewing a variety of sources on the topic. From teenage

women in my high school, to retail employees, I will conduct interviews that will hopefully add a

layer of personality to my project, and will clear any confusion regarding my argument.

When beginning this project, my target audience was originally young women in my high

school and community. After exploring the topic more I have come to realize that although

providing an explanation to young women as to how advertising impacts them can be helpful, the

real change comes from addressing the problem at its core. I will attempt to shift the tone of my

project to appeal to an audience of business owners, retail employees, and marketing teams. By
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communicating this issue with many people that contribute to it, I can hopefully make more of

an impact than I previously hoped for. With a more narrowed focus, better research, a personal

touch, and a more impactful audience, I feel as though my project will be able to promote change

in my community, and beyond.

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Works Cited

Alden, Sharyn. “Body Image Tied to Suicidal Thoughts in Young Teens.” ​Body Image Tied to

Suicidal Thoughts in Young Teens | Center for Advancing Health​,

www.cfah.org/hbns/2013/body-image-tied-to-suicidal-thoughts-in-young-teens.

“Definition of Obese.” ​MedicineNet​,

www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11760.

Sohn, Steve H., and Seounmi Youn. “Does She Have to Be Thin? Testing the Effects of Models’

Body Sizes on Advertising Effectiveness.” ​Atlantic Journal of Communication,​ vol. 21,

no. 3, July 2013, pp. 164–183. ​EBSCOhost,​ doi:10.1080/15456870.2013.803109.

Straight/Curve. Dir. Jenny McQuaile. Epix Original, 2018

TOKMAK, Gizem. “Attitudes toward Woman Body Portrayals in Advertising: A Comparison in

Terms of Feminism Levels of Female Consumers.” ​International Journal of Management

Economics & Business / Uluslararasi Yönetim Iktisat ve Isletme Dergisi,​ Oct. 2017, pp.

467–475. ​EBSCOhost​,

webcontent.heartland.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=

true&db=a9h&AN=127855252&site=ehost-live.

Williams, Todd J., et al. “Following and Resisting Body Image Ideals in Advertising: The

Moderating Role of Extrinsic Contingency Focus.” ​Self & Identity,​ vol. 13, no. 4, July

2014, pp. 398–418. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.1080/15298868.2013.836133.

Wessels, Dan. “Average Weight for Women: Healthy and Ideal Ranges.” ​Medical News Today,​

MediLexicon International, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321003.php.