With insecurities about size continuing to plague young women, some point to the fashion industry as a main contributor.

USA Today writer Linda Hellmich reported psychologists and eating-disorder experts claim “the fashion industry has gone too far in pushing a dangerously thin image that women, and even very young girls, may try to emulate.”

This has led to the term “model” having certain connotations for young women.

“[A model is] someone who has certain features…basically someone who can wear anything,” said freshman Kassie Kelemen.

Commonly, the word implies size.

Sophomores Serenity Anderson and Alivia Montgomery state the first thing that comes to mind for them is someone who is skinny, as society is conditioned to expect a “model” to be a thin women.

“If a thicker-sized model were to be on the cover of Vogue magazine, it would cause a skinnier model to feel as if she’s doing something wrong,” said Kelemen.

According to an editorial in PLUS Model magazine, research revealed plus-size models averaged between size 12 and size 18 in the year 2000, while today most plus-size models are between size 6 and size 14. The magazine also reported more than half of the women in America are size 14 or larger. This leads to a significant discrepancy between models in the fashion industry and the average-sized woman. Because of this, some would like to see larger sizes represented in the modeling industry.

“They are used to fit girls on the cover, so once they see change, they’ll feel a certain type of way,” said Montgomery.

Some even feel that larger sizes are becoming more prevalent on the runway.

“[Plus-size modeling] is becoming more trending than before. I think it’s great,” said Kelemen.

Students agree that clothing size is not the only difference between regular-size models and plus-size models, it is the acceptance level.