Without Black Women, Plus-Size Fashion Wouldn’t Exist
I remember the first time I realized plus-size women were not seen as desirable in mainstream (read: white) culture. It was 2004, plus-size model Tocarra Jones had made her debut on America’s Next Top Model, and for some reason, she seemed a hard concept for America to grasp. A beautiful, confident, happy plus-size woman? No way. As for me, a young Black girl, I knew plenty of Tocarras. The Black community has always embraced thickness, so to us, Jones didn’t seem out of place alongside the other women on the show. She was a model, it was a modeling show; it just made sense. After all, Black women are largely responsible for plus-size fashion’s growth as an...
