BBW - 15 big beautiful plus-size models

Source: http://www.asylum.co.uk/2008/10/31/bbw-15-big-beautiful-plus-size-models/

When you think of a model, you probably picture a twiggy, alien-like creature who subsists mainly on a diet of nicotine and diet cola. But we appreciate the female form in its many different shapes and sizes, from trim to voluptuous. So we decided to lavish some attention on the unsung sister to the runway waif, the plus-size model.

The full-figured females in the gallery below aren’t all as famous as the Kate Mosses of the world, but they do have one thing in common: They get our blood pumping with their dangerous curves.

15. Barbara Brickner is one of the biggest names in plus-size modeling, with a 10+ year career that’s as healthy as her physique.

14. Ireland’s Charlotte Coyle models for goth-y plus-size mainstay Torrid, and hosted a U.K. reality show in 2006 called Fat Beauty Contest.

13. Brazilian Fluvia Lucerda shows that her country has the stronghold on hot models of all sizes.

12. Johanna Dray of France busted into notoriously thin high fashion by appearing in John Galliano’s “Everybody is Beautiful” show and subsequent French Vogue editorial.

11. Up-and-comer Justine Legault hails from Canada, where they apparently loll about the bedroom without any clothing.

10. You only need one name when you’re as stunning as Canadian model Liis.

9. Once anorexic, Crystal Renn scored layouts in Vogue’s U.S., Italian, French and German editions after going plus-size. The smoking Renn has even been on “Oprah,” where she discussed body issues.

8. Natalie Laughlin was the first plus-size model to be on a billboard in Times Square — she consequently earned four more.

7. Christina Schmidt played a plus-size model on “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” Fans liked her so much she was signed by Wilhelmina.

6. 21-year-old Whitney Thompson.

5. Kate Dillon began her career as a size six, but rose to fame as a plus-size model who frequently appears in her underwear.

4. Celebuspawn Mia Tyler started modeling at the age of 17, before stooping to reality fare on “Celebrity Fit Club.”

3. Sophie Dahl, the granddaughter of chldren’s book author Roald Dahl has since slimmed down, but she was discovered as a model at her most voluptuous, including a 38DD bra size.

2. When she wasn’t being a total nutjob, Anna Nicole Smith managed to look beautiful at any size, just like her inspiration, Marilyn Monroe.

1. Another “Top Model” contestant, plus-size Tocarra Jones has followed up her reality stint with a series of lad mag photo spreads so titillating they earned her the number one spot.

Meaning of BBW term

Carole Shaw in 1979, opened BBW Magazine, fashion and lifestyle related magazine for plus-size women.

 

Meaning

The term is a subjective, visually-determined concept that does not have an explicit lower or upper weight limitation, and may denote women who may be considered barely overweight to those who are morbidly obese.

The term has several near-synonyms with varying shades of meaning:

• Full-figured or Rubenesque - the latter term referring to the art of Peter Paul Rubens, best known for portraying full-bodied women.
• Voluptuous and zaftig usually connote ripeness, sensuality, and a body shape involving large breasts and wide hips.

 

Usage

Although “BBW” may have been first used and copyrighted in the context of BBW Magazine, the term’s usage spread over the years, to the point that even women who had never heard of the magazine began to refer to themselves as “BBWs.”

Some women may adopt the term as a personal preference over the term Rubenesque, or full-figured, because they may not necessarily have large breasts or hips. Such terms, and others such as “queen-sized”, “plus-sized”, or “fat” may lead to feelings of marginalization or non-inclusion for some women. However, some strongly prefer the term fat over other words which they consider unnecessary euphemisms.

The term is also commonly used as a positive euphemism by people involved with the fat acceptance movement, who often reject the descriptor “obese”.

Today, the abbreviation is often found in personal ads (and online dating services) denoting an identification with (or preference for) such women.

The term BBW is also used to denote events specifically targeted to such women, and persons interested in them, such as specific gathering nights in dance clubs, restaurants, fashion stores and shows, etc so that an environment of acceptance is achieved by having like-minded or like-bodied persons in attendance.

 

Websites

A large number of BBW websites are pornographic, or even sexually fetishistic in nature (including fat fetishism and feederism).

However, there are also BBW sites which are dedicated to sending out a size-positive message towards larger women, some of which denounce the dieting industry as encouraging women to lose weight to conform to what is considered the ideal by mainstream society.

 

Variants

The acronym BBBW refers to Big Beautiful Black Woman. Another variant is SSBBW; Super-Size Big Beautiful Woman, which refers to women who are above a US dress size 26.^{[citation needed]}

While “Big Beautiful Woman” may be prevalent in the Americas and Europe, in Asian countries where obesity may be considered uncommon or deemed unhealthy, other terms are used.