Consumer Response toward Plus‐Size Models Featured in the Mainstream Media

• Published date: 01 December 2019
• Author: Kathrynn Pounders,Amanda Mabry‐Flynn
• Date: 01 December 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12251

WINTER 2019 VOLUME 53, NUMBER 4 1355

KATHRYNN POUNDERS AND AMANDA MABRY-FLYNN

Consumer Response toward Plus-Size Models Featured in

the Mainstream Media

The rise of the body acceptance movement among consumers has led

several brands and media outlets to feature models with diverse body

shapes and sizes. However,little research has examined consumer reac-

tions to these nontraditional models. This exploratory study addresses

this gap by examining consumer response to three different instances in

which a plus-size model was featured in a popular press magazine. Dis-

course analysis examined consumer-generated online comments. Three

broad themes were identied that included positive sentiment related

to more inclusivity in media representations of women: concern about

model body size and health, and questions around how a “plus” size

body is dened. This work offers insight into consumer response to

plus-size models, sheds light into how society views the plus-size body

and health, as well as how brands can begin to integrate plus-size models

into marketing and advertising campaigns.

It is well documented that advertising and the media create and perpet-

uate societal standards of beauty and physical attractiveness (Schroeder

and Borgerson 2015; Schroeder and Zwick 2004; Stephens, Hill, and Han-

son 1994; Thompson and Hirschman 1995). A notable body of work

has shown media produce and communicate social signiers, including

gender, specically depictions of femininity and beauty. According to

Schroeder and Zwick (2004, 24), “advertising discourse both reects and

creates social norms” and media and advertising representations inu-

ence both cultural and individual perceptions of gender identity, femi-

ninity, and physical attractiveness. Work by Hirschman and Thompson

(1997) identied three interpretive strategies that consumers use to form

relationships with the mass media: inspiring and aspiring, rejecting, and

identifying/individualizing. Hence, the iterative normativity of imagery

depicted in the media contributes to the development of social cate-

gories and, in part, dictates which are celebrated and which are rejected.

That norms about the female body are constructed and communicated

Kathrynn Pounders (kate.pounders@austin.utexas.edu) is an Assistant Professor at Stan Richards

School of Advertising & PR, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. Amanda Mabry-Flynn

(amabry@illinois.edu) is an Assistant Professor, Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising,

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL.

The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Winter 2019: 1355–1379

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12251

Copyright 2019 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

1356 THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

through the media has been met with criticism, most notably, the negative

impact that exposure to idealized imagery has on women’sself-perceptions

(D’Alessandro and Chitty 2011; Grabe, Ward, and Hyde 2008; Groesz,

Levine, and Murnen 2002; Hogg and Fragou 2003; Pounders, Rice, and

Mabry-Flynn 2017; Richins 1991). Currently, the normatively attractive

female body is one that is very thin—often unattainably so—and most

often white or fair-skinned with no noticeable imperfections (e.g., cel-

lulite, rolls, acne, etc.). This thin-ideal communicated via advertising

and other media has been associated with disordered eating habits, low

self-esteem, and stigmatized attitudes toward women who do not conform

to this ideal. As a result, there has been pressure for brands to eliminate

or reduce the exclusive use of models adhering to the thin-ideal. This is

echoed by a growing number of consumers who are using social media

platforms to voice their desire to see models featured in ads who more

closely resemble themselves—particularly models of various body sizes

and shapes.

Recently, this call has been answered by some media outlets and brands.

For example, plus-size models have been included in New York’s Fashion

Week in 2017, retailing brand H&M launched a campaign in 2016 that

featured a diverse set of body shapes and sizes, and recently Simply Be

released a campaign featuring plus-size models with the hashtag #Weare-

curves. Additionally, Vogue featured plus-size model Ashley Graham (in

conjunction with other models) on the cover of its March 2017 edition.

Other brands are making strides when it comes to procedures related to

digitally altering photos. For example, CVS Pharmacy recently announced

that it will no longer feature models that have been airbrushed to sell its

beauty products and is encouraging other beauty brands sold in the store

to do the same (Horowirtz 2018). CVS stated that the move was to make

women feel good and celebrate the authenticity of the diverse communi-

ties the brand serves (Horowirtz 2018). Additionally, Getty Images will no

longer use photos that have been altered to modify a model’s body, which

was announced when France began to implement legislation that requires

ads to provide a disclosure if they have digitally altered an ad.

Although brands have taken strides to address the call to be more

body inclusive, research that examines consumer response to such changes

is lacking. Examining consumer perceptions is more critical than ever

as a growing number of consumers convey a desire for model inclu-

sivity. Additionally, two-way communication between consumers and

brands via social media ensures that any step a brand takes may result

in signicant ramications for the brand in terms of its reputation

and identity.