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Glamour has been getting a lot of accolades for including a spread of genetically gifted plus-size models in their November issue, and we have to admit we find it amazingly refreshing to feast our eyes on women who have winking bellies, shapely thighs and even (gasp) back flab just like ours.

But, as we've pointed out before, we'd rather see average-size ladies scattered through the magazine's regular fashion spreads then stripped down for a special section. Not to mention that copy like "Are these women gorgeous or what?" can ring a bit false after the past however many decades Glamour has spent making women feel bad about their bodies.

Much more quietly, November's Marie Claire rolled out a new column directed at plus-size women, written by Ashley Falcon, a 5-foot-2-inch, 220-lb. fashion stylist, and entitled "Big Girl in a Skinny World." Of her size 18 figure, Falcon says, "I'm relegated to the plus-size racks, where trendy usually translates into 'when's your due date' empire waists and cinch-sack drawstrings. It's not easy being chic, but it's an epic struggle when you're a big girl." She goes on to offer tips on the best jeans for plus-size bods.


The new column, while a bit scattered, was charming and seems more genuinely inclusive of different body types than Glamour's spread of nude size 8-12 models. Still, in her editor's letter, Glamour's Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive writes, "Glamour is committing to featuring a wider range of body types, including in fashion and beauty stories ... In the real world women of all body types ... have sex appeal, full, fabulous lives, and men drooling all over them. Our pages should tell the same spectacularly confident and diverse story."

We'll believe it when we see it, but if Leive delivers on half that sentiment, November's spread may be just the tip of the iceberg for how women's magazines will cover different body shapes in the future.

Seeing plus-size women's bodies in the pages of our magazines is awesome. Hearing their voices is even better. But best of all would be a magazine that features women of larger sizes without needing to identify their perspectives as "plus-size." Let's hope that someday soon features and fashion spreads portraying a diverse range of body types will be unremarkable enough that magazines won't feel the need to label them.