Speaking as a fat girl who has struggled with losing weight... a lot... even while eating healthy foods and exercising regularly, I don't see having a "plus-sized model" as affirming the "right-ness" of being plus-sized. I see it as demonstrating the fact that I can, in fact, find my flipping size in a store or on a website.

Stores having models and mannequins in the range of sizes in which they sell stuff, saves me from wasting time searching for something I'm not going to find on their racks (sheesh, no pun intended).

I appreciate the model being there, but it doesn't mean I want to look like her- and I don't know many girls at or around her size that would really say, "Gee, she's fat and pretty so maybe I should just keep eating this handful of double-stuft Oreo cookies! Hurrah for being fat!"

Almost everyone I know who is my size or larger participates in a LOT of self-loathing.

I, for one, would much *rather* look like the skinny girl because I am sure she gets asked on more dates, but I am pleased as punch that I just might be able to get a swimsuit that can handle my breasts without making me look like a whore- because even if I lose another 50lbs, my boobs are still gonna be big- it's genetics.