Gone are the days when modeling wasn’t taken as a career. Today, the modeling industry is growing by leaps and bounds by many taking up modeling as a way of earning a living.
An industry where beauty, size, and height a new modeling gig is one that seems to favor slim ladies most and those with plus-sizes seem to be pushed outside the circle or even at times looked at with contempt.
For 20-year-old Miriam a plus-size model whose love for modeling goes back to her high school going days and falls first on how she is ruled on as a plus-size.
“Am 20 years old but I have not yet produced, am not a mother or anything, am still a student. But then, people will judge you because you are fat, people think fat people are supposed to be mothers , something of that sort. Then another thing, people don’t believe that if you are fat you can be a good model. Most people will say modeling….and they even don’t get the word plus-size, they call you fat. That word fat is a bit rude, I don’t know the way they get it to fat?”
In such an increasingly growing industry, few plus-size models have made it to the top runways which Mariam gives reasons as to why. “You can go to casting like recently, I went to some casting and I was the only plus-size girl. What does that show? Others feel they won’t be accepted so they won’t come up.
They feel that those walkways are for small people, so meaning; they still have that thinking that plus-sizes are still not yet accepted.
And I didn’t pass through because you know most plus-size girls are not tall enough. And those people require plus-sizes who are tall.
So in most cases, that’s also a challenge. And I think another challenge is we are not taken as people who can walk well something of that sort.” Sharp words and rejections from the judges and casting directors, at times swift plus-size models are hurt while sharing their experiences is hard and only takes brave lent souls to speak out.
“Those people they don’t like talking it out because of its kind of embarrassing. And somebody will just tell you don’t dare go there, you will not be accepted.
One time, there was some audition and my friend went who was the only plus-size and then she was sharing her experience like don’t go there, don’t dare go there I will never go back again.
They won't tell you about their experience and this is the first time am sharing my experience because I have been given an opportunity. But it's embarrassing for me to share with a fellow model that this happened and some people don't just care.
As a commercial and a runway model, her first experience on the runway has been a rated day to her making training paramount in her daily routine so as to attract international deals and also be the face of the plus-size models in Uganda.
The model industry has few plus-size models yet many would love to come and exploit their potential which is not possible due to the emerging criticism that they have to endear leaving a portion of why do most modeling agencies don't take on plus-size models a question is pushed to Nsubuga Roonie who owns a modeling agency downtown.
"All those plus-size models are not a very easy industry to take in. Because the participants; the girls themselves that we use as plus-size models are not easy to manage. Most of them fear themselves, so when you sign a girl today, tomorrow she might realize and give up easily based on the fact that there are many models who are actually not in their sizes which gets to be a very difficult thing in their careers as plus-size models. So they easily give up which is one of the reasons why many agencies don’t get them up.
” With confidence being a key reported in the industry, many plus-size models think there is a long way to go for the industry to change this perception about plus-size models.
