Glamour’s new plus size-focused stand-alone issue “Chic At Any Size”—part of a partnership with Lane Bryant—has received praise, but one star featured is, if not mad about the inclusion, questioning it.
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The issue is devoted to style, and alongside cover star and model-of-the moment Ashley Graham (who has appeared on Sport’s Ilustrated and Maxim in the past few months, and is a Lane Bryant model), you’ll see the coverline “Women Who Inspire Us: Melissa McCarthy, Adele, Amy Schumer & Ashley Graham.”
On Twitter and Instagram, however, Schumer took umbrage at being included on a cover devoted to plus size. Not, she says, because there’s anything wrong with being called plus size, but because she doesn’t label herself that way and wasn’t informed she’d be included.
“I think there’s nothing wrong with being plus size,” she wrote. “Beautiful healthy women. Plus size is considered size 16 in America. I go between a size 6 and an 8. @glamourmag put me in their plus size only issue without asking or letting me know and it doesn’t feel right to me. Young girls seeing my body type thinking that is plus size? What are your thoughts? Mine are not cool glamour not glamourous.” She went on to clarify that she thought it was “Just a little odd an [sic] unfair not to be told.”
Schumer’s already retweeted a few reactions; at this time, Glamour hasn’t responded. I haven’t seen the full copy of the issue—it costs $12.99, okay?—but Fashionista reports that it includes content already seen in previous iterations of Glamour, including their Schumer interview from August:
Much of the issue features republished or repackaged content, as is typical of Condé Nast special issues, which also means Lane Bryant doesn’t have a bigger presence in the editorial credits than other brands (since the content was produced pre-partnership). The cover image itself is from last year, and readers will find interviews with Amy Schumer and Melissa McCarthy from 2015, Lena Dunham from 2014 and an editorial starring Christina Hendricks from 2011.
The disconnect here seems to be between a typical fashion magazine’s definition of the word, how clothing companies define it, and how women do. If it weren’t for the Lane Bryant connection, “Chic At Any Size” could have looked a lot like Vogue’s annual Shape issue, which is their chance to lump a bunch of celebrities who aren’t models under a banner of celebrating body size diversity, though it does use new interviews and photos. But because Lane Bryant—a company that specifically uses the term plus size and serves an explicitly plus-size market—is involved, the issue (the first of two that will be released) has been marketed as such, and specifies on the cover that it includes outfits that flatter “Sizes 12 & Up.” From the Women’s Wear Daily article about the issue:
While the ceo noted that definition of plus-size is a bit murky and “part of the challenge” — the fashion world puts plus-size at beginning at eight or 10 and above, while Lane Bryant starts it at size 12 or 14 — spending is at least $19 billion a year.
Schumer’s a Glamour favorite; she gave a memorable speech at the Glamour UK Women of the Year Awards in June after accepting their “Trailblazer Award,” so one can imagine that the magazine is probably not super happy about this development.
Update: in a series of tweets, Glamour editor Cindi Leive responded, saying Schumer was included because she has talked extensively about “body-positivity.”
