Originally Posted by GuruBishisama
I think it depends on who's outlook you're observing.
For the average FORT user (disclaimer: sweeping generalizations ahead), a plus sized winner would further tarnish their opinion on the show. There seems to be a huge outcry around these parts for a "more High-Fashion" ANTM, and lets face it, Plus-Sized modeling is primarily a commercial field. On a board where AusNTM's Alice is considered a goddess among mortals, there is very little desire for run of the mill girls--people want women that are tall, skinny, and doll-like or alienesque. Aka typical high-fashion girls. A winner who would never realistically work in High Fashion, and therefore, do no good toward boosting the credibility of ANTM in the fashion world is worthless in the idea of your typical FORT poster.
For the average casual viewer, a plus sized girl winning would be a triumph. During season eight, I was talking with two girls in my art class on Thursday, the day after Whitney was eliminated. When they asked me how I felt about it, I said it was a relief and she had it coming. Her pictures had been consistently underwhelming for a while, and she was way below the level of the other girls simply in terms of skill. She was the worst model left, plain and simple.
The two girls I was talking to didn't care about that. They proceeded to explain to me what a jerk I was, as Whitney was the only "real woman" left on the show, and that it was pretty sick and twisted that I wanted to see another stick figure take home the title. The average person doesn't care about falling for ANTM's editing tricks--actually, they rather easily feed into them. They don't stop and think that a plus sized winner won't actually change the fashion industry, because Tyra has convinced them that it will. A plus sized girl winning would probably please a lot of people because it would give them affirmation that all types of women are beautiful, especially when an "average" girl can beat out a bunch of skinny ones.
