Melissa McCarthy: ?The Term ?Plus-Size? Hurts Women?

Talented actress-turned-fashion designer Melissa McCarthy wants the fashion industry to stop labelling women based on their size, starting with the term ?plus-size.?

The Bridesmaids star said she is against the term, which she says keeps women above a size 12 feeling like outcasts, and implies they are less attractive than their ‘straight-sized? counterparts.

?Women come in all sizes. Seventy percent of women in the United States are a size 14 or above, so you’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ?You’re not really worthy,?? she told Refinery29.

McCarthy also spoke of her dislike of using the term to corral some women into a separate category. ?I don’t like the segregated plus section. It hurts women. You’re saying: ?You don’t get what everybody else gets. You have to go shop up by the tire section.??

?I have a couple of very big retailers that I think are going to help me chip away at [segregated sizing],? she added. ?I said, ?Run the sizes as I make them and let friends go shopping with their friends. Stop segregating women.??

The popular comedian recently launched her debut line ?Melissa McCarthy Seven7? and the clothing ranges from size 4 to 28. This comes after she was very vocal about her difficulties trying to find red carpet gowns to suit her curvier shape. ?Two Oscars ago, I couldn’t find anybody to do a dress for me. I asked five or six designers and they all said no.? Well?now she’s had the last laugh, as she can dress herself for all future events.

McCarthy has frequently said she has always wanted to be a designer – she cites Jean Paul Gaultier as a personal favourite and was attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York before she dropped out to pursue’stand up.

The launch of her clothing line is another string to add to her bow; she’s been in an array of hugely successful films, and is a well-respected comedian. She also isn’t afraid to challenge sexism, which gives us another reason to love her.

There’s no word yet on when her line reaches Irish shores, but here’s hoping it’s very soon.

Via Refinery29