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Is the term 'plus-size' offensive? Queen Latifah thinks so

Funny girl Queen Latifah is the latest celebrity to join Home Shopping Network with a new line called the “Queen Collection.” The actress joins a laundry list of HSN stars (including Serena Williams and Molly Sims) but in addition to debuting her personal aesthetic, she has a cause: remove “plus-size” from the style vocabulary. “[Plus-size] is a word we need to bury at this point,"
Queen Latifah at a star-studded double-taping of
Queen Latifah at a star-studded double-taping of

Funny girl Queen Latifah is the latest celebrity to join Home Shopping Network with a new line called the “Queen Collection.” The actress joins a laundry list of HSN stars (including Serena Williams and Molly Sims) but in addition to debuting her personal aesthetic, she has a cause: remove “plus-size” from the style vocabulary.

 “[Plus-size] is a word we need to bury at this point," Latifah told WWD, noting that her new apparel and accessories line will be simply  “for all sizes." Latifah specifically took issue with what she thinks is disrespect for “larger girls” as consumers, who are often relegated to their own areas in stores and online.

"I felt the marketplace didn't respect us in the way it should,” she said. “I was not going to step out with a clothing line that didn't respect a fuller-figured woman or a curvaceous woman, and really all women."

The Queen Collection apparel and outerwear lines, set to launch on Aug. 27 on HSN, will be priced under $100, whereas the handbags and outerwear styles – constructed in genuine leathers and suede – will be between $170 and $300. In addition to fashion items, Latifah will also debut a custom line of clip-on hair extensions at just over $100.

“I wanted to make something size two and up,” Latifah said. "We all would like to wear the same clothes. We all want to wear beautiful, fly clothes no matter what size you are, and so for me it was important to match with a company that understood and respected that ideal."

What do you think? 

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