Is Plus Size Dating for Me?

plus size personals

Plus size dating as an industry is booming because we're all bigger (men and women) than our parents' or grandparents' generation.

And, according to the fashion industry, plus sizes start at size 14 in the US and Canada (size 16 in the UK).

The identity of the person who came up with this rule this will probably remain shrouded in mystery. For their own safety.

Because you just know that the perpetrator will be a stick-thin fashion victim (in the "Sex and the City" style), who's never eaten a cheeseburger in their lives, and who'd probably be able to out-run a baying crowd of outraged plus size shoppers.

Unfortunately.

Because the average woman in the USA and Canada is a dress size 14 (size 16 in the UK).

But if we're average, then we're normal, and it's the fashion designers and manufacturers who need to change their thinking. Pronto. You know there's something hinkey about an industry that dreams up size zero in the first place.

Plus size dating sites have just as schizoid an attitude as to what plus size means. Lots of female singles registering for plus size personals sites do fit into the BBW (big beautiful woman) label.

But "big" is in the eye of the beholder, and BBWs can range in size from slightly plump, to the very large (who describe themselves as SSBBW (super sized big beautiful women).

If a size 14/16 is average, then half the female population could call themselves a BBW. And that's not including the BHMs (big handsome men).

After spending all of their money on frocks, the girls were forced to move into a cardboard box.

But they LOOKED simply divine.

Add to that the indisputable fact that after age 40 the waistline tends to broaden a little. As well as, ahem, other body parts.

We won't call it "middle aged spread" because we're all going to live to be at least 150. Middle age won't officially set in until we're 75.

Most of the big online dating sites allow you to search by body size; you're usually asked to describe yourself as athletic, normal, curvy, voluptuous, a few extra pounds, queen size, etc. Similarly, you're asked to specify a body type in a preferred mate.

But, like the specialised senior dating sites, plus size personals and BBW dating sites allow you to join a group of people with similar profiles, who are looking for specific qualities in their partners (whether that be size or age).