Melissa McCarthy Says The Term "Plus-Size" Hurts Women

“You’re taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘You’re not really worthy.’”

Actress and fashion designer Melissa McCarthy wants the clothing industry to stop segregating women based on size, starting with the term "plus-size."

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McCarthy told Refinery29 she's against the label, which she says keeps women above a size 12 separate from, and feeling less acceptable than, their "straight size" counterparts.

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McCarthy, whose line Melissa McCarthy Seven7 ranges from size 4 to 28, told the site that since 70% of women in the U.S. are size 14 and up, "You're taking your biggest category of people and telling them, ‘You’re not really worthy.'"

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“I don’t like the segregated plus section [in mainstream stores]," McCarthy says. "You’re saying: ‘You don’t get what everybody else gets. You have to go shop up by the tire section.'"

In recent months, stores like Target have come under fire for mixing plus-size and maternity lines in the same small section, or eliminating those lines from stores altogether.

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