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by Reena Daruwalla, guest writer for Nancy Hayssen.com

A ‘Plus size’ model winning a TV model hunt competition is something we  read and saw a lot about in the media and discussed at length when Whitney Thompson won America’s Next Top Model. Well now it would seem that this concept; that a model who is not a size 0 can also be a main stream model, is becoming more widely accepted and is reaching other shores as well.

The Australian version of America’s Next Top Model, which is not in its fifth season is looking also to emulate the example set by Whitney Thompson’s win it would seem. In a move that certainly bucks the trend, the show Australia’s Next Top Model has actually eliminated some models for being too skinny! One of the judges of the show, Charlotte Dawson is reported as having said, “But there were a couple (who) were a bit too skinny so we sent them away and said come back next year.”

Something else that is causing headlines is the inclusion of Sarah Murdoch as one of the judges of the show and her own take on the show: rather like Tyra Banks, presenter of the show Murdoch, who is a former model herself and a philanthropist, has indicated that she would like to see a plus size winner for the ongoing Season 5 of the show. She is hoping to send the right messages about being a healthy weight rather than a fashionable weight.She is quoted here as saying, “I am really pushing for a plus-size model this series because I am a big believer in healthy body types and encouraging girls to be the right body type.”

Good for her and good for all the models out there who are not trying to look like the regulation size 0 stick insect!