In a September 22 post, Cupcake wrote that #ThisIsPlus is "for everyone, but specifically anyone who feels that [these] campaigns do not represent them."
Since then, #ThisIsPlus-tagged photos have been posted across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by hundreds of people of varying shapes, sizes, colors, genders, and physical abilities.
“People feel they have been sidelined for having an ‘undesirable’ shape or ‘unacceptable’ size by the very brands who are supposed to represent them,” Cupcake tells BuzzFeed Life.
Cupcake says she's spoken to representatives for plus-size brands, who insist they're simply using models from agencies whose talent fit "industry standards." But she believes this is passing the buck.
"These standards are 5 foot 10 inch, size 12 to 16, hourglass-shaped with no weight around their faces, and predominantly white," she says.
Meanwhile, Lane Bryant is standing by its campaign.
On her blog, Cupcake says she hopes #ThisIsPlus will inspire retailers to "start celebrating ALL plus-size bodies, not opt for the same old formula that showcases only a tiny percentage of the people it is supposed to represent."
"That's why I started #ThisIsPlus. I want to show off every kind of plus-size you can imagine."
Mhm, that's right.
BuzzFeed Life has reached out to Evans for comment.
