If you don’t know the name Dexter Mayfield now, you will soon.
The plus-size model, dancer and actor from Los Angeles, US, is making waves in an industry that hasn’t so far made much space for men of his stature.
The fashion industry is (slowly) getting better at including plus-size female models, see Ashley Graham, Iskra Lawrence, Tess Holiday and Paloma Elsesser all slaying on the regular.
But plus-size male models have been left somewhat in the shade.
Now Mayfield is working to change that.
He made his catwalk debut at a Marco Marco show during LA Fashion Week 2015.
And then again in 2016 (see his particularly spectacular walk).
In an interview with MIC magazine, he said: “Plus women have had that platform, and a few of my plus sisters in drag have been able to get that platform, but no one with a male aesthetic has had that opportunity.”
Since the show Mayfield’s reputation is growing and he now has over 10,000 followers on Instagram.
In spite of the fact people clearly love Mayfield’s attitude to normalised beauty standards (he regularly uses the #effyourbeautystandards hashtag) he says that “no matter how far I come in the industry” he is still told to lose weight.
And after HuffPost UK reported new NHS data that showed the number of men admitted to hospital with eating disorders has risen by 70% in the past six years, now is the time to have the conversation about diversity in male body image.
“We [plus-size male models] need to be out there on billboards. I think that so many more young men will be confident in themselves and happy as the person they are if we can do that,” said Mayfield.
And Mayfield isn’t the only one who thinks there needs to be more focus on the male plus size industry; in 2016 the UK opened it’s first plus size male modelling agency, Bridge Models.
The agency, which also represents plus size women, were following in the footsteps of American agency IMG and their new ‘Braun‘ division.
They credited an “increase in the demand for a wider range of men’s clothing sizes” for their decision to launch the section.