I am disturbed that GS and other industries consider these women "plus-size". In reality, I consider these women normal and a healthy weight.

Oh come on - not one of those girls is over a size 10.

I've been a size 14-16 since the age of 12, and I fail to see how a size 10 can be considered 'plus size'. I'm grateful that more in the fashion industry are beginning to recognize that size 2 to 6 isn't a body ideal, it's a body under attack, but until they stop referring to models of normal size as implicitly abnormal, they won't get far.

And calling these women plus size can cause cause more damage to girls self esteem. My daughter is a normal, healthy weight for her height---is not fat at all, yet is considered plus size in the fashion stores in the malls. That is just wrong.

The girls are not plus sizes. They need to be a size 18 or larger. These are normal sized girls. This is the problem with society (If you are not skin and bones you are a plus size?). False advertising on the person that wrote the article.

I am so glad you mentioned the Healthy Media for Youth Act! The bill encourages healthier media images of girls and women for the benefit of all youth!

More specifically, the bill creates a grant program for media literacy programs; facilitates research on the health effects of negative media images of girls and women; and sets up a taskforce to create voluntary standards for more girl positive media images.

YOU can help! Visit www.girlscouts4girls.org and send a letter of support to your Member of Congress, urging her or him to cosponsor the Healthy Media for Youth Act! Girl Scouts has created a draft letter for you to customize if you want. Then just fill out your information and Girl Scouts will send the letter off for you!

Support the Healthy Media for Youth Act TODAY!

If these girls are considered Plus-Size well you are sadly mistaken and you know what Girl Scouts - I still am not buying those cookies just like I am not buying this Ad. You are suppose to be teaching these little girls something about honesty. People need to just learn how to be happy with who they are and stop trying to be someone they are not.

okay, this pisses me OFF!!!! these womwn are NOT EVEN FAT! HOW CAN THEY BE PLUS SIZE???

You gotta be kidding, a size 10 is certainly worn by an obese woman. My Grandaughter belongs to the Girl Scouts here in Maryland and any that are obese are discouraged to join since they are a threat to the other girls who have an average body weight. They are unable to join in any physical activities such a playing ball and swimming activities. Ever since this Obama guy was elected, people think it is OK to be fat because of Michele looking like that.

@Wanda - Well, now I have heard it all. President Obama is responsible for the Girl Scouts discriminating against larger girls? Maybe it's time for your medicine. And that comment about Mrs. Obama "looking like that" . . . you only wish you looked "like that".

These girls represent almost every American girl or woman. I did not see anything plus-size about them really. If a size 8, 10, 12 and 14 are considered plus sizes, then the majority of us are plus size, which makes sizes 0-6 the minority. I will never understand the American need to label EVERYONE.

well you guys are proving exactly what the PSA is trying to change. you're looking at their weight instead of the big message the girls are trying to put by. they are a Healthy weight, not so obese as to hurting their health, and not starving themselves. i do think that the author of this article may have exaggerated a little bit tho...
Yes, i am a girl scout. and proud of it

Wanda, having been a Girl Scout for 13 years (and always a Girl Scout for life) I can say that your post is disgusting. I have NEVER known any girl, leader, or speaker in Girl Scouts to ever consider obese girls a "threat" to any other girls because of their weight. I agree that obesity is a major problem in our society and that the political media is allowing obesity to become the norm.

However, going to such extremes to say that an overweight child isn't allowed to join an organization that strives for empowering all girls and women no matter their differences, background, or in this case weight, is sickening.

Any "leader" who is calling the overweight or possibly obese children a threat must have some major personal body issues and should be removed from her position as a leader of the Girl Scout troop or as an official of the organization. This is purely against the entire point of Girl Scouts.

Now, about Girl Scouts using the term plus size as meaning size 10 and up. In order to get the point across that being "plus size" is okay, they have to use the same definition as the rest of the media. If they suddenly say that plus size is size 20 and up they wouldn't get as much support for their bill.

This is simply because everyone needs to take baby steps when working with politics. All women would love to see plus size as being size 20 or higher (or something similar to that), but it is impossible to change the fashion industry so drastically overnight.

Many small changes over time are needed for one big change.

I'm a GS troop leader and was just commenting to my fiance about how pleased I was to see that the girls in the spring/summer advertisement were all shapes and sizes. Sure they're representing the slimmer of plus sizes but at least they're trying. And one of the motos of girl scouting is "be a friend to every girl scout." I attended many training programs this year to teach the girls to be more inclusive and was blown away by the changes I saw in my own troop, particularly when it came to being a little kinder to girls that aren't the most popular. baby steps, people, baby steps.

I'm sick of this "plus-size" crap. Do people in the fashion industry consider anyone who wears greater than a size 2 plus-sized? I'm 5'6" and 160 pounds, is this considered "fat?" I only wear a size 12, which is average. The sooner the fashion industry stops considering a 5'10" 110 pound woman "normal" the better it will be on our mental states.

@Wanda - Your comment is absolutely asinine: my sister is in Girl Scouts, and they don't discriminate against weight. A size 10 is worn by an obese woman who's less than 5 feet tall, maybe. And the First Lady doesn't look anywhere near overweight: she is the one who is trying to stop childhood obesity with her "Let's Move!" movement.

I am glad that the Girl Scouts are teaching young girls to be happy with a normal weight. The skinny models and so called stars today look sick. However if a child is obese, they should help her understand good eating habits, not for her self esteem, but for her health. This can be done without hurting her self esteem.

Calling a size 10 a plus size is absurd. The models in that ad look like normal, healthy women. The industry standard for a dress form used to be a size 8, so how can a 10 be plus size? While I do believe that just about everyone could stand to lose a few pounds, labeling those models as plus size really send the wrong message.

Those models are a "healthy weight," but it still doesn't reach those few who might be a little fatter, who just merely haven't shed their baby fat or grown to their adult height. I am a fat adult who after bariatric surgery and having been on every diet in the universe has accepted that I will be so for the rest of my life. When I was "Girl Scout aged" I was called 'fatty" and "fatso" and "Crisco" (fat in the can), and yet I was 5' tall and 90 lbs. This is a very complicated issue. And it's sad that young girls are sort of caught in the middle. If you haven't seen it, try to find the HBO documentary called "Thin."