Australian model Stefania Ferrario was tired of being shoehorned into the plus-size modeling market.
Ferrario partnered with Australia's host of The Biggest Loser, Ajay Rochester, to start the #droptheplus campaign.
Rochester, too, was frustrated by how she believed women had been hurt by the "plus" label.
Rochester said she was moved to start #droptheplus because she felt that the distinction between plus- and straight-sized women was dangerous.
"It's dangerous thinking and dangerous labeling and it's outdated," Rochester wrote on her blog. "We don't label anyone else that way: chef and plus sized chef, comedian and plus sized comedian, doctor and plus sized doctor, teacher and plus sized teacher. So why models and/or women? We are humans, we come in all shapes and sizes."
Instead, Rochester wants women to embrace their bodies as they are. She believes that starting with the fashion industry will be a big step in the right direction.
"Describing a beautiful, healthy, fit woman as 'plus' shows that [bigger women] are not fully accepted in the fashion industry and subconsciously tells these girls they will never be enough unless they shrink to fit the mold," she wrote. "By creating a segregated system of acceptance we then pave the way for bullying.
The #DropThePlus campaign has quickly taken off across Twitter.
#beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, so #droptheplus
Terms such as plus size strip people of their self-esteem and creates people who don't feel as beautiful as they should #droptheplus
#droptheplus because people who fit in bigger clothing sizes should never feel like their body isn't normal
Love this <3 @ajayrochester #droptheplus