I
realised the other day as I got dressed to go to Zumba, that all my gym gear
was basically stuff that I deemed not good enough to wear in polite society,
but was too good to throw away. I’m not one of these women who thinks she has
to wear a full face of makeup and have perfect hair when she goes to the gym, I
pretty much figure I’m there to get hot and sweaty and having your make up
running down your face a la Gene Simmons is not a great look. However last week,
the slightly vain bit of me, thought it might be OK if I bought some nice gym
clothes that I hadn’t owned for 5 years.
 |
| My sexy gym look! |
A shopping trip beckoned and as I flicked
through the rails I realised that I was in the wrong bit of the shop. Nothing
in the section I was looking went above a size 16. I realised I needed to be in
the special “fatties” section. They don’t call it that obviously, because that
might be offensive, instead they say “plus size” and do you know what it’s a
term that really annoys me!
What
does it even mean? I’m a size plus what? Another size? An extra few stone? Who
invented the term? At what point do you become “plus size”? Do you receive a
letter through the post informing you’re no longer size acceptable?
If you
watch something like “America’s Next Top Model”, then Tyra will deem anyone
size 12 or over a plus size model. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Tyra, I
admire her greatly, but when she says things like “you are a bootlicious curvy
beauty doing it for the larger lady” I want to throw my shoe at the tele, Jerry
Springer style and scream, she’s a size 12 you moron and has a far nicer body
than the daughters of Skeletor you keep putting through!
I get that the modelling industry has a
slightly skewed version of beauty and that using fat people mean you’ll have to
use more material in your dresses, which will cost you more, but and here’s
something for you to consider…….. fat people like nice clothes too!
We buy
them too, only we tend to just call them “clothes” I’ve never heard anyone say
I went and bought myself a “plus size dress the other day”, they tend to say “I
bought a dress the other day”
A lingerie brand recently
announced they were dropping the term “plus size” (hurrah) instead they were
replacing it with the term “Extended”. There are a few things in life I believe
can be extended – holidays, your house, your mortgage or something on a stick
so you can wash your windows. I’m not sure a person can be extended! It doesn’t
mean anything!
I don’t mind being called “curvy”, because
that conjures up images of Marilyn Monroe, who still sells more magazines when
she’s on the cover than any other woman!
Ajay Rochester who is an author and host of “Australia’s Biggest Loser” has launched a
campaign on Instagram to #droptheplussize as she believes (and I agree) that
using the term “plus size” is damaging for the minds of young people and I
agree.
Women come in different shapes and sizes,
we’re different heights and weights. For example, someone who is 5ft 11 and
weighs 12 stone is going to be a size 12. Another woman who also weighs 12
stone, but is 5ft 3, would probably be a size 16 / 18.
It makes me laugh that even when I reach my
Slinky goal, I’ll still technically have to shop in the “plus size” or
“extended” section (if I decide to treat myself to some lingerie) So
how’s about we just have clothes shops that sell clothes for women of all
shapes and sizes, where you can go in, find what you want, buy it, wear it and
feel good in it and not have to head to back of the store where they’ve put a
section for fat people?
I’d also be interested to hear from those who
shop in the “petite” section, do you mind being referred to as “petite” or
“tiny”?
PS – I
lost another pound this week, that’s 6 over 3 weeks, I’ll take that and party!
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