The Hormonal Umbrella

As someone who has traipsed malls in the 80s and 90s to find that one store that carried my size I find this article disgusting . Anyone who frowns upon plus size mannequins is wrong.. Dead wrong.
 Why did I have to go through 3 floors of retail offerings to find that one store that carried my size?! Was my body shape not profitable enough?! Did someone assume I was a bad example of gluttony via the stereotype express? Was society simply telling me to go somewhere else that I didn't exist on their scale. ( pun not intended).
 Whatever the actual reason was .. I got the message... I wasn't the "norm" I wasn't "desired" . The men weren't chasing me down , it was presumed I'd never buy lipstick and bags of lingerie. I wasn't targeted for marketing. Fat people apparently had no style or money back then in their eyes. All I knew was that my section was hidden in the back of a store as if I were societies dirty little secret and embarrassment. The silver racks boasted floral prints and A line sacks in polyester blends that I am pretty sure made my Grandma cry once or twice... well at least cringe.
 Fast forward to today.  Some companies may indeed see this as an opportunity to branch out and be size positive , many are probably just jumping on the bandwagon.  These days many people are simply bigger than they used to be. I won't get into "why" here but now there are "enough" of us to be figured into marketing and finances in retail situations. In 2019 there is now no denying there is a "Plus Size" market.
 So I am thrilled that a 20 year old lady can walk into Nike and see something besides one body shape. I spent my 20's being told " We don't carry your size" by retail clerks in a condescending way. So this is a victory. This 20 year old doesn't have to hold her thin friends things looking at a size 2 mannequin knowing nothing in the store reaches out to her while her friend tries on 10 outfits. This is a silent emotional abuse. Simply put these subtle messages cause damage. This plus size mannequin is saying you have some worth.
 One reason why bigger people don't have optimal health in SOME cases is others attitudes towards them. Some of us hide , we avoid the doctors , we avoid the public and we avoid the gym (not because of  the stereotyped reasons either!!). No one wants to be made fun or bullied all the time , it's a drag.
  A girl doesn't need to be humiliated for wearing spandex ,  shorts , or tank tops. It takes courage to enter a gym when you aren't one of the "cute" tiny ones. Trust me I know from experience. My life has been a slap in the face of knowing what people secretly whisper... I am well trained in the "look at that" poking , giggling corner of the world.
 We are all equal , just different. Hard to believe in this day and age we are still fighting some of these battles. No one is perfectly healthy , NO ONE. So to pin point any group of people by appearance is short sighted.
 Size acceptance is not promoting obesity. Who in the world is going to say to themselves "Wow,  I want that Nike top!!" " Oh no,  but it's only in a size 2x maybe I need to up my carbs?!?! ".  Nobody , but there is a much higher chance of someone needing it in their size will say " Yes! Finally something comfortable to walk the dog in"  . And they can then have what they need with a good feeling about exercise all instead of leaving the store in tears of frustration. Exercise should be something you fit into your schedule to feel better , not a punishment for not being a certain body size.
Wouldn't it be great if us Plus Sized women all got into our Nike Sports clothes and made a racket?! Let our thighs rub together and sing the song of freedom all over the neighborhood walking our dogs. Let the clothing work for us for once. Tell the world we have had enough all the while unaplogetically wearing form fitting spandex!

https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/body/article/44807/1/nike-mannequins-telegraph-obese

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