The Rant
With this new job I’ve got I’ll get more money, but as a down side I’ve now got to go buy a new wardrobe. Yup, the new job requires business attire. No more jeans and t-shirts for me. No more tennis shoes. No more shorts or sweatshirts. I’ve got to get skirts, dresses, blouses, and dress slacks. I dread having to waste money on something as frivolous as shoes and clothing. I am a woman who hates…no…loathes shopping.
Why do I dislike the task so much? Why do I feel buying clothes is “frivolous”? Well…because I am a fat woman. Yes, that’s right I’m fat and I accept the fact that I am fat. I’m an apple on a stick. I have a big round body and then legs. Clothing designers, manufacturers and stores do not want to create or sell their wares to women who are larger than a size 18. Apparently a size 18 is the acceptable limit of fatness for the fashion industry. I’m serious, I’m not making this up. Go into your local department store, whether it be JC Penney or Sears or Nordstrom or even Needless Markup (Nieman Marcus for those unaware of the nickname). Go to the dress department, look for a size 22. I guarantee you will not find a single dress in that section over size 18. You know where the dresses for size 20 and up are? Either on the floor above or below where you are now, in the corner behind the housewares. That floor has no other clothing than the large women sizes. Look around where you are in the dress department, to your left is the Petites section, to your right is Juniors, across the aisle is the “Ladies” section you know, sizes 2-18. Although, the selection of 14-18 is pretty slim pickings, but they’re there. Apparently the department stores think that women who wear size 8 don’t want to be seen shopping along side a woman who’s size 24. Perhaps they think these smaller women don’t want their friends to tell them, “Oh you bought that at JC Penney? They sell FAT WOMEN clothes.”
In that “Women’s” department hidden in the corner behind the towels and bedding, you’ll find sweatshirts with prancing kitties on the chest, giant floral patterns, and, during the holidays, shirts with Santas, rabbits or pumpkins on them. Nothing a self respecting 30-something single business woman would be able to wear into the office. If there does happen to be office clothing in that store, it’s all shapeless and most likely has the previously mentioned giant floral pattern. Any woman who tries the clothing on will find that it looks like she bought a tent and cut holes for her head and arms. It hangs around her making her look like a walking rectangle. Heaven forbid a fat woman should have clothes that make her look like she even has a hint of a waist. Heaven forbid the fashion designers make clothes that look great on the size 6 girl that translate properly to fit and flatter the size 22 girl. Apparently all fat women want sack-like clothing to hide their large round bodies. Although, wearing sack-like giant clothing doesn’t hide the fact that they’re fat, it accentuates the fact that they’re fat. I know this, but I can’t seem to find clothing that doesn’t hang around me like a blanket. No clothing in my size is made to fit me properly to even fake a waist or any shape other than rectangle.
Why are fat women treated like they should be ashamed of the way their body looks? Why am I forced daily to think that because I’m fat I’m OBVIOUSLY lazy, eat too much, don’t deserve the occasional brownie, need to be told how many calories are in the foods I eat by strangers, should be ashamed of what I have in my shopping cart at the grocery store and should work out at a gym that was created for women only. If I’m constantly bombarded with messages from society about how ashamed I should be, won’t that drive me into a deep state of depression? Causing me to hide in my house sitting on my already fat ass watching television and eating cans of frosting for dinner? Why should I feel ashamed of how I look and who I am? Society should be ashamed for treating fat people poorly. They were ashamed when they finally realized it was wrong to treat people differently based on race and sexual orientation. YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED FOR TREATING PEOPLE POORLY BASED ON THEIR SIZE!
I should be able to walk into a store, go to the dress department and find a dress, not just dresses for women who are tiny, but also the dresses for women who are big. I shouldn’t be forced search in the hidden corner of the store for clothes. I should also be able to find bras in an array of sizes for the array of breast sizes that exist in this world. And those large bras for my gigantic jugs shouldn’t come only in utilitarian white, they should be pretty and lacy in a rainbow of colors just like the small ones for women who are flat as a board happen to be. I should be able to buy the same things they buy with the only difference being that there’s more material involved in what I’m getting. I shouldn’t have to special order bras online because stores don’t carry anything larger than a 40DD. If the internet didn’t exist would I have to wear bras that aren’t even close to fitting me properly? Fat women need to be able to buy sexy pretty lingerie just like the skinny women do and at their local stores, not by special order only. Just because I’m fat, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to feel pretty or look sexy, and it doesn’t mean that I can’t either. Fat women can be just as beautiful as the skinny girls. I’m sure you’ve all heard it before, Marilyn Monroe who is considered the epitome of sexy was a size 14. She wasn’t a bag of bones like Kate Moss or the Olsen Twins are. She had meat on her bones and people thought and still think that’s sexy. Curves are sexy…so my curves come out farther than some other women….so what. I’m not going to be ashamed of it just because society wants me to be ashamed.
I am fat, I’ll never be skinny, I’m OK with that. Now, the rest of the world needs to realize this and be OK with it too. Stop treating fat people like crap and start treating us like people. Treat us with the same respect and consideration you expect everyone to show you.
