Plus size, this term is used in stores from the size 14 and up, that being said the average size of women in the United States in anywhere from 16 to 18. While I do not necessarily have a problem with the idea of plus sizes, I more have an issue about the way of which the stores separate plus sizes from the “normal sizes”. Would you, kind reader be happy to walk into the back of the store where you would feel apart or as another from many other patrons.
Recently I went to a bra store in the Providence Mall. It was here where I realized something that I suppose has always been in my head, you do not need to separate the two areas of clothing. What is the point really, is it to make the customers feel like they are included by having their own special sections? There is no need to have a line between what is considered the normal clothing size and what is possibly considered as weird or something that you should be ashamed of.
Although you might be reading this and thinking, has there not been a growing acceptance of the plus size community in recent years? While the answer is yes, that does not mean that we are heading in the right directions. Often times the brands that are more plus size friendly tend to also ramp up the price of their clothing, they throw out terms like everyone is beautiful and perfect in their own skin, but then why do they make us pay more for what they consider normal? The plus size community are segregated from all others.
When I went to the bra store in the Providence Mall I noticed something while I was checking out. The models on the TV above the register wherein no means what I would consider bone thin. They were more sporty looking with strong thighs and curves that looked right with their bodies. While standing there my friend made a comment on how they were finally starting to have inclusive women, to that I had to disagree. While the women were beautiful I could not see them as inclusive. To me, they all looked the same only a size or two apart.
From the comments that we made the store manager came over to talk to us about how she agreed with me, and because she wanted to make all of her customers feel inclusive she didn’t have a plus size section. She said she wanted to have women from a size 0-38 be able to shop with one another, to not have an air of separation between the women, to make them all feel comfortable and not like they should be ashamed of what they looked like.
It was this small interaction that changed my point of view on the matter of plus sizes. Personally, it baffles me that no marketing team has thought about it. Just make the clothes bigger to fit a wider range of people, every time I go into a store I can find anywhere from a size 2 to an 8, but anywhere past 12, it is like a never-ending labyrinth.
I ask you to keep this in mind next time you go shopping. Look for clothes that are on the larger end of the spectrum, look for where they are and what the price differences of the clothes. Do you think that there should be a separation of the clothing or do you think that the separation gives heavier people body dysmorphia?
As of now, I do not think that my opinion on the matter will change, people should not be segregated from one another. As humans, we deserve to be treated as so, not just as fat bellied consumers that will take any adds of “inclusive sizing” and think of it as a revolutionary idea that will save us all. Humans deserve to be treated as so. It is up to the consumer to make their thoughts clear about where they want their clothes to be placed. The only question is, will the consumer vocalize their opinions? Or will they follow the status quo until some other “innovative” brand will come along to show the industry how things really should be?