Do they not own a mirror?
Let me just preface this by saying I am not an old prudish Southern woman. I am a fairly young, professional artist who is quite open minded and could seriously lose 20 pounds. During the heat wave last summer, not a day passed where I wasn’t nearly blinded by the sight of fat rolls barely contained in colorful spandex.
I do not want to see my own fat rolls, thank you very much. What in the sweet name of Bob could make these women think I want to see theirs?
I was raised to be respectful and kind but one day I turned to my seat companion (a close friend) and said (quietly) do they not own a mirror? Not quite as quiet as I had thought. A woman behind me began to laugh and said she was going to borrow that line. I turned to acknowledge her appreciation of my wit and then noticed her attire. A few hundred pounds trapped in a leopard print mini-skirt, black see-through blouse, pink bra and fishnet stockings. Wow.
Nov 21st, 2007 at 6:15 pm
I have a friend who says ‘Just because they make it in your size doesn’t mean you should be wearing it.’
Nov 25th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Along those same lines Amity, I have heard: Spandex is a privilege and not a right.
Dec 17th, 2007 at 6:58 am
I’m a plus-sized woman, and I personally don’t want any of my body exposed to the public at ANY time — if I’m not coated in at least three baggy layers, I’m not happy. BUT, I also adamantly support the right of any woman to dress as she feels comfortable. If there are big girls who love their bodies and feel beautiful and sexy and want to express that by wearing baby doll tops and micro-skirts, then they should go for it (within the realm of safety, of course). There is absolutely no reason large women and men shouldn’t have the same clothing privileges as smaller-sized people — spandex is, in fact, TOTALLY a right, contrary to your axiom. You go to the gym, you wear spandex because it makes exertive movement comfortable; weight does not matter. To create rules otherwise is size discrimination, which is actually illegal in more enlightened cities.
The big girls who dress like thin girls inspire me. They inspire me to find ways that *I* can feel more comfortable in my body, like they seem to feel in theirs.
Dec 17th, 2007 at 7:05 am
One more thing — when you say things like, “I do not want to see my own fat rolls, thank you very much. What in the sweet name of Bob could make these women think I want to see theirs?”, or “Spandex is a privilege, not a right”, you reinforce to yourself and the rest of the world that FAT = UGLY/WRONG/BAD/LOATHESOME/SOMETHING TO FEAR AND REVILE AND HIDE AWAY, and thin = good/acceptable/beautiful/praiseworthy.
Have you ever tried — just attempted, maybe — to think in something other than black and white?
What if you actually looked at your fat rolls? And said, “Huh. Fat rolls. How ya doin’, fat rolls? What’s up with you?”
Just an idea.
Feb 15th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
People can wear what they want and I’m all for self confidence, but I don’t want to see that.
Aug 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
In the late 90′s I attempted to start a non-profit that would fund buying mirrors for those that obviously needed one!