This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2008.
Size 14 is not “Plus Size”
Who the hell is in charge of ordering stock for clothing stores? Why can I never find anything in my size? Why must I circle like a buzzard waiting for new stock to arrive, so I can swoop down and snag the ONLY size 14 in the entire shipment? Sale? W
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Sounds like you have a lot of anger and bitterness directed at the metabolically gifted. I’m more of a size 6 myself, and I actually find that most sale racks are full of L and XL’s, but sadly devoid of M’s. And newsflash – size 14 is not average, it is overweight, especially at 5’7. No matter what Oprah says about the “average” Amercian/Canadian size, that does not make it a healthy weight and I don’t think we should accept it. Maybe the REAL solution lies in you losing a few pounds, not to be a 00, but maybe a 10 or something so that you can shop at the stores you so desperately seem to love.
http://calorielab.com/news/2005/06/06/ideal-woman-size-14-40-hips-pear-shaped/
Size 14-16 is considered average by North American standards, sweetcakes – not size 6. I am 5’7″, like OP, take a size 14 and do not consider myself overweight – I am built like a normal female with tits and hips not some fucking spagetti with eyes shaking her flat ass.OP, I couldn’t agree more – the only thing more frustrating is trying to find a size 14 at any second hand store. Forgetaboutit.
this is strange…i’m 5’7 and a size 7. and perfectly average. not a stick size at all. i did go through a phase where i gained the freshman “30” and wore size 12. i was fat. but i find lots of stores, ie: smartset, always have lots of the bigger sizes- including 14. the OP does seem a little bitter, and possibly in denial.
You are fat.Hope this helps,
Wow, bitter much? Thanks to the OP and TTFN for assuming all skinny people are “from auschwitz” or need to eat more. This is the only thing that bites into my sympathy for people who have problems with extra weight (whether it’s rude insults or difficulty finding good clothes). They have to posit themselves as “normal” at the expense of everyone out there who happens to keep the weight off due to an active or overactive metabolism. Honestly, as a slim person who finds most body types attractive, it’s fucking insulting to have heavier people turn around and be like “oh, you little spaghetti stick, I hate you, eat a sandwich.” It’s just as insulting to assume that I’m slim because I diet excessively or are anorexic as it is for me to assume that your so-called “normal” weight is because you are a disgusting pig who eats fried chicken all the time. Why don’t you direct your hatred at clothing manufacturers and advertisers instead of hating on other women. By the way I am not saying that size 14-16 women are not “the average” in North America. I just take exception to the notion that smaller size women are somehow freaks because they are not “normal” (i.e. like most people).By the way, I am suspicious of “but what about your heeeeeaaaalth” anti-fat arguments. It seems insincere. Why would people care about other random people’s health, really? I can understand if someone close to you was obese and had health problems related to that obesity, but trying to lump all fat people into one category of unhealthiness is unproductive. Why assume that just because you’re healthy at your size, people at larger sizes cannot also be equally as healthy. I’d rather the concern be focussed on the eating habits that cause diseases for which obesity is a by-product, not on obesity itself, which may not be the root problem, but a symptom.
I always thought 5/7/9 must be the size of the majority of the shoppers, since they’re always sold out quicker. I have the opposite problem – I can never find size 5/7.
Not that I think size 14 is fat; it seems average enough- atleast in the US, but it IS technically- a ”plus size” according to clothing retailers. Most of them cater to smaller sizes- except for the shops aimed at older women perhaps. So don’t fault the ”condescending twigs”- I doubt they have much say in what sizes are ordered to the shop. And hellakitty is right- you DO sound bitter. There is nothijg wierd or abnormal about being thin- I’m a size ”1” and I don’t have an eating disorder or excersize obesession- my bones are small and so far my metabolism is good.
Mole Rat: you asked about the insincere concern for the health of those they’ve never met. The answer is, probably tax dollars.
Although I don’t agree that size 14 is average I have to agree with her bitch about retailers not using their brains when it comes to ordering sizes. Wouldn’t they make more money if they stocked more of the most common sizes? It’s really not uncommon for me to go shopping and find that the only sizes left in the sales or regular racks are sizes 0/1/2/3. And there’s LOTS of them left.
I don’t think the anger is directed toward the “metabolically gifted”. I think it’s directed toward retail merchandisers with their heads up their asses. The reality is, there are more women who wear size 12 or 14 than there are who wear 0 or 00, and the available selection doesn’t reflect that reality. Whether you think 14 is fat or not isn’t really relevant. Everyone seems to be jumping on the OP and saying, “you’re just bitter because you’re fat.” I don’t think she’s bitter because she’s not a size 3. I think she’s bitter because the world seems to have decided that if you’re NOT a size 3 (or 5 or 7), then you don’t deserve to have nice clothes. I’ve noticed the same thing; a surplus of small and extra-small clothes and not enough larger sizes. I have shoulders like a linebacker, and sometimes I have a hell of a time finding t-shirts. I also have muscular legs, and I always have to buy pants in a larger size and have the waist taken in.As for 14 being overweight, I think it might be slightly overweight at 5’7″. Certainly not obese, and certainly within the “normal” range. I’m the same height as the OP, and I wear size 12. And I would challenge anyone who called me overweight to a 10K race.
Think about it – size 14 is “average” on a continent where more than 60% of the population is overweight. And when you factor in “vanity sizing” – a strategy which almost all clothing companies now employ – your North American size 14 is really more like a 16 or 18.You can tell yourself size 14 is average, but it’s not.BTW, I am totally opposed to sizing clothes 00. Zero is small enough, n’est pas?
I agree it’s difficult to find clothes if you are a bigger person, and that it’s not fair. My anger was more directed at the way the OP went on to disparage smaller women (salespeople in this case) and imply that they weren’t thinking straight because they were probably dieting themselves into delirium or something. Meanwhile, the salesperson was perhaps making quiet assumptions about the OP’s eating habits. Who has the moral high ground? No one, including the OP.Beav you may have something there re tax dollars. However the concern is usually framed as “I’m concerned for your health” and not “you’re a burden on the health care system”…at least, at first.
Your BMI (Body mass index) will measure your body fat based on height and weight. Check out the site-http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/
The BMI has been pretty much discredited as a way of guaging obesity. For example, my BMI is 26, which puts me squarely in the overweight category. However, I am a fairly serious athlete, and am very muscular. The BMI does not take into account muscle mass, bone structure, gender or age. As people -especially women- age, they lose bone mass, particularly if they are not active. This results in a falsely low BMI. Athletic people score a falsely high BMI. Men are naturally more muscuarly dense than women. There are so many reasons why the standard BMI is an inadequate tool.
I’m the OP, and I want to apologize to the thin people I offended. The bitch came out angrier than I intended. Or at least, angry at the wrong people. I had just been roundly insulted by a manager at a certain trendy clothing store who’s name means “the castle” in french. When I asked the bitch (nicely) why I could never find my size, she looked me up and down and said, “Well. We don’t really have that much demand for larger sizes. You might try (a store who’s name is french for ‘more woman’).” She absolutely sneered the word “larger”, I swear. Look. If you’re a size 5, or 3, or even 0, I neither despise nor admire you. I do envy you, because you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want it. But I don’t resent you. I was pissed at A skinny person, not skinny people.And as for the asshole that responded “you are fat. hope this helps”: Fuck you. I wrote a Bitch last year as Fat Girl at the Gym. I was just starting to take control of my weight problem. Some skinny girls had been hateful to me and I came on here to vent. In the 9 or 10 months since I wrote that bitch, I have lost close to 100 pounds. I have gone from a size 24 to a size 14, and I feel pretty damn good about that. So I don’t really give a shit if people think 14 is fat. I don’t care if I never lose another pound. For the first time since I was a child, I am “normal” sized, and I just want to buy some normal clothes.
Imagine if you had chosen a heathly lifestyle (gym, etc…) when you were once already a size 14 as opposed to waiting until you were a size 24 (SIZE 24 WTF!?), right now you could actually be fit or at least fit into normal clothes and not even need to write this bitch! Just a thought,
Wow J, imagine if your mother had had an abortion before you were born. Then none of us would have to read your verbal diarrhea.
“Wow J, imagine if your mother had had an abortion before you were born. Then none of us would have to read your verbal diarrhea.”Did my suggestion of choosing an active lifestyle before the point of being morbidly obese really get you that upset?
No, be active, good for you … but you’re a little bit of an ass and that’s what I’m refering to.
J, you should really just quit posting comments to this topic. You’re doing nothing but making yourself look like a giant, insensitive arse. Holly, good for you. You went down 10 sizes, and i agree, that is something to be very proud of yourself for. As for the store in question, i can’t even stand to walk by the door to that place..it’s insanely pretentious, over priced and trying way too hard. There are plenty of other stores and boutiques that you’ll find better made, better priced clothes in, not to mention better service. 🙂
Fair enough… :)I just find it far too common these days that people are unhappy with their weight but still tend to wait until they are a size 24 (risking severe health problems) to do something about it. In the end, it’s just a matter of willpower, or lack of.Also, just because 60% (or whatever that figure was) of people are a size 14, it doesn’t necesarily mean it is healthy.
FYI, J, my DOCTOR, who’s opinion I will trust over yours, considers my weight to be at the high end of healthy. It wouldn’t hurt me to lose another 20 pounds, but health-wise, I am just fine. Thanks for your concern though.
Holly, apology accepted. I was probably too harsh in my response as well. I just wanted to point out that everyone loses when people are disparaged for their size, no matter what size that is.I also want to add that while I do think thin people get more flak than people realize, I recognize the fact that my metabolism privileges me – in the sense that because it’s easy for me to keep weight off, it’s easy for me to more closely emulate the body type that is currently most rewarded by our society. One of these “rewards” is the ability to easily find fashionable clothes in my size.
HAHAHAHA, I love reading these bitches, wow what a lot of differing views. First of all I think Holly is truly apologetic about the way it sounded. Everyone really needs to read their email over before they submit/send and/or have someone else look at it for you as sometimes they do come across not the way they were truly intended. I think that there is no doubt that there is an obesity epidemic on this continent. Vanity sizing is in effect due to this epidemic and yes, you are buying a bigger size than what you think. Here is a fact I am sure most of you would not know unless you have worked in or know of someone who has worked in the airline industry – the reason why the airlines now have a weight and an extra charge for extra pieces of luggage is due to the fact that humans now weigh more than ever and the airplane can carry a limited amount of weight (the weight of the airplane itself is included in this maximum) and it MUST carry a certain amount of fuel to get everyone safely where they are going, so they have to remove weight in other areas because humans are heavier and they can’t drop 20lbs before they get on the plane, so 20lbs of luggage weight is dropped. I really chuckle to myself when I hear people bitching about this inconvenience, I want to ask them would they rather crash, anyway a little off course but still on subject of weight. I have to agree that you can have healthy people who probably are too heavy and believe me you can have some really unhealthy people who look just the right weight. It all depends on how active you are and how healthy your diet is. I have struggled with my weight my whole life, my smallest at age 30 being 105lbs, 5’5″ and my heaviest for only a period of a year at 158lbs. I now weigh 140lbs, size 10 and this is too heavy for me to be comfortable, so I am in the process of losing 15lbs. As far as people making comments about how other people lose their weight or when they do it, poop on you, as long as they do it, cudos to them, it’s a hard old go and takes extreme will power and self discipline. I have thought many times that the retail buyers don’t seem to be in touch with their demographics. Maybe in Toronto with millions of people those 00’s and 0’s sell but here in the maritimes where our population is smaller maybe they should take the time to actually see what our demographic is here and buy smart. And Holly if you post a bitch you have to expect the good with the bad, just laugh it off, you vented and that’s all that matters. HAHAHAHAHA
a friend of mine weighs the same as me and is two sizes larger…so uh, a lot DOES depend on bone structure/muscle mass (muscle DOES weigh more than fat, you know!).
The Castle store is awful. The clothes are poorly made and I don’t think there’s anything in a natural fabric there. Rayon, Spandex and every blend of polyester. And the staff have no reason to be snotty about the shitty clothes they sell. And when I did shop there years ago, I was 125 pounds at 5’10” and still had to wear a large in a shirt. The pants didn’t fit because I have an ass. So Holly, try another store because you will you get better “normal” clothes elsewhere.
Ok I hate hearing people say that muscle weighs more than fat. Of course unless you weigh the muscle on neptune and the fat on earth, then it would weigh more. Muscle has more density than fat.
why would a “random person” care about health? Cus I work in the healthcare system dumbass, and I see the extra resources that fatties such as the OP take up and cost the system. You’re paying for it too, by the way.And I never disputed that size 14 was “average” I just disputed that it was healthy. Don’t kid yourself, you’re fat, and you need to lose weight.
I am “supposed to care” what you think? Fuck no, and I stand by my assertions … all of them. Whatever you read on Wikipedia is not as valid what I have seen wth my own eyes for the past 7 years. I’ll give you an example: When a morbidly obese person comes in for an MRI it takes 2 and sometimes 3 people to get them in the machine (that is if they aren’t too fat to fit). That whole process takes time and resources away from other, more purposeful duties and don’t kid yourself, the people “loading” them on are usually technologists and even doctors, so that is definately a waste of time and resources. I could go on but I don’t “care enough”, sorry! Get over yourself.
Let me reitterate, hellakitty: My DOCTOR, who has been monitoring my weight loss for the last year, is of the opinion that my weight is healthy. The high end of healthy, for sure, but still healthy. Got that? My DOCTOR. I will take my DOCTOR’s advice over yours. No offence. I’m in no danger of running out of ass, buy my ass is no longer a hazard to my health. Once again, thanks for your concern.
Am I supposed to care that you “work in the healthcare system”? There is plenty of information & studies online that specifically contradicts what you are saying, and also documents the demonstrated bias of health care professionals against larger patients….hmmmm. It just so happens that this information doesn’t get paid much attention by the mainstream media, what a surprise.