Let’s talk about what fat people mean when they say an article of clothing “fits”.
I acknowledge that who qualifies as “fat” or “thin” is often contextual. For the purposes of this discussion, I’m defining “fat” as someone my size or larger. I’m speaking from my own experience, and while it’s certainly debatable whether people smaller than me should be considered “fat” depending on how big they are, I think we could all agree that someone my size or larger is definitely in the “fat” category.
My size: 5'7" height, 300lbs weight, clothing size 20 to 24 depending on the brand. Bust 49", waist 47", hips 56"
I am clarifying this because I have noticed that thin people think I mean something very different by “can’t find clothes that fit”.
When I and other fat people say “I can’t find clothes that fit” we do NOT mean:
1. I can’t find clothes that fit snugly/loosely according to my preference.
2. I can’t find clothes in my preferred style/color.
What I and other fat people DO mean when we say “I can’t find clothes that fit me”:
1. I literally cannot cover my body with any item of clothing for sale in most mainstream clothing stores. The majority of department stores only carry up to a size 18 at most, but a good amount of them only carry clothing up to size 14. When something “doesn’t fit” I cannot button/zip/fasten it, I often can’t even pull any of the pants available over my knee, shirts won’t go over my head, no matter how I stretch, struggle, or “let out the seams”. It’s like trying to put an infant’s onesie on a 12 year old, there is no way it will work.
2. If I DO manage to find an item of clothing I can physically get over my body in a department store, it usually is so tight it causes me literal injury; if I wear it for longer than 20 minutes, it will leave welts, rashes, even cuts.
3. If I hit the jackpot and find an article of clothing that covers my body without causing injury, most times it is incredibly expensive (think $30 for a tshirt), low quality (fabric rips and fades after wearing it 3 times), ugly/inappropriate (horrible mumus in bright orange paisley, dated floral print with shoulder pads, unfitted to the point that pants will fall to the floor and necklines will shift slowly down past my navel) or all of the above.
So please, when fat people talk about their frustrations accessing clothes, don’t talk over them to complain about how hard it is for thin people to find clothes that “fit” them too. You’re not using the word in the same way.
janainaart
izzy806
kianamaiart
kaledo-art
