In case you hadn’t heard, the television show “Mike and Molly,” has caused a lot of hubbub as of late. The CBS show debuted this fall and features as its main characters plus-sized actor/comedians Melissa McCarthy, best known for her “Gilmore Girls” fame, and Billy Gardell, who has opened shows for comedy greats the likes of George Carlin and Dennis Miller. It’s kind of a throwback to our Rosanne and Dan Conner days in the iconic show “Rosanne.” So what’s the hubbub? A blogger for Marie Claire magazine made known her disgust at the thought of watching people with “rolls and rolls of fat doing anything.”
The blog post has caused so much of a stir, its been reported that almost thirty thousand readers wrote Marie Claire to complain. Journalists weighed in and talk show hosts discussed the post, including Wendy Williams of “The Wendy Williams Show,” who said “Whether you are grossly obese, a little bit chubby or just a person with a heart, you realize that fat is the last bastian of ridicule that is acceptable in this society.”
But what of the people who have to deal with the everyday indecencies that go along with such phobia? It’s one thing to have a platform on which we can rant about blatant comments in an obscure blog post, but what about the subtle offenses plus sized people deal with everyday?
For the record, in fashion terms, plus-sized clothing often refers to a women’s size 14 and above in the United States, 16 and up in the UK (keep in mind that the average size of an American woman today is 14).
Career woman LaTonia Robinson, who is considered “plus sized,” recently modeled in Miami Fashion Week and weighed in on her feelings about how she feels the fashion industry treats normal (read: “larger”) sizes. “When I go out with my girlfriends and we go to the store and everybody’s shopping, we’re all different sizes obviously. I’m having fun and I don’t like having to go some separate floor–stuffed in the corner between children’s, baby clothing and luggage-to find clothes,” she said. “Female clothing should be all on the same floor, it shouldn’t be tucked into the corner like some dirty little secret.”
And that’s really the point of the Marie Claire blogger’s story – it’s like she outed a dirty secret that many people share, but are too afraid to admit. After all, this woman had her behind handed back to her – gnarled and chewed – by an angry public that could not believe the insensitivity of her comments. So we almost can expect that it’s only those who are not faint of heart that will voice their true opinions due to fear of ridicule and backlash. But that’s exactly the problem – closeted views like those voiced by the Marie Claire blogger make life tough for anyone who may not fit what society deems as “ideal.” And though the comments often aren’t voiced, they show in subtle ways, including segregating shopping areas in a possible attempt to keep unsightly issues “out of sight, out of mind.”
Just last year, German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld was quoted as calling the debate over use of larger models “absurd,” since the world of fashion is about “dreams and illusions.” Unfortunately, however for the average woman, such catwalk attitudes obviously fall over into everyday life, as some feel being relegated to the back of stores can be equated to the all-too-familiar civil rights era’s being pushed to the “back of the bus.”
Robinson calls out department stores like J.C. Penny and youth trendsetter Forever 21 as being guilty of creating such negative feelings for plus-sized customers. “Forever 21 has size extra small to large, maybe extra large if you’re lucky,” she points out, adding she normally wouldn’t shop there because the store doesn’t advertise that it has a plus sized section, so she was not aware it existed. “But they do advertise the men’s. The men’s section is in the front but the plus size is in the back with its own separate dressing room and its own different register. Why don’t you put the men’s back there,” she asked incredulously, noting that men are not the store’s primary audience.
During her fashion week experience, Robinson noticed the difference in people’s perceptions there as well. As one of about four plus size models in a sea of “maybe 60 to 80 models,” she noticed not many photos of the plus sized garments were easy to find. “If the collection was shown, the photos primarily left out plus size. If you’re going to show the collection, show the entire collection. Is society accepting of people’s varied body images? Is that not something people want to see,” she inquired.
“When I go shopping, I feel good when I see a dummy that’s larger and I think, ‘I can really wear that.’ Now that I do go in there, I have to go in the back of the store where no one else can see me. It pisses me off I have to go to a whole different store, a whole different section. I don’t appreciate having to feel like I’m not as good, like my dollar doesn’t count – or it does count but they don’t want anybody to know. It just hurts me. I’m happy about who I am. I just want to go shopping with my friends,” she lamented.
Designer Nina Verklas empathizes with Robinson’s pain. “My mom is plus sized and I’ve gone shopping with her since I was a kid. I see the challenges of shopping – there’s a huge market of people who want to look great,” she said. “Although people don’t want to see it, there are healthy, confident women – like LaTonia – how she presents herself. A confident plus-sized model can carry themselves just as well.”
Verklas calls fashion in its current form an exaggeration of what people can grasp. “It’s an extreme fantasy. Do I think that’s what everybody wants to see? Not necessarily.” She emphasizes that change often starts small, noting that fashion greats like Halston “and all the greats” come out of nowhere with innovative ideas. “That’s how greatness happens,” she shared.
In the end, maybe Mike, Molly, and Marie Claire woke us up a little bit. They unknowingly started a discussion that probably won’t die easily, at least not in the hearts of the many who don’t see themselves in the faces of fashion, on television, or in the front of the department store. Maybe the unexpected conversation will ignite some change that in the long run will benefit many, inspiring us all to greatness.
Doni Luckutt is a lifestyle expert who believes by enhancing interpersonal connection, we can stop simply living, and become Simply Alive! If you have a suggestion on what brings you to life, connect with her on Twitter @SimplyAlive, via email Doni@SimplyAliveWorld.com or on her blog: www.SimplyAliveWorld.com/Blog.
