Larger women in ads for Target and Athleta

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone cry "public health crisis" about fat/obese people but y'all don't seem to mind ethical/moral/value issues within your own communities and societies, drug abuse, opioid abuse, the sexualization of children, etc. Like this country has much bigger problems than there are a few fat people selling me clothes.

what makes you say we don't care about those issues? I care a huge amount about all of those issues in my community and in society at large. I can care about that and also be put off by 250 lbs in spandex pants with fat rolls overflowing.

So, all the more reason to support companies that make an effort to provide a range of options to fit a range of people, so at least your raging disgust will be directed towards someone who’s able to purchase clothes that fit properly. Ammmirite?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t shame any man, woman, or child for their body. Life is hard and I don’t know anyone’s story or judge how they make it through. Just being alive is a victory when you look at all the diseases, accidents, general things that you cannot control or choose in life.

However, being obese is not healthy. You cannot move well or exercise with a full range of motion. You are at high risk for so many chronic health issues. And it’s not attractive. Nobody says “That’s what I want to look like.”

We are at the point now where we are celebrating obesity and it’s not good for obese people to be obese. Not everyone can be what society dictates as “attractive” and thank goodness for that, society’s “attractive” meter is ridiculous and broken. But we should not celebrate being obese.

Given your opinions, I’d think you’d be all in for obese women to see themselves in these ads — and know that their needs and fitness goals are being supported. No?

Honestly with the sheer amount of calories a person needs to maintain that weight and bulk, nobody is meeting any “fitness goals.” I have never been that heavy, but after my 3rd kid I was obese. 3 kids in 5 years and the last kid was over 10 lbs. My body was all kinds of messed up and I was obese. It doesn’t feel good at all. It’s not good for the human body to carry that weight around, and it actually can mess with your internal organs.


disturbed emoticons


We are talking about health and fitness here, not fat shaming. At least, I am not fat shaming. All that adipose tissue is bad news.

You've got to be kidding me. This thread is entirely, 100% about fat shaming. There is literally no scientific evidence presented literally anywhere in this trainwreck of a thread to suggest that ads designed to be inclusive of overweight and obese women contribute to an increase in obesity. Since there is no evidence-based reason to dislike size-inclusive ads, the only remaining motivation is shame and nastiness.

I'm paraphrasing here, but someone once said the most courageous act a woman can do is to love herself against a world constantly telling her not to. The PPs so haunted by the representation of women in other sizes than those they find palatable are just mad at the audacity of a woman to not hate herself, and to be unencumbered by their views that she actually flaunts herself in outfits they criticize themselves for wearing. Instead of spending time putting people down for being able to positively view themselves after everyone else told them not to, why not spend some of that energy on loving yourself rather than sitting here pontificating to the rest of us.

Love this quote — and completely applaud your entire comment!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You aggrieved PPs in this thread will have to come to grips with the fact that you are an irrelevant marketing demographic. You can continue to wail and stomp your feet all you'd like, but the younger, trend-setting generation that drives marketing demographics values size-inclusivity and more generally advertising authenticity, and so your out-of-touch temper tantrum will only serve as part of your daily cardio.

I think what is really going on here is that you are all older, "I demand to speak to the manager" types, and you are all slowly realizing, to your abject horror, that nobody cares what you think.

Lol. Are you actually saying thin women are not a relevant marketing demographic? So much for inclusivity!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You aggrieved PPs in this thread will have to come to grips with the fact that you are an irrelevant marketing demographic. You can continue to wail and stomp your feet all you'd like, but the younger, trend-setting generation that drives marketing demographics values size-inclusivity and more generally advertising authenticity, and so your out-of-touch temper tantrum will only serve as part of your daily cardio.

I think what is really going on here is that you are all older, "I demand to speak to the manager" types, and you are all slowly realizing, to your abject horror, that nobody cares what you think.

Lol. Are you actually saying thin women are not a relevant marketing demographic? So much for inclusivity!

I think she meant jerks and not skinny people. Plenty of skinny people who don't care for the ads either way, but applaud companies being inclusive. They love the idea that a fat person deprived of workout clothes for decades can finally buy them and maybe--gasp--work out to address those health concerns that worry you so much. I can only hope that jerk is becoming an irrelevant demographic.

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with the advertising and given that 70% of the US population is overweight or obese, it’s just good business sense to market to the majority.

That said, I am troubled.

I’m not a fat shamer. I don’t hate fat people and never have - I credit my favorite auntie who was obese from the time I was a young child. Also had a few other much loved family/friends who were also significantly overweight and/or obese and this was back in the 70s/80s when it was not so common at all. So my concerns/comments don’t come from a place of bias or superiority or judgment.

My concern comes from having lived 30 years at normal weight, then 10-15 years struggling with 20-30 extra pounds and being overweight, and now five years of obesity following menopause and a serious chronic illness.

Because I’ve been all those sizes, I have a very clear perception of the very significant negative effects of carrying extra weight, especially at the level of obesity. There is so much I have missed out on because I was uncomfortable to be out there at this weight. The psychological effects have been significant - and I DON’T hate myself. But I am acutely aware of the difference in how many people look at me, because I had 35-40 years of being looked at very differently (for the record, I am blessed with great skin and with hair color covering the greys, minus this extra weight I’d be passing for 30-something still).

But beyond the emotional effects of being obese, the impacts on my health have been huge. Not just my lipid profile and glucose/insulin levels, but how much everything hurts - the damage that is being done every day to my joints and the aches and pains I struggle with hourly from the chronic inflammation caused by 150 unnecessary pounds of adipose tissue which makes it harder to move and manage my weight. And the fatigue. And the temperature regulation issues. Etc.

I feel like there must be some happy medium between this fat positivity movement and the fat shaming so many revel in. Because it just isn’t wise or even humane to encourage people to settle for being overweight or obese. It’s life limiting is so many more ways than just longevity and which go far beyond appearances.

[Anonymous]

NP. I just want to note that I am a thin person and I applaud this trend and hope it stays. I definitely believe in body acceptance and “healthy at any size” and I hate that my friends who aren’t thin struggle sometimes to just find clothes that fit, and also get constantly shamed for their bodies. Anything to combat that is good.

But I also selfishly think a world where “thin” is just a body type and not a universal goal would be better for me, a thin person. I’m naturally thin and it is not the result of diet and exercise. I think sometimes it benefits me in the short term that people assume my size is the result of effort— I am certain employers and others have assumed I’m more diligent, self-controlled, and responsible because of my weight. But... it’s not true, and in the end these same people wind up frustrated and often resentful when they discover I’m a pretty average, flawed person who just happens to be thin. I’ve seen this happen over and over and have lost friends over it. It’s dumb.

The obsession with thinness and diet and exercise culture doesn’t really help anyone. It would be better if we were all more size accepting, of ourselves and others, and if we stopped moralizing weight like thinness was evidence of your worth as a person. All people are worthy. Thinness is just thinness; it has no moral value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t shame any man, woman, or child for their body. Life is hard and I don’t know anyone’s story or judge how they make it through. Just being alive is a victory when you look at all the diseases, accidents, general things that you cannot control or choose in life.

However, being obese is not healthy. You cannot move well or exercise with a full range of motion. You are at high risk for so many chronic health issues. And it’s not attractive. Nobody says “That’s what I want to look like.”

We are at the point now where we are celebrating obesity and it’s not good for obese people to be obese. Not everyone can be what society dictates as “attractive” and thank goodness for that, society’s “attractive” meter is ridiculous and broken. But we should not celebrate being obese.

Given your opinions, I’d think you’d be all in for obese women to see themselves in these ads — and know that their needs and fitness goals are being supported. No?

Honestly with the sheer amount of calories a person needs to maintain that weight and bulk, nobody is meeting any “fitness goals.” I have never been that heavy, but after my 3rd kid I was obese. 3 kids in 5 years and the last kid was over 10 lbs. My body was all kinds of messed up and I was obese. It doesn’t feel good at all. It’s not good for the human body to carry that weight around, and it actually can mess with your internal organs.


disturbed emoticons


We are talking about health and fitness here, not fat shaming. At least, I am not fat shaming. All that adipose tissue is bad news.

You've got to be kidding me. This thread is entirely, 100% about fat shaming. There is literally no scientific evidence presented literally anywhere in this trainwreck of a thread to suggest that ads designed to be inclusive of overweight and obese women contribute to an increase in obesity. Since there is no evidence-based reason to dislike size-inclusive ads, the only remaining motivation is shame and nastiness.

I'm paraphrasing here, but someone once said the most courageous act a woman can do is to love herself against a world constantly telling her not to. The PPs so haunted by the representation of women in other sizes than those they find palatable are just mad at the audacity of a woman to not hate herself, and to be unencumbered by their views that she actually flaunts herself in outfits they criticize themselves for wearing. Instead of spending time putting people down for being able to positively view themselves after everyone else told them not to, why not spend some of that energy on loving yourself rather than sitting here pontificating to the rest of us.

Love this quote — and completely applaud your entire comment!

Thanks for sharing the image. Shocking to see the fat accumulation in the abdomen. Now I understand why the obese suffered so much with COVID. It must be impossible to breathe with that much excess fat in one’s upper body. Plus, my knees ache just looking at the pressure that must be put on the obese person’s legs. This visual is highly motivating to me to maintain my fitness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I just want to note that I am a thin person and I applaud this trend and hope it stays. I definitely believe in body acceptance and “healthy at any size” and I hate that my friends who aren’t thin struggle sometimes to just find clothes that fit, and also get constantly shamed for their bodies. Anything to combat that is good.

But I also selfishly think a world where “thin” is just a body type and not a universal goal would be better for me, a thin person. I’m naturally thin and it is not the result of diet and exercise. I think sometimes it benefits me in the short term that people assume my size is the result of effort— I am certain employers and others have assumed I’m more diligent, self-controlled, and responsible because of my weight. But... it’s not true, and in the end these same people wind up frustrated and often resentful when they discover I’m a pretty average, flawed person who just happens to be thin. I’ve seen this happen over and over and have lost friends over it. It’s dumb.

The obsession with thinness and diet and exercise culture doesn’t really help anyone. It would be better if we were all more size accepting, of ourselves and others, and if we stopped moralizing weight like thinness was evidence of your worth as a person. All people are worthy. Thinness is just thinness; it has no moral value.

Thank you so much for saying this! It’s refreshing to read. I think many people who are lucky enough to be naturally thin, and lucky enough and wealthy enough to maintain their body type, assume that it’s just as easy for others — when not only is it not as easy, it may not be possible. It’s also become complicated by the way our society rewards thinness — often in combination with other demographic qualities that are already rewarded and praised and impossibly out of reach for many.

All people ARE worthy. I truly appreciate your much-needed reminder.

[Anonymous]

This is alarming. My body resembles the woman on the left, and she/I/we aren't even that skinny. People needn't be skinny, but look if you're wearing clothing this large or larger (6x?!) you damned well better be charged more than my S/M. And I say that as a formerly obese person. But even when I was obese, I was nowhere near a 4x (what the lady on the right is wearing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is alarming. My body resembles the woman on the left, and she/I/we aren't even that skinny. People needn't be skinny, but look if you're wearing clothing this large or larger (6x?!) you damned well better be charged more than my S/M. And I say that as a formerly obese person. But even when I was obese, I was nowhere near a 4x (what the lady on the right is wearing).

Is there an up charge for the larger sizes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is alarming. My body resembles the woman on the left, and she/I/we aren't even that skinny. People needn't be skinny, but look if you're wearing clothing this large or larger (6x?!) you damned well better be charged more than my S/M. And I say that as a formerly obese person. But even when I was obese, I was nowhere near a 4x (what the lady on the right is wearing).

Is there an up charge for the larger sizes?

Usually not. Another area in which those of us who take care of our health are expected to subsidize the obese.

Again, this isn't a binary between super skinny and the morbidly obese. There is a range of healthy sizes (like the woman on the left). But when your material is twice as much, labor is more, weight of products for shipping costs more... you should pay more. Have your 4xl "activewear" but don't shift the financial effects onto others.

[Anonymous]

How predicable. The only acceptable form of open hate on DCUM is hate for overweight people. Everyone else is off limits, but put on 20 lbs and it’s a free for all. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How predicable. The only acceptable form of open hate on DCUM is hate for overweight people. Everyone else is off limits, but put on 20 lbs and it’s a free for all. Disgusting.

Your faux outrage is total exaggerated BS. You think the difference between a fit, healthy weight and obese is 20lbs? You're missing a zero, hun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How predicable. The only acceptable form of open hate on DCUM is hate for overweight people. Everyone else is off limits, but put on 20 lbs and it’s a free for all. Disgusting.

Yep, the woman on the right is definitely 20lbs overweight. Totes for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How predicable. The only acceptable form of open hate on DCUM is hate for overweight people. Everyone else is off limits, but put on 20 lbs and it’s a free for all. Disgusting.

Sahms get so much hate here. Possibly more than overweight women, definitely kess than women over 35. Dcum is a sh1thole and we all know it and we all contribute to the sh1ttiness.