Jezebel reports on plus-size diva/model April Flores’ latest brush with fat-ism, relaying that Flores recently moseyed into an American Apparel store and asked a staffer if the company had ever considered manufacturing plus sizes.
To which the hipster employee (I imagine her wearing seven scrunchies on her side ponytail), allegedly said, “That’s not our demographic.”
It’s a sad, stupid refrain at this point that mainstream mall stores don’t cater to the size-12-plus set. While it’s beyond predictable that a company that all but exploits young girls in its ads would be anti-cellulite, the staffer could have directed Flores to some cool mens’ gear, or (at the very least) said something along the lines of “Yes, it is a shame we don’t cater to that demo.” And now the plus-size blogosphere is teeming with rage.
And yes, that that will impact the company’s bottom line.
Photo: Model/erotic star April Flores.
Instead of forcing American Apparel to adapt their clothes, maybe the customer should adopt a healthier lifestyle, reduce their size and fit into normal clothes. Being large has innumerable negative effects on one’s health and emotions. I’ve lost 150lbs since my heaviest and anyone that says to me “Big is beautiful” is dead wrong. It’s miserable. It’s unhealthy. It’s uncomfortable. This denial we Americans subject ourselves to – that we must accept plus-size as a norm – is sickening and pretentious. A morbidly obese person complaining to a retailer for not manufacturing their extra-large size isn’t so different from a coke head complaining to a nightclub manager for failing to offer a satisfactory bathroom for snorting lines of cocaine.