Disturbing News
This morning, I heard the most disturbing story on the news. No, it wasn’t about the State of the Union speech, the war in Iraq, kidnapped children, grounded tankers, or the myriad of 2008 Presidential hopefuls. Some would call it a ”Fluff Piece.” The story was about something that I’d never heard of before (but probably should have): Vanity Sizing! It seems that many manufacturers in the garment industry decided in 1983 that American women would buy more clothing if we thought that we were a smaller size…so they started gradually giving us more room! In twenty-four years their "generosity" has really added up. A woman who wore a size 8 in 1983 (assuming all of her measurements stayed the same) would now be wearing what is currently a size 4 (or possibly even a 2)! That’s a two to three size difference!
When I started dieting almost six months ago, I set a goal of losing 80 pounds or reaching a size 8…remembering what I looked like at that size long ago. From 20W, this seemed like an almost unattainable goal. I’ve dropped 40 pounds and am now in a size 10, but the woman looking back at me in the mirror doesn’t match my memory! The weight loss has made a difference in how I look and feel, but, since I weighed much less the last time I was this “size”, I’ve been a bit confused. I blamed not looking as good on being older; after all, bodies change and memories become distorted. I rationalized that hormonal variations could cause differences – heavier bones or organs or something; I know that this logic is flawed since post-menopausal women fight osteoporosis and must be monitored for loss of bone density, but it was the only explanation I had.
I admit that I didn’t try too hard to find other reasons - I was just so happy to be a “size 10”(!) that I didn't want to concentrate on things I couldn't explain. I will also admit that I shopped less and bought fewer clothes before I started losing weight because I loathed finding that I had swelled to the next size. These admissions fit the logic that "they" used to justify doing this to us, but now I just feel betrayed! I was so thrilled to be able to say “I got my butt into a pair of size 10 jeans…and we’re not talking 'stretch' jeans here –for the first time in two decades” that I have said it often in the last few weeks. Now to find that I’m actually still a 14 (or 16!) is disheartening - to say the least…it’s more like a blow to the solar plexus. While it explains the discrepancies between my memory and the mirror, this story was hard to hear.
Women of America Unite! We need to tell clothing manufacturers that they are the reason that we are getting fatter! While I am not normally a litigious-minded person, I think we might need to sue them for our weight-related health issues to get them to see their liability in this – and to make it stop - but I'm open to other suggestions (short of my no longer buying/wearing clothes - which is a truly disturbing thought...especially to those who might see me!)
My mantra for years, as I continued to expand, was:
“Sure, I’ve put on a few pounds, but
a) I’m still a size __, or
b) I’ve only gone up one size in the last however long,
so it’s not like I’m getting fat!”
Surely I’m not the only woman to think this way! Fear of having to buy size 22W was what started me on my current weight loss regimen; other women have different limits. By covertly altering what those “limits” really mean, the clothing manufacturers have encouraged us to gain weight. As I said in the beginning, this news truly disturbs me…but then again, maybe I was disturbed to begin with...
When I started dieting almost six months ago, I set a goal of losing 80 pounds or reaching a size 8…remembering what I looked like at that size long ago. From 20W, this seemed like an almost unattainable goal. I’ve dropped 40 pounds and am now in a size 10, but the woman looking back at me in the mirror doesn’t match my memory! The weight loss has made a difference in how I look and feel, but, since I weighed much less the last time I was this “size”, I’ve been a bit confused. I blamed not looking as good on being older; after all, bodies change and memories become distorted. I rationalized that hormonal variations could cause differences – heavier bones or organs or something; I know that this logic is flawed since post-menopausal women fight osteoporosis and must be monitored for loss of bone density, but it was the only explanation I had.
I admit that I didn’t try too hard to find other reasons - I was just so happy to be a “size 10”(!) that I didn't want to concentrate on things I couldn't explain. I will also admit that I shopped less and bought fewer clothes before I started losing weight because I loathed finding that I had swelled to the next size. These admissions fit the logic that "they" used to justify doing this to us, but now I just feel betrayed! I was so thrilled to be able to say “I got my butt into a pair of size 10 jeans…and we’re not talking 'stretch' jeans here –for the first time in two decades” that I have said it often in the last few weeks. Now to find that I’m actually still a 14 (or 16!) is disheartening - to say the least…it’s more like a blow to the solar plexus. While it explains the discrepancies between my memory and the mirror, this story was hard to hear.
Women of America Unite! We need to tell clothing manufacturers that they are the reason that we are getting fatter! While I am not normally a litigious-minded person, I think we might need to sue them for our weight-related health issues to get them to see their liability in this – and to make it stop - but I'm open to other suggestions (short of my no longer buying/wearing clothes - which is a truly disturbing thought...especially to those who might see me!)
My mantra for years, as I continued to expand, was:
“Sure, I’ve put on a few pounds, but
a) I’m still a size __, or
b) I’ve only gone up one size in the last however long,
so it’s not like I’m getting fat!”
Surely I’m not the only woman to think this way! Fear of having to buy size 22W was what started me on my current weight loss regimen; other women have different limits. By covertly altering what those “limits” really mean, the clothing manufacturers have encouraged us to gain weight. As I said in the beginning, this news truly disturbs me…but then again, maybe I was disturbed to begin with...
posted by bossann @ 12:44 PM
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